David Ortiz makes his view on Yankees' problem incredibly obvious in latest assessment

It’s always a tough pill to swallow when someone that you may not have a ton of affection for makes a great point. It just adds a whole other layer of insult to injury. Case in point: David Ortiz just made a pointed observation regarding the New York Yankees and their most recent early playoff exit. And his take is 100 percent valid. 

After being swept by the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS, there is certainly a lot of blame being thrown around the Yankees' camp. Whether it was the frustratingly amateurish defense or the lack of production from many key bats in the lineup, you could point to a number of factors for the team's disappointing showing this postseason. 

But according to Ortiz, the blame shouldn't be directed solely at the players' performance on the field. While appearing on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, Ortiz suggested that the blame should be focused on the absence of a winning culture in the Yankees clubhouse. You can probably guess who is most in charge of ensuring that culture is alive and well. Without directly naming Yankees manager Aaron Boone, it seems like Ortiz has singled him out. 

It wouldn't be incorrect to lay the lion's share of the blame on Boone. After all, he’s the person most responsible for ensuring that the players are in the best position to win. He needs to be able to keep the roster sharp and make sure the leaders in the clubhouse are doing their jobs. Ortiz noted that once Derek Jeter retired, the allure of the Yankees seemed to dim just a little bit.  

“Jeter, who was the captain of the ball club, you wouldn't see those small things,” Ortiz said of the Yankees. “It seems like they walked away from the real culture. You see things happening left and right with players.” 

David Ortiz knows a thing or two about the Yankees and winning culture

Now, Yankees fans can dislike Ortiz for his alleged ties to performance-enhancing drugs or for his time on the Boston Red Sox all they want. Either one is fair. But the truth of the matter is that he knows his way around the game of baseball. He also knows what it takes to build a culture of winning inside any clubhouse. So for him to point to the lack of the Yankees’ once-famous tradition is very telling for the organization. 

“They have the talent,” Ortiz added. “Talent is not the problem.” 

You could look at the Yankees’ win-loss record throughout Boone’s coaching tenure and see a team that knows how to win. With a 790-565 record in nine seasons, Boone has done well as Yankees manager. And with a World Series appearance in 2024, he’s guided the clubs to wins in the postseason as well. But like we saw during this postseason, a number of small things you'd expect from a winning club were missing during their run in 2024 as well. 

From foolish mental errors or questionable game management to backbreaking misplays on defense, the Yankees got in their own way in their World Series matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The same way that they tripped over themselves against the Rays in the ALDS. 

Players are only human and mistakes will happen, even at unfortunate times. But as Ortiz alluded to, you just very rarely saw those types of mistakes with Yankees teams in the past. There was a sense of accountability on the team and veterans to help enforce that accountability. Ortiz noted that the current iteration of the Yankees lack that accountability beyond Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. That ultimately cost the team this October.  

“It seems like they had no chance without those two guys in the lineup,” Ortiz said. 

There has been something missing from the Yankees that prevents them from achieving the ultimate goal of every season. And that's to win a World Series. They have been painstakingly close, but they have often lacked that real Yankees polish to shore up every aspect of the game. Ortiz may not be Yankees fans’ favorite person, but he accurately summarized what has been missing from the ball club over the last several years. 

The big question is whether or not the organization will have the awareness to address the issue. 

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