Yankees Ace Gerrit Cole Explains Costly World Series Mistake

The Yankees hoped to make World Series history, but instead, they asked themselves, ‘What if?’

Gerrit Cole was dominant in his Game 5 start Wednesday. The ace struck out six Los Angeles Dodgers batters in 6 2/3 innings, but a costly mistake in the fifth inning was the story of the night for New York.

Cole forced a groundout to first with the bases loaded and two outs. Anthony Rizzo secured the ball but had no one to throw it to. Mookie Betts was safe and delivered a run to cut the deficit to 5-1. The error was part of a litany of defensive mistakes during the fifth inning allowing Los Angeles to tie the game up and eventually close out Game 5 to win the World Series.

It’s hard not to think that if Cole had just covered first the Yankees would have won Game 5 and sent the series back to Dodger Stadium. Instead, the 34-year-old was left at Yankee Stadium answering for his mistake.

“I took a bad angle to the ball. I wasn’t sure, off the bat, how hard he hit it,” Cole told reporters, per SNY. “I took a direct angle to it as if to cut it off because I just didn’t know how hard he hit it. By the time the ball got by me, I was not in a position to cover first. Neither of us were based on the spin of the baseball and him having to secure it. Just a bad read off the bat.”

Fans probably won’t buy the 2023 Cy Young winner’s excuses. In fairness to Cole, the Yankees retook the lead in the sixth before their bats went quiet in the final two innings. It’s also not guaranteed New York would have continued to win if the series continued.

However, it could be a costly error that haunts the Yankees for years to come.