Magic Johnson Was So Happy Watching Yankees’ Fifth-Inning Implosion in World Series

Screengrab on Twitter/ @MLBNetwork

The New York Yankees looked like they were going to force a Game 6 in the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers after an early offensive spurt— and then the fifth inning happened.

Despite taking a 5-0 lead into the fifth, the Yankees saw their championship chances dwindle every second in that inning as New York suffered one of its most embarrassing defensive meltdowns in postseason history. In one of several mistakes committed by New York, Aaron Judge flubbed a routine catch on Tommy Edman’s line drive for his first error of the year.

At that moment, Lakers great and part-time Dodgers owner Magic Johnson was seated and ready to watch his team complete the comeback. 

"I was thinking, ‘Thank God,’" Johnson said of Judge’s blunder. "Because the momentum, (the Yankees) had the stadium rocking. And once that happened, all the momentum switched."

"I had the jet fueled up because the Yankees were doing everything right, they were pitching strong, they were hitting home runs,” continued Johnson. “And they had everything going. But this changed the game for us. And then here we come, scoring five runs. And then I thought we had a shot."

The Dodgers would send 10 batters to the plate and score five runs during the Yankees’ fifth-inning collapse, opening the door for them to take control of the game and beat the Yanks, 7-6, to clinch the franchise’s eighth championship.


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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.