SAN ANTONIO, Texas — As long as the New York Yankees’ championship drought persists, the fifth inning of Game 5 in the 2024 World Series will be a symbol of their humiliation. In stunning fashion, the Yankees embarrassed themselves on baseball’s grandest stage.

Aaron Judge dropped a routine line drive, Anthony Volpe misfired a short throw to third base, and Gerrit Cole failed to cover first. Each of those moments contributed to the Yankees blowing a 5-0 lead and ultimately losing the World Series in five games to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

But it wasn’t just Game 5. In Game 1, a series of misplays — small yet critical — could have altered the outcome in the Yankees’ favor had they executed more efficiently. Throughout the World Series, they also committed several base-running blunders. The Yankees were roundly criticized for their lack of fundamentals, and Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly didn’t mince words, mocking the Yankees by suggesting their sloppy play was a known weakness. He even quipped that the Yankees were the eighth- or ninth-best team in the postseason and claimed Dodgers’ scouting reports indicated that putting the ball in play would force mistakes from New York’s defense.

“I acknowledge that we played poorly in the World Series,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said at MLB’s general managers’ meetings Tuesday. “We all saw that. Unfortunately, our A-game didn’t show up when it mattered most.”

Cashman said Kelly’s comments were overblown and he felt the reliever was making a personal attack against the Yankees. When he was with the Boston Red Sox, Kelly was involved in a brawl with the Yankees after plunking Tyler Austin with a pitch in 2018. Cashman said he had conversations with members of the Dodgers organization who said Kelly’s comments were more indicative of how a small segment of their club felt rather than the organization at large.

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Still, the Yankees’ sloppiness was a consistent issue throughout the year. Privately, as the postseason approached, several high-ranking executives expressed concerns about the team’s defensive lapses and base-running mistakes, particularly in the second half of the season.

Despite these shortcomings, the Yankees’ overall defensive metrics were still respectable. They finished 10th in outs above average, ahead of the Dodgers, who ranked 18th. The Yankees also placed 12th in defensive runs saved and 10th in FanGraphs’ defensive runs above average. Though the critical mistakes are the ones that will be remembered the most, this wasn’t a team that regularly kicked the ball around the field, as some have suggested in the aftermath of the World Series.

“The question posed is if the Dodgers are exceptionally excelling in all categories at every position. They’re the world champs and get all the credit, but I don’t think it’s a fair representation at the same time,” Cashman said. “I think it’s more fair to say that we just played poorly in that series and underperformed. I think we underperformed more so than ‘(we were) lucky to get into the World Series, and how did we even get there?’ We had a good team. Unfortunately, we just didn’t play our best when it counted the most.”

Base running, not defense, was the Yankees’ most glaring weakness throughout the season. They ranked dead last in FanGraphs’ base-running runs above average metric and in Statcast’s comprehensive base-running metric. They were also tied for last in team sprint speed. The root cause of their struggles on the basepaths is clear: Nearly every regular is slow. Aside from Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Volpe, the other seven members of their regular starting lineup posted sprint speeds below the 50th percentile. It’s difficult to excel at base running when the majority of your lineup lacks speed.

What might surprise some fans, however, is that the Yankees’ director of speed development and base running, Matt Talarico, is interviewing for three MLB coaching jobs, according to Cashman. Talarico, who works with the major-league and minor-league staff, has had success developing speed in the Yankees’ minor-league affiliates. Their Triple-A and Double-A teams finished in the top three in stolen bases this season.

“I think we’re considered one of the best in the business with our base-running program,” Cashman said. “It’s not representative, clearly, with what you saw with the major-league club. It certainly is an emphasis for us.

“If we’re so bad, then why are so many teams asking for permission to talk to our base-running expert that does our major leagues and our minor leagues?”

The Yankees could lose Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo, Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres to free agency; each is considered a below-average base runner. Though the team has made it clear that re-signing Soto is a top priority, replacing the other three with more agile players could immediately improve the Yankees’ base running in 2025. Cashman mentioned Caleb Durbin as a potential internal candidate to take over second base next season if they decide not to re-sign Torres. Durbin, who is on pace to break the Arizona Fall League record for stolen bases, could bring much-needed speed to the lineup.

