The New York Yankees suffered more postseason disappointment this season after getting swept out of the ALCS by the Houston Astros. Now they will enter the offseason with some big questions, the biggest being whether they will be able to re-sign star slugger Aaron Judge in free agency. But New York may have to make a big decision on their manager Aaron Boone.
Boone has been the Yankees manager since 2018, and has had an interesting tenure leading the club. On one hand, New York has made the postseason in each season he's been in charge. But on the other hand, Boone has never been able to get the Yankees to the World Series, which has led to some very disappointing campaigns such as the one the team just wrapped up.
Along the way, Boone has made several questionable calls that have drawn the ire of Yankees fans everywhere, and after another disappointing campaign, many believe Boone's time with the club has run its course. Let's look at three reasons why the Yankees must move on from Boone this offseason if they want to begin winning in the future.
3. The Yankees have consistently failed to meet expectations under Aaron Boone
Boone inherited the Yankees at the perfect time. They were on the rise after their 2017 ALCS appearance, and seemed to be one of the top contenders in the American League on a yearly basis. But every season, things didn't seem to go as expected, and much of that falls on Boone's shoulders.
Boone has been gifted some of the best rosters in the league during his time in charge, but he hasn't been able to do anything with them. Take this season for example, as the Yankees got off to a blistering start before crumbling in the second half of the season. The players deserve the majority of the blame, but at some point, you need to look at who is in charge of things and question what is going on in the locker room.
Slumps like the one we saw this season have become far too common throughout Boone's tenure. If you want to win World Series titles, you can't really afford to have that happen. Boone has never been able to meet expectations in New York, and if the team were smart, they would decide that this season was the final straw for them.
2. Aaron Boone doesn't know how to manage a pitching staff
Arguably the biggest decisions you will need to make as a manager involve the management of your pitching staff, and this has been Boone's biggest weakness throughout his time with the Yankees. Filling out a lineup card isn't exactly difficult when you have guys like Judge playing on an everyday basis. But deciding how long to leave a pitcher in, who to bring in, and when to bring them in, is the key to being a successful manager.
Boone's tenure with the Yanks has been filled with questionable pitching decisions, especially in the playoffs. He can't manage his bullpen, and he often tries to get too cute with who he puts into the game. Rather than lean on his best arms, he tries to spread things evenly, which isn't going to win you games in the playoffs.
Worst of all, Boone has never learned from his mistakes. He made questionable decisions regarding starters Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes in Games 3 & 4 of the ALCS, and called on Lou Trivino of all people to get out of Cole's jam in Game 3. Boone doesn't understand what it takes to manage a pitching staff, especially in the playoffs, and that's a glaring weakness in his managerial resume that should convince the Yankees to move on from him.
1. Aaron Boone cannot lead the Yankees to victory in the playoffs
We have been hinting at this pretty much the entire article, but this is the biggest reason the Yankees cannot afford to let Boone return. He simply doesn't know how to win in the playoffs, and it's cost New York big time. They have had teams good enough to win championships go to waste because of Boone's foolish decisions when the lights are the brightest.
Every move Boone makes gets met with pushback from the New York media, but he hasn't exactly done anything to prove that his calls should be trusted. As previously mentioned, he has no idea how to manage his pitching staff, and he even made some questionable calls with his lineup in the 2022 postseason that made many Yankees fans unhappy.
It's not as if this is a one season aberration for Boone. It's been the same old song and dance for five straight seasons now, and over that time, it's become clear he's not the guy who will lead the Yankees to a championship. The Yankees would be wise to wake up and see the same thing the rest of the league sees, because if they can't, the same thing will keep on happening with each passing season.
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