David Lennon: Yankees manager Aaron Boone on thin ice after another playoff exit
Yankees manager Aaron Boone looks on during batting practice before Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Nine years of short Octobers, postgame clubhouses drenched in tears rather than champagne, and worst of all, no World Series titles.
Such is the legacy of Aaron Boone, who again vacated the Bronx turf for another opposing team to celebrate on — this time the Rays after their 4-3 victory in Game 3 swept the Yankees out of the ALDS on Wednesday night.
Boone’s contract guarantees him a 10th year in 2027. Based on his relationship with owner Hal Steinbrenner and general manager Brian Cashman, the expectation is that he will return. But the court of public opinion cast a much different vote as the stadium emptied for 2026, with the rightfield bleachers chanting “FIRE BOONE!” as the Yankees departed the dugout.
There’s a case to be made for that. October failure has been the hallmark of his Bronx tenure. Nine years, eight playoff trips, one World Series appearance, zero titles. Will that end up being Boone’s managerial epitaph in the Bronx?
He expects to be back, however.
“Yeah, of course,” he said after the game. “But those conversations are for another day.”
In Boone’s 11th-hour bid to save the season, his Game 3 lineup tinkering worked to some degree, as Anthony Volpe — who replaced Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second base — hit what looked to be a tying two-out, two-run homer in the sixth inning. But after review, it was correctly ruled fan interference, leaving the Yankees one run short on the RBI double.
Moving Trent Grisham to the leadoff spot, however, was a dud (0-for-5, three strikeouts), and he whiffed for the final out of the Yankees’ season.
Afterward, Boone explained how each October’s exit has been different. But there’s no escaping that he’s been the common thread for the past nine years, and the Yankees must be losing patience as their championship drought extended to a 17th year.
Boone does have one legitimate excuse this October, the absence of Aaron Judge, who was inactive for both playoff rounds. He did find a way to get the banged-up Yankees to 93 wins during the regular season — maybe the best managing job he has done, given that Judge played in only 66 games and Giancarlo Stanton played in only 24 — only to suffer the all-too-familiar postseason fate that has plagued his teams.
“He’s our manager, he runs this ship, he puts us in the right position to succeed,” Judge said late Wednesday night. “For him to manage it the way he did and put us in the best position to get into the postseason and get an opportunity to win a World Series, he’s definitely had our back and is the guy.”
Said Cam Schlittler: “I think Boonie’s been amazing. I know every guy in this locker room stands behind him. I don’t see a reason why that needs to change.”
Still, no manager worth his pinstripes has held the job as long as Boone without cradling the Commissioner’s Trophy. He ranks seventh on the Yankees’ all-time list with 1,355 games on his resume. Next is Billy Martin, who has only 941 but managed the 1977 champs.
Even Joe Girardi delivered a World Series ring, but despite piloting the 2017 Yankees to Game 7 of a surprise ALCS appearance in which they were upended by the cheating Astros, he was replaced by Boone.
By Wednesday afternoon, more evidence was piling up against Boone. The Yankees were facing an 0-2 hole against the Rays, had a nine-game road losing streak in the postseason and looked like Little Leaguers during Monday night’s four-error fiasco in the humiliating Game 2 loss at Tropicana Field.
Still, when Cashman was asked about Boone’s status three hours before Wednesday’s first pitch, his support hadn’t wavered.
“I think Boone’s a really good manager,” Cashman said. “We’re here for a reason. There’s a lot of reasons behind that, and certainly he’s part of that.”
Come October, however, Boone’s teams tend to unravel at the worst possible times, which is an especially alarming trait for the Yankees.
Two years ago, their World Series was derailed by a nightmarish fifth inning in Game 5 in which they kicked away a 5-0 lead on a series of miscues, highlighted by Judge’s dropped pop-up.
Last season, the Yankees were non-competitive in falling behind 0-2 to the Blue Jays in the ALDS, and it was Chisholm’s pivotal error in Game 4 that helped finish them.
For the third straight year, the Yankees’ self-sabotaging formula was on full display again this month, with more fumbling around in the field and the bats suddenly disappearing.
Another strike against Boone — Schlittler, the presumptive Cy Young Award winner, said after Monday’s sloppy loss that the Yankees “didn’t show up” for Game 2.
The manager disagreed. “We were ready,” said Boone, who actually went a step further in saying that he felt the Yankees looked “really crisp” in pregame warmups for Game 2.
So why the defensive implosion later on?
It’s been a continuing mystery for the Yankees, even though it keeps happening in October under Boone. At least the manager took action to correct some of the Yankees’ issues for Game 3 — on both sides of the ball — by replacing Ryan McMahon with Jose Caballero at third base and the Volpe swap.
Boone really had no choice. He couldn’t stick with the status quo with the Yankees’ season on the brink, and these were the only cards he had left to play.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Cashman wasn’t prepared to make any snap judgments about the precarious spot his Yankees — and their manager — were facing in the elimination game.
“I just want to let it play out,” Cashman said. “These guys are professionals. Their care factor is unquestioned and their commitment is unquestioned.”
As usual, Boone & Co. came up empty. Something has to change, and the manager deserves to be in that conversation.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