Despite not being the most fundamentally sound team in baseball, the Yankees still made it to the World Series. Of course, the goal is to win it all — and their fundamental mistakes certainly hurt them in their quest for a title. However, Cashman remains adamant that poor fundamentals were not the primary reason for their downfall.

“We had a struggle with our base running this year. We were a bad defensive team, without a doubt, at times this year. And when you add it all together, we were a really good baseball team that earned the right to win the American League East and make it all the way to the World Series,” Cashman said. “We’re really super proud about it.”

(Photo of Aaron Judge making an error in Game 5 of the World Series: Wendell Cruz / Imagn Images)

Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch was ejected from Sunday’s rivalry matchup against the Green Bay Packers, and he decided to flip the double-bird to the Lambeau Field crowd on his way out. 

Having time to reflect on the situation, Branch regrets doing so. 

“That’s not something I want to show or want people to notice me as that,” Branch told reporters, via ESPN. “That was just the heat of the moment for me, and I apologize to everyone who seen that and that won’t happen again.”’

Branch was ejected due to a hit to the helmet of Packers receiver Bo Melton on an incomplete pass from quarterback Jordan Love. 

After the league reviewed the hit in its video replay headquarters, they alerted officials in Lambeau that Branch’s hit was deemed severe enough for immediate ejection. 

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Branch argued with officials after the ejection, and he added an extra 15 yards for another unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for flipping the bird to fans. 

“I most definitely agree with the call. My target was obviously high, but that was never my intentions to aim for the head,” Branch said. “Moving forward I do have to move my target down.”

Detroit Lions defensive back Brian Branch (32) talks with field judge Jonah Monroe (120) and field judge Karina Tovar (91) after being disqualified from the game during the second quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. (Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images)

Lions head coach Dan Campbell believed Branch’s punishment was due to the game being nationally televised as “America’s Game of the Week.”

“He’s got to get used to that,” Campbell said. “When you play in primetime games, New York’s gonna look at all these. They don’t care about the 1 o’clock games. They do those primetime games. So understand the situation.”

Perry Fewell, the NFL senior vice president of officiating, told a pool reporter that multiple angles of the hit were reviewed and there was the belief Branch could’ve taken an alternate route to hit Melton. 

“He clearly had the opportunity to avoid the head and neck area,” Fewell said. 

Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch talks to assistant linebackers coach Shaun Dion Hamilton after being disqualified by the referee during the first half against Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (IMAGN)

The Lions were still able to beat the Packers, 24-14, to move to 7-1 and remain atop the NFC North standings. If Green Bay beat Detroit at home, they would’ve assumed the top spot in the division.

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The NFL had a flurry of action at this year’s trade deadline, which was Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.

A year after 15 deals took place, 19 players changed teams during the 2024 in-season trade window. Wide receivers were in high demand, as were pass rushers, and in many cases, this was a case of the rich getting richer.

Here’s a look at the winners and losers of the trade window.

Injuries have ravaged the defending Super Bowl champs’ wide receiver unit. So general manager Brett Veach went out and got Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid a new weapon in the form of five-time Pro Bowl/three-time All-Pro wideout DeAndre Hopkins. It appears as if Hopkins is making a seamless transition from Tennessee to Kansas City. He had eight catches for 86 yards and two touchdowns in Monday night’s overtime win over Tampa Bay. And if that weren’t enough, Veach also worked to fortify the Chiefs’ already stout defense by acquiring pass rusher Josh Uche from New England. Veach had to give up only a conditional fifth for Hopkins (the pick could become a fourth-rounder, but that’s worth it for a receiver of his caliber) and sixth for Uche. The only negative for Kansas City: It didn’t land help at defensive back, another area of real need.

Loser: AFC challengers

Rampant injuries appeared to make the Chiefs susceptible to a dethroning by AFC nemeses Baltimore, Buffalo or Cincinnati. They absorbed each blow and still eked out victories to remain undefeated, but there were plenty of questions about sustainability. Now, however, after acquiring reinforcements on both sides of the ball, Kansas City very well could have everything it needs for a historic Super Bowl three-peat. The only saving grace for the Bills and Ravens is that they both met needs by adding wide receiver help as well.

