Hal Steinbrenner took some time out of his day to talk about the Yankees, their start to 2023, and other things with New York Post writers Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman on “The Show” podcast. One of the topics that came up was manager Aaron Boone and his standing within the organization. That’s always an interesting topic, especially with New York off to a bit of a sluggish start.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Things have gotten better for the Yankees lately. They’re 7-3 in their last 10 games. While New York is still 7.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays, they’ve played them tough in two head-to-head matchups this year. And at 25-19, the Bombers are no longer in the AL East basement.
So, the panic has appeared to subside for the time being. And although Boone has done a good job of getting his squad to perform in the regular season, they’ve consistently come up short in the postseason.
Entering Wednesday’s action, Boone has a career 752-452 record, which susses out to a .601 winning percentage. In October, New York has advanced to the ALCS twice since he took over in 2018. On Both occasions, they’ve been eliminated by the Houston Astros, which included getting swept last season.
So, until Boone can prove the people wrong, there will always be a question as to whether he’s the man that can help the Yankees break their current World Series drought or not. While the skipper has made some puzzling in-game moves at points in 2023, none of that has put his job in jeopardy, according to Hal Steinbrenner. Here’s what he said it would take for Boone to lose his job in the Bronx (h/t to NJ.com):
I think one of the most important things for me is he has the respect of the players. They want to play for him and they want to win for him. And if I saw that disappear, then I make a change. And I’ve talked to Aaron about this, and people can say what they want to say about players not wanting to [play for him], that’s just not true. They do want to play for him. They want to win for him. They respect them. I think he’s a good leader of the players. He’s a good communicator.
I can take any manager and look at a hundred decisions he made during the game and I’m sure there’s a ton I won’t agree with. But he does a good job, just like [GM Brian Cashman] does.
For Yankees fans wanting Boone out of the dugout, this quote probably hurts. It hurts a little more since Steinbrenner used the last bit of it to also endorse Brian Cashman. He just signed a multi-year contract extension, so we already knew he wasn’t going anywhere, but sheesh.
So, there you have it, folks. Love him or hate it, Booney is probably sticking around for a while longer. Why? Because the boss says so.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
