The New York Yankees failed to win the World Series once again. The number of years since their last World Series title has now grown to 16. The 2009 Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies that year in six games, and that's the last time Yankee fans were rewarded with the joy of a championship finish.
The 2025 Yankees regularly flashed their talent in both the regular season and the two rounds of the playoffs, but they lacked consistency. Manager Aaron Boone did not get the performances from his pitching staff, his defense or even his power-hitting lineup to make a legitimate run at Major League Baseball's championship.
There's nothing easier than blaming the manager — and that's not just a New York thing. It's just done a little bit louder on Broadway than it is any place else. When the Yankees lost Game 1 of the Wild Card series against the Boston Red Sox, the hue and cry for Boone's scalp was deafening. Every move that was made — or not made — was viewed as justification for getting rid of Boone.
However, there was no panic in the Yankee manager. He had seen a dominant performance by Garrett Crochet lead the Red Sox to a victory over an excellent game by Max Fried. However, the game was lost when Boone had to turn to his less-than-dependable bullpen and the Red Sox had a 3-1 victory.
The season should have been over at that point, according to the numbers. Losing the first game of a best-of-3 series has been fatal for all teams except this year's version of the Yankees.
Yankees showed life against Red Sox, but it was not enough
Instead of falling apart, the Yankees showed some resilience in tying the series with a 4-3 win when more-down-than-up Jazz Chisholm raced home from first base on a single by Austin Wells in the bottom of the eighth inning. They won the series a day late because rookie pitcher Cam Schlittler dominated the overmatched Red Sox.
The Yankees played with more fight and desperation than the Red Sox and emerged victorious in that series. The back slaps and congratulations gave Yankees fans hope of much more in the AL Division Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, but the Yankees pitching fell apart in Game 1 and 2.
That was not Boone's fault. The Yankees never had staff ace Gerrit Cole during the 2025 season, and while Fried and Carlos Rodon had good seasons, neither was good enough to slow down Vlad Guerrero Jr., Alejandro Kirk, Daulton Varsho and Ernie Clement from lashing the ball all over the Rogers Centre and Yankee Stadium.
Aaron Judge tried to counter as he hit .500 in the postseason (13 for 26) and delivered the game-tying three run home run in Game 3 against the Blue Jays, the only game the Yankees won in the series.
Poor performances from key players
But the rest of the team could not follow their leader's performance. Shortstop Anthony Volpe was one of the biggest problems during the regular season with his second-half batting slump and inconsistencies in the field. He showed some life against the Red Sox, but he was a disastrous 1 for 15 against the Blue Jays.
Some of the other guilty parties in the lineup included Cody Bellinger, Giancarlo Stanton, Trent Grisham and Chisholm.
Bellinger hit .214 with 1 home run and 4 runs batted in. Stanton hit .192 with no home runs and 4 RBI. Grisham hit a shocking .138 while being blanked in the home run and RBI category while Chisholm hit .182 with 1 homer and 1 RBI.
These were the players that Boone was counting on to produce against the Blue Jays, and they all but disappeared.
Pitching staff fell apart against Blue Jays
The pitching staff was brutal against the Blue Jays with the exception of Schlittler and David Bednar. The Blue Jays punished Game 1 starter Luis Gil and knocked him out after 2.2 innings in a 10-1 loss.
The Yankees had high hopes in Game 2 when Fried started, but the Blue Jays owned him with 8 hits and 7 earned runs in 3.0 innings. The Blue Jays rolled to a 13-7 triumph.
It was no better in Game 3 at Yankee Stadium as Rodon came out of the game after 2.1 innings after allowing 6 hits and 6 earned runs. The Yankees were trailing 6-1 at that point, but Judge led a comeback and the Yankees pulled out a 9-6 victory.
When starting pitchers get hammered in three consecutive postseason games, it's impossible to survive and advance.
This is clearly not Boone's fault. It could be much better in 2026 when Cole returns and Schlittler has a chance to turn into one of the team's cornerstone pitchers.
