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New York Yankees Reportedly Have Their Next Manager, Will Hire Aaron Boone

By Todd Betzold
Published on: 03:02 PST, Dec 2, 2017

The New York Yankees have been searching for their next manager since firing Joe Girardi back in October. It looks like they have finally found their man, as Aaron Boone is expected to be announced os the Yankees’ new skipper.

According to ESPN, sources have told ESPN‘s Buster Olney that Boone will be named the next manager of the New York Yankees. Boone, who has been an ESPN baseball analyst since 2010, has never managed or coached at any level.

ESPN stated that the Yankees’ decision to replace Joe Girardi came down to two candidates: Boone and San Francisco Giants bench coach Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens.

While Meulens and Boone were the final options, the Yankees did bring in four other candidates for interviews during the interview process. Those candidates were longtime Yankees coach Rob Thomson (ESPN states sources claim Thomson will now join the Phillies as their bench coach), recently retired outfielder Carlos Beltran, Dodgers third-base coach Chris Woodward, and former big league manager Eric Wedge.

Who Is Aaron Boone?

Boone is best known for his Game 7-winning home run back in the 2003 American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox. This extended the Red Sox’s curse and sent the Yankees to the World Series.

Aaron played third base from 1997 to 2009 in the big leagues and was an All-Star in 2003, which is when the Yankees acquired him from the Cincinnati Reds at the trade deadline. During the offseason, Boone tore a knee ligament while playing some pickup basketball after the 2003 season. New York released him and replaced him by acquiring Alex Rodriguez.

While he has no managerial experience, Boone said last month that would not be a problem, “I would say in a way I’ve been preparing for this job for the last 44 years.”

Coaching Where They Played

Once hired, Aaron Boone will become the ninth active manager to be at the helm of a team they played for. The others include Alex Cora with the Red Sox, Terry Francona with the Indians, Kevin Cash with the Rays, Dave Martinez with the Nationals/Expos, Paul Molitor with the Twins, Mike Matheny with the Cardinals, Dave Roberts with the Dodgers, and Craig Counsell with the Brewers.

No Alex Rodriguez?

Boone was replaced on the Yankees by Rodriguez. Many fans wanted Rodriguez as their next manager, but it looks like that was not an option right now. Senior vice president and general manager Brian Cashman said he did talk with Rodriguez about all the candidates, but Rodriguez was not one of them.

“I reached out to Alex a number of times, ‘Hey, what do you got?’ I looked for a lot of guidance from a lot of people that I have a lot of respect for, and Alex knows baseball as well as anybody. He never expressed interest in any way, shape or form in it. I engaged him, but — I don’t want to speak for him — but I don’t think he has any interest in that position.”

The Yankees lost in Game 7 of the ALCS to the Houston Astros. At that time, they decided to part ways with Girardi, who just completed the final season of his four-year, $16 million contract. Sources told ESPN at the time that Cashman recommended to owner Hal Steinbrenner that the team change managers.

The New York Daily News was first to report Boone’s hiring.

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