They lost top pass-rusher Aidan Hutchinson to a tibia and fibula injury and their defense still remained disruptive in the three weeks since. It was no secret, though, that the Lions wanted pass rushers to help fill the massive void. Tuesday, they landed one of the top edges on the trade block in Za’Darius Smith, who recorded five sacks, seven quarterback hits and 23 tackles for Cleveland this season. Count Smith as a winner as well. He goes from the Browns, who could suffer double-digit losses this season, to the Lions — legit Super Bowl contenders.

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The Lions remained formidable without a top-level replacement for Hutchinson and STILL earned victories over NFC North challengers Minnesota and Green Bay to improve to 7-1. Now defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn receives additional help to go after Sam Darnold and Jordan Love while the Lions try to add to their division lead.

Winner: Pro Bowl wide receivers

Hopkins, Davante Adams, Amari Cooper and Diontae Johnson all found themselves trapped in disastrous, dead-end situations in Tennessee, Las Vegas, Cleveland and Carolina, respectively. But the football gods smiled upon them, and all four wound up getting traded to better situations. Well, Cooper, Hopkins and Johnson did. It’s debatable whether the Jets are going anywhere, but Adams at least can now catch passes from a friendly face in Aaron Rodgers. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh acquired veteran receiver Mike Williams from the Jets, making him a winner as well. He has never reached the Pro Bowl, but Williams certainly can help the Steelers and escapes New York, where he struggled to connect on the field with Rodgers.

Winner: Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens scored on multiple fronts. First: The Panthers were so desperate, they were willing to part with Johnson for virtually nothing (a late-round pick swap). Johnson, who earned Pro Bowl honors in 2021 with Pittsburgh after recording 1,161 receiving yards, averaged 873 receiving yards per season entering 2024 and should help improve a unit that features Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman. Second: The Ravens also got help for their defense by acquiring Tre’Davious White from the Rams. White earned Pro Bowl honors in 2019 and 2020 but has since battled injuries. The 29-year-old has played in only four games this season but could bring depth to Baltimore’s secondary if he can stay healthy. If not, Baltimore gave up next to nothing (seventh-round pick swap) to get him.

Other teams had interest in pass-rusher Azeez Ojulari, but none of the offers satisfied the Giants enough to pull the trigger on a deal. Ojulari could’ve helped someone else. He has six sacks despite playing behind Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, and the Giants could have used the future picks to fortify their weak roster. Instead, Ojulari stays put and New York adds no resources.

Winner: Pittsburgh Steelers

First they got much-needed help at receiver, landing the veteran Williams from the Jets. Then they got a durable pass rusher to line up opposite T.J. Watt by acquiring Preston Smith from Green Bay. The Steelers are working hard to maintain their edge over Baltimore in the AFC North standings.

On one hand, the acquisition of Marshon Lattimore from the Saints helps fill a real position of need. On the other, Washington gave up a third-, fourth- and sixth-round pick for a player who hasn’t played a full season since 2021. But if Lattimore can stay on the field and play at his four-time Pro Bowl level, this move makes Washington better. If his playing time remains sporadic, giving up third- and fourth-round picks (potential core players) will sting a bit. But the Commanders had an extra third-rounder thanks to the Jahan Dotson-to-Philadelphia trade, so they essentially flipped a bust of a first-round pick for a potential No. 1 veteran cornerback. That’s not bad at all.

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Loser: New York Jets

Yes, they got Adams, which makes Rodgers happy. But was it really worth it? A dramatic turnaround appears highly unlikely for the 3-6 Jets, who would’ve done better to unload veterans beyond Williams and get more picks for the future, even if GM Joe Douglas may not be around to use those picks next spring.

(Top illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; photos of Azeez Ojulari, Diontae Johnson and Za’Darius Smith: Cooper Neill / Getty Images, Nick Wass /Associated Press and Nick Cammett / Getty Images)