The Yankees’ five best defensive plays of 2024

In the end, defense cost the Yankees the 2024 World Series . Misplayed balls in Game 1 allowed Freddie Freeman to come to the plate with the bases loaded in extra innings, and I thank the baseball gods that I was on public transit during the disastrous inning that cost them Game 5.

But despite the bad taste that these defensive miscues left in our mouth, the 2024 Yankees did manage to flash the leather quite a bit this season. After combing through the defensive highlights, here are the five plays that I deem most worthy of remembrance from the winners of this year's American League pennant. We're not ranking them because they're all glorious in their own way, but you can feel free to do so in the comments.

Note: Special thanks to Casey's posts highlighting the best defensive plays of each month throughout the season. There are so many plays that I wish I could've included, but as you'll see, I'm already cheating to get more than five year, and that's before I get to the honorable mentions. What can I say? The Yankees played defense drunk, just like they ran the bases, and it caused just as many fantastic plays as it caused us to roll our eyes in frustration.

Juan Soto bids hello When the Yankees traded for Juan Soto last winter, everybody eagerly anticipated the impact that his ability at the plate would have on the lineup. And yet, his first Yankee Moment would come not at the plate, but in right field. On Opening Day, with the Yankees clinging to a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the ninth, the Houston Astros managed to get runners on first and second with just one away and Kyle Tucker at the plate. The Houston right fielder grounded a ball to right field, Mauricio Dubón raced around third intent to score the tying run, and Soto gunned him down for the second out of the inning.

Ultimately, Soto provided much more value with his bat than he did with his glove, but it was one heck of an introduction to the Yankees fanbase, and the big Opening Day win over the rival Astros went a long way towards changing the vibes surrounding the organization.

Verdugo's Faceplants Alex Verdugo was largely a disappointment for the Yankees this year. After a strong start to the season, he lost his stroke and never recovered, ultimately putting together the worst offensive season of his career. Furthermore, he was inconsistent with the glove, including one of the worst mental mistakes of the season in the final game before the All-Star Break that turned one of the best wins of the year into one of its worst losses.

What nobody can doubt, however, is the fact that he threw himself 110 percent into every single play. First, on June 5th, he faceplanted into the wall tracking down a fly ball, leading to a very meme-able reaction of pure elation from starter Carlos Rodón.

Fast-forward two weeks, to the June 19th matchup with the Baltimore Orioles . After Jahmai Jones pinch-hit for Trent Grisham, Verdugo slid over from left to center field (Aaron Judge had the day off). With the bases loaded and two out, Anthony Santander laced a liner into deep center field. Once again, Verdugo made the play, crashing into the bullpen wall — this time at full speed.

Lastly, in the 10th inning of Game 1 of the World Series, Verdugo did his best Derek Jeter impression, catching a pop fly off the bat of Shohei Ohtani and tumbling into the stands. Had Freeman decided not to break our hearts two batters later, this would have been the highlight of the game; instead, like DJ LeMahieu's home run in Game 6 of the 2019 ALCS, it's a heartbreaking footnote.

Doubling Up in DC In terms of physical skill required, this might be the best play of the season. On August 26th in the nation's capital, former Yankee farmhand Andrés Chaparro drilled what appeared to be off the bat to be his first career home run.

Aaron Judge had other ideas. Not only did he rob the home run, he had the wherewithal to immediately throw the ball to Gleyber Torres at second, who relayed it to first baseman DJ LeMahieu to double up James Wood and end the inning.

A 3-2-5-1 Double Play Facing the defending NL champion Arizona Diamondbacks way back on April 2nd, the Yankees found themselves in an early hole: down 3-0 with just one out and runners on the corners in the bottom of the first. Jorge Barrosa, Arizona's No. 7 hitter, attempted a push bunt safety squeeze. Anthony Rizzo recovered the ball quickly, then fired it to Jose Trevino, who ran Eugenio Suárez back to third before tossing it to Oswaldo Cabrera and having him tagged out. In the meantime, Barrosa had wandered too far from first, hoping (alongside the runner at second) to take advantage of a rundown to at least have runners on second and third. Cabrera fired the ball to Nestor Cortes, who was on his way to cover first base. He tagged Barrosa out to end the inning on one of the most unconventional double plays you will ever see.

Soto's Scary Slide, and Other Plays Down the Line On September 19th, Juan Soto gave Yankees fans a scare. In the bottom of the seventh in Seattle, he made a sliding catch along the right field line to rob Jorge Polanco of another chance at the plate, then slid his knee hard into the wall. He struggled to get up, but fortunately stayed in the game, and although he missed a little bit of time, he proved to be alright.

That wasn't the only time Soto made a great catch down the right field line. Back on June 5th — the same day Verdugo slammed into the wall for the first time — he leaped into the stands to catch a foul ball.

As if we needed another reason to say, "Juan Soto must be re-signed."

Honorable Mentions Here are some other noteworthy plays that received consideration:

J-Rod forgets the ball is live, lets Yankees record double play in extras

Volpe takes it himself for the double play

Grisham's diving catches

Do you agree with this list? Let us know below!