Despite going into the season with lots of optimism, 2023 was a year to forget for the New York Yankees. In a season filled with injuries, underperformance, and other miscellaneous issues; the Yankees missed the postseason for the first time since 2016. With all the issues on and off the field, the Yankees had no chance of following up on their successful 2022 season. While many people want the Yankees to fire manager Aaron Boone, given the team’s circumstances, I can’t name anybody who would have any success. I believe the Yankees did the right thing by bringing back Aaron Boone.
The Yankees Have Had Success Under Boone
Embed from Getty ImagesAfter this down year, people forget the Yankees have had lots of success with Boone managing the team. Aside from the COVID year, the Yankees won at least 92 games in four out of the six seasons with Boone at the helm. This included five straight trips to the postseason and two AL East titles. No manager in the history of baseball prior to Boone had that much regular-season success. Given the amount of success that Boone has had during his tenure, it’s only the right thing to do for the Yankees to continue with the current program.
He Is Just As At Fault For The 2023 Disaster As Everyone Else
Embed from Getty ImagesAaron Boone is just as accountable as the Yankees front office for the disaster that was the 2023 season. He is ultimately the person responsible for the team’s performance on the field. However, Boone isn’t responsible for players getting hurt or in trouble or the roster underperforming. All those things fall on the desk of general manager Brian Cashman. Cashman ultimately puts together the roster and Boone manages what he’s given for 162 games and possibly the postseason.
Key Players Were Constantly Injured
Embed from Getty ImagesThis season, the Yankees might as well have been a traveling NYC Health + Hospitals location. It seemed like every time we blinked, a key player was headed to the injured list for an extended amount of time. This season, Yankees players spent a total of 2,154 days on the injured list in 2023. The only teams with more days spent on the injured list were the Dodgers and Angels. Key players like Nestor Cortes, Anthony Rizzo, Tommy Kahnle, Jose Trevino, DJ LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton, Jonathan Loaisiga, Carlos Rodon, and more spent extended amounts of time on the injured list. Even Aaron Judge missed over a month of the season due to a foot injury. The Yankees suffered a rash of injuries before the season even began as well. With many key starters nursing various injuries, no manager in Major League Baseball could’ve been successful under those circumstances.
Distractions On And Off The Field
The Yankees had a couple of players get into trouble off the field. When a team is struggling, the last thing it needs is those kinds of distractions. The Yankees are no exception to this rule. Reliever Jimmy Cordero was suspended in early July for the rest of the season due to violating MLB’s domestic violence policy. At the time of Cordero’s suspension, the bullpen already had multiple players on the injured list. This shorthanded the Yankees bullpen even more, limiting Boone’s choices when making pitching changes.
Despite throwing MLB’s 24th perfect game in late June, starter Domingo German would miss the rest of the season and enter rehab for alcoholism in August. This all stemmed from an incident when German had been acting belligerently and allegedly under the influence of alcohol. He smashed a TV and overturned furniture and even had a confrontation with Boone and other teammates. This wasn’t the first incident this season involving German. In mid-April, German got ejected and suspended for ten games due to being caught with too much rosin on his hands. With German out for the rest of the year, Boone’s pitching staff was left even more shorthanded.
Stars Underperformed
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Yankees offense underperformed so badly this year that they fired hitting coach Dillon Lawson in the middle of the season. As a team, they had an OPS of .701, and only the Giants, Guardians, Tigers, White Sox, and Athletics finished with lower. Despite having so many capable RBI hitters in their lineup, the Yankees struggled to score runs. They only averaged 4.15 runs per game and only the Guardians, Tigers, Marlins, White Sox, and A’s scored fewer runs. As a team, New York struggled to hit with runners in scoring