The vastly unappreciated Aaron Boone
Aaron Boone surely knows this but, unlike yours truly, won’t say it out loud like we’re about to right now:
New York Yankees fans are spoiled brats.
There. We said it. The truth hurts, doesn’t it? But that damn Dr. Sharon was right on Ted Lasso: The truth will set you free, but first? It will piss you off.
But think about it. Most Yankees fans of a certain age not only have enjoyed the immense privilege of watching their team finish above .500 every year since 1993, but got to enjoy an unprecedented run of success soon thereafter. Five trips to the World Series in six years, winning four of them, including a wild three-peat from 1998-2000. Now, add winning 125 total games across the regular season and playoffs in that miraculous ’98 season.
And since then? It’s been a mix of no-shows and near-misses for the New York Yankees, with the 2009 World Series more a Last Dance of sorts than the dawn of a new era. The team has a generally good season en route to winning the AL East or securing a Wild Card, then fizzles out in either the ALDS or ALCS. More often than not, it’s from a lack of offense.
The Aaron Boone Era has been no exception since he succeeded Joe Girardi after the 2017 season. It’s often some variation of such: the Yankees defeat a lesser team in an early round, then the lineup vanishes against a rival team. It almost makes the 2024 Juan Soto season and subsequent run to the World Series like something played on rookie mode. The Yankees were the top seed in the American League that year, and then faced the Royals and Guardians from the weak AL Central before getting steamrolled by the Dodgers.
The same Los Angeles Dodgers going for baseball’s first three-peat since the lauded 1990s Yankees.
And who’s gotten the blame whenever the Yankees have stumbled? That would be Boone, and the armchair critics’ complaints all sound the same. Some version of blah blah blah George [Steinbrenner] never would have stood for this. Yadda-yadda-yadda Boone has no accountability (Admittedly, I’ve fallen into this trap). Wah, wah, wah, he’s a slave to analytics and doesn’t even make the lineup (He does).
So, let’s get this straight. Aaron Boone’s 603 wins managing the Yankees are all a fluke? Dumb luck? Both? Granted, having a three-time MVP and once-in-a-generation star like Aaron Judge helps, but even still. Boone is so unappreciated by Yankees fans to the point that it’s almost offensive.
Let’s give his tenure the full rundown, blow-by-blow:
- 2018- The Yankees win 100 games despite Judge missing six weeks with a broken wrist, settle for second place in the AL East and a Wild Card behind eventual champions Boston, who then eliminate the Yankees in the ALDS.
- 2019- Juiced baseballs mean New York wins 103 games and the AL East despite injuries to Judge and, well, everyone at some point. The Yankee lineup constantly plays from behind in the ALCS, losing to the Astros in six games.
- 2020- A global pandemic, injuries, underachieving, and more. The Yankees manage to clinch a Wild Card under weird rules and advance to the ALDS, losing the decisive Game 5 to the Rays.
- 2021- More injuries, more underachieving, and unjuiced baseballs. Cue the Yankees suddenly trading for Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo at the deadline, finishing with 92 wins, and losing to Boston in the Wild Card.
- 2022- The Yankees win a bittersweet 99 games, playing .500 in the second half as Judge makes history with 62 regular season home runs. The team’s offensive struggles are on full display despite reaching the ALCS, where they’re swept by eventual champion Houston.
- 2023- What a bad, bad season. Murphy’s freakin’ Law. Injuries. Aging. Underachieving. A team with no identity whatsoever that often seemed Aaron Judge and the Island of Misfit Journeymen. And yet, Boone still got 82 wins out of this ragtag crew.
And fans should look back on 2024 fondly despite losing the World Series. It was a great season. And it’s easy to forget winning 94 and 93 regular season games the next two years when the playoff results are so uninspiring. Especially when both times end in being eliminated by a division rival at Yankee Stadium.
But again. How much is it on Aaron Boone that his hitters don’t show up when it matters? That’s their job: see the ball, hit it hard and, ideally, hit it far.
Isn’t it a bit surprising on how the focus is more on what Boone hasn’t done than how he manages to keep the team afloat amidst the annual midsummer slump? Take a step back, and suddenly you see a guy who entered the lion’s den with no experience and fully embraced the challenge.
It might just be that in this next generation of great managers, Aaron Boone was destined to be Bobby Cox while Dave Roberts drew Joe Torre. And if Yankee fans stepped out of their Big Apple bubble for about five minutes? They’d learn that Cox was a pretty damn good manager!
Bobby Cox managed the Braves over two separate stints, but it’s the second one from 1990-2010 people remember more. Cox was Atlanta’s GM in the four years prior to that and took over midseason in ’90, so he was basically managing a team he built and scouted himself. He went 40-57 as the Braves finished in sixth place.
Starting in 1991, Atlanta would win their division 14 years in a row (’94 strike-shortened season excluded). The Braves also made the World Series and lost in 1991 and ’92. Cox would finally win the chip in 1995 before the Braves lost again to the Yankees in 1996 and 1999. Ironically, Cox spent his short playing career as an infielder with the Yankees, and was also on Billy Martin’s coaching staff in the 1977 championship season.
So think about that for a second. Bobby Cox’s teams finished in first place for 14 consecutive years. He made the World Series five times over that stretch, losing four times. Atlanta blew a 3-2 series lead in ’91, a 2-0 lead in ’96, and were swept in ’99. All while having three Hall-of-Fame pitchers in Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz. And two Hall of Fame sluggers in Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones.
A great regular season manager with elite pitching, largely thanks to esteemed pitching coach Leo Mazzone. Kind of sounds like Aaron Boone and his own pitching coach Matt Blake, doesn’t it?
Look, could the Yankees still fire Boone after yet another early playoff exit? Absolutely. In fact, after nearly a decade on the job, it’s half-expected. But as Chris Kirschner at The Athletic pointed out, that opens up the Yankees to potential logistical hell with a lockout looming.
No matter what happens, Yankees fans are fickle and demand results last week. Whether Boone is canned this week or three years from now, it won’t be long before fans miss him. After Cox retired in 2010, it was another eight years before Atlanta enjoyed consecutive first-place finishes. Brian Snitker might have won the team a ring, but to say Braves fans don’t get nostalgic for Bobby just a little bit is ridiculous. Especially those who grew up watching the team on TBS in the ’90s.
Win or lose, Yankees fans need a reality check. That the Yankees were even in the playoff conversation at all this year after losing both Judge and Stanton proves he has the room. Firing him and bringing in a new face doesn’t mean the Yankees become Mike Brown and the New York Knicks. That’s still on the players to show up with big swings, timely plays, and OG Anunoby coming in for a one-out save at some point.
Until then, make like Chris Crocker and leave Boonie alone.
Josh Benjamin has been a staff writer at ESNY since 2018. He has had opinions about everything, especially the Yankees and Knicks. He co-hosts the “Bleacher Creatures” podcast and is always looking for new pieces of sports history to uncover, usually with a Yankee Tavern chicken parm sub in hand.
