Brian Cashman kept defaulting to the big picture. Yes, there were problems in fundamental areas on defense and especially baserunning, but that in the GM’s view did not prevent the Yankees from being a terrific team that reached the World Series.

The general consensus after the 2024 World Series was that the New York Yankees lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers because of lackluster defense, particularly in Games 1 and 5, and general manager Brian Cashman admitted that defense and baserunning were flaws for the 2024 Yankees.