Why Did The 2025 New York Yankees Fail Spectacularly?

A baseball club should run like a well-maintained car. All the parts do their own thing, but work in tandem to get places. They have their first gear, second gear, third gear, and beyond. That car can’t run without a functioning engine, or if there are so many problems that it either dies on the road or it crashes. Some teams run like McLarens, others run like Toyota Corollas.

The Yankees’ vehicle of choice looks like a Lamborghini, but on the inside, it runs far less effectively than what’s on paper. That’s mainly due to the fact the team can’t get out of its own way and has nothing but two gears. Either this team runs hot at the same time and go on a tear, or they slump together like we saw in mid-August.

Nowhere was this more evident than during the ALDS, when the team was outscored 23-8 over two games. When you take away their attempted game two rally, it’s actually 23-3 over 15 innings. Every single aspect of this team failed epically over those two games.

Before the game two rally, the team was hitting well under the Mendoza line and had a collective ERA well into the double digits. If you took Aaron Judge away from the entire series, who had a .600/.684/1.618 slash line with six RBIs, their numbers collapse. Their batting would be well under the Mendoza line, host an OBP under .300, and an OPS that would fall nearly 100 points to under .700.

The pitching was far worse, holding an 8.47 ERA and 1.70 WHIP over 34 innings pitched. Balls left over the plate, pitches with a lack of movement, and just an inability to put hitters away. Five separate pitchers held an ERA in the double-digits, with Luke Weaver completely melting down this entire postseason. Even if the offense were operating at its peak, the pitching was inexcusable.

What we saw was a team that got exposed for being deep on paper but thin on the field. Without Aaron Judge, there would be no third gear to this team; there might be an argument that the team would barely have a second gear. This team is dangerously close to going from a Lamborghini to a used Ford Truck, dependable but bound to break at some point.

Someone Will Get Fired In Due Time

Whether it’s Aaron Boone to blame for his lack of fire, or on the players for seeming not to care (like Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s yawn), someone will lose their job. A series loss this bad, this dominating, and on this stage of the game should lead to changes. It doesn’t matter if the team won 94 games; there needs to be accountability somewhere in the organization.

Don’t expect Boone or General Manager Brian Cashman to go anywhere for next year, as per Sports Illustrated . Unfortunately, that’s agreeable given Hal Steinbrenner’s only GM has been Cashman, while Boone is personable with the players. The rage around the manager is understandable, but the disappointment around Cashman is baffling.

Yes, Cashman didn’t get Bryce Harper a few years ago. Yes, he did not make a move for Manny Machado when the Baltimore Orioles put him on the market. It was Cashman, though, who aggressively pivoted after losing Juan Soto to the crosstown rival New York Mets. Max Fried was a great pickup, and Cody Bellinger performed well. Devin Williams found his footing, and Ryan McMahon was a decent upgrade defensively.

It all falls back to the manager and the coaching staff. There seemed to be no sense of urgency, no tweaks or adjustments to fix the problems on the field. Instead, Boone and company decided to let it run its course and hope it fixed itself like it always seemed to do at the end of the year. It’s getting annoying, and there are no results.

The Yankees could fire hitting coach James Rowson after two years, seeing that the hitting is stale and freezes occasionally. They could also fire pitching coach Matt Blake after the Blue Jays series. Both of them, though, have their positives in their own right. One also has to wonder whether Boone is limiting their potential by watering down the club’s philosophies.

When Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez are saying “something’s wrong,” then something is really wrong. It would be a surprise, however, to see Boone gone over the winter. They’ll likely fire some low-level coaches and run it back for 2026.

The Only Good Things

Two good things came out of the ALDS, despite the ugly performance witnessed by Yankees fans.

For starters, Judge seems like he’s not going to slow down anytime soon despite his age. He’s currently playing at the highest level of his career, and perhaps, his best years are still to come, if that’s possible. To hit 50 or more home runs a year and be on track to win a third MVP is historic. The team needs him at that level for a while.

At the same time, Cam Schlittler arrived and is here to stay. He’s going to be a very important asset for this rotation when Gerrit Cole returns. At the same time, David Bednar appears to be the team’s closer, given his stellar performance in the postseason, and Tim Hill continues to give a left-handed option for the team.

Expect the team to go hard in the offseason for pitchers and infielders. They need as much help as they can get.

End Of My New York Yankees Rant

“It’s right in front of us,” is the term the Yankees are all too familiar with at the end of each season. They get into the playoffs, perform well on occasion, and then fall short. Something has to change with the atmosphere of the club and address some gaping holes in the lineup.

Perhaps they do make the dreaded move of firing Boone, or they make a move for Munetaka Murakami or Tatsuya Imai. It’s going to take one aggressive offseason and a shift in philosophy for this team to win another World Series. It all depends on what Steinbrenner wants to do.