Hall of Fame and legendary New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera said he would not have kept Aaron Boone as manager if he owned the team.
The New York Yankees were eliminated from the postseason this past Sunday, as they were swept by the Houston Astros in the ALCS. Fans were not pleased with the performance of the team, as evidenced by fans leaving in bunches during Game 3 and ticket prices cratering for Game 4. For those wondering if there would be changes at manager or general manager, owner Hal Steinbrenner answered one of them.
The Yankees owner revealed to Mike Didtler of the Associated Press on Wednesday that he will not be making a change at manager and indicated he will keep Aaron Boone. Steinbrenner stated that he believed Boone was a “very good manager.”
While speaking at the Sports Forum of the Panamanian Association of Business Executives, Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera said if he were the Yankees owner, he would not have brought back Boone. The quote comes from ESPN Deportes hours before the Boone decision was reported, which was translated by SNY.
Mariano Rivera disagrees with Hal Steinbrenner’s decision to bring back Aaron Boone
“If I’m the owner, Aaron Boone wouldn’t stay… when things don’t come out the way we want them to all of the fault goes on the manager and somebody has to pay the price and we won’t put that on the players,” said Rivera, h/t SNY.
Boone was re-signed to a three-year contract, which included an option for the fourth, last winter. That happened after the Yankees were eliminated in the Wild Card Game by the rival Boston Red Sox.
The Yankees cruised to a dominant AL East lead in the first half of the season, but then struggled after the All-Star break. They finished with a 99-63 record and won the AL East championship. But once the postseason came around, Boone’s decisions were criticized.
New York had to overcome a 1-2 deficit to the Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS to advance to the Astros series. Once that series came around, Boone’s bullpen decisions backfired, such as keeping in Clarke Schmidt for the sixth inning of Game 1 and removing ace Gerrit Cole from the sixth of Game 3 in favor of reliever Lou Trivino. Then, the drastic changes to the starting lineups throughout the ALCS, including starting three different players at shortstop.
Steinbrenner believes that Boone is the right man for the job, even though that the fanbase may not exactly sold, especially since it is the fifth straight year without a World Series appearance. But what is not known just yet is will Brian Cashman return as general manager, and how exactly does the team plan to tackle the upcoming offseason to win their 28th World Series title.