After the New York Yankees lost Game 1 of the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Yankee legend and Fox analyst Derek Jeter questioned New York manager Aaron Boone’s decision-making.

Starting pitcher Gerrit Cole had a big game for the Yankees. Cole allowed just one run on four hits. Additionally, since Cole walked no one and struck out only four batters, his pitch count after six innings was a modest 88. But with the Yankees leading 2-1, Boone went to his bullpen.

After the game, Jeter questioned the strategy.

“I know we talk about it all the time, and I don’t want to be one of those guys that says, ‘Back when we played,'” Jeter said. “But when we played the Mets in 2000, Al Leiter threw Game 6. He threw 140 or more pitches – 140 or more pitches. Gerrit Cole dominated this game. He dominated the game. And if you take him out after 88 throws, I don’t know for what reason, it has a domino effect, not just on this game tonight, the game tomorrow and the rest of this series. I just think when you have someone who can dish it out like Gerrit Cole did tonight, you keep him out there as long as possible.”

“Gerrit Cole dominated that game… And if you take him out after 88 shots, I don’t know for what reason, then it has a domino effect, not just on this game tonight, the game tomorrow and the rest of this series.” – Derek Jeter on Aaron Boone’s decisionpic.twitter.com/DpfEYNmFpu

– Terrible Announcement (@awfulanncreasing) October 26, 2024

We assume Jeter was referring to Game 5 of the 2000 World Series against the New York Mets, as his Yankees won that series in five games. But otherwise his memory is correct. Leiter threw 142 pitches in that game and threw one pitch until the ninth inning. On the face of it, we could even argue that Boone had less reason to remove Cole than Bobby Valentine had with Al Leiter in 2000. Game 5 of the 2000 World Series was a home game for the Mets – the National League champions. Without a DH, Leiter came to the plate three times. With the universal DH in place, that wasn’t a problem for Boone in Game 1 on Friday.

Jeter is also right in his comment about a possible domino effect. Ryan Ruocco criticized the decision to have Nestor Cortes pitch instead of Tim Hill in the ninth inning. That’s a perfectly valid criticism of a decision that might have cost the Yankees a game. However, the backlash is largely limited to Game 1. Going to the bullpen earlier than necessary will overload several relief pitchers, potentially weakening them for future games.

However, it’s also important to know what Cole has been doing lately.

Cole averaged 14.6 pitches per inning on Friday. Another inning at that pace would have put him somewhere just over 100 pitches. Admittedly, that doesn’t sound like much for a top pitcher like Cole. However, Game 1 marked Cole’s 14th start since early August. He threw 100 throws just once in the last 13 games – 101 in his last start of the regular season. In his first three postseason starts, Cole didn’t even reach 90 pitches. So while he dominated, sending Cole out for another inning wouldn’t have been without risk.

That doesn’t mean Jeter is wrong. But certainly a lot has changed in baseball in the last quarter century. While Jeter may have meant to say that the Yankees left Cole in the game, it wasn’t a slam dunk.

(Image credit: Fox Sports 1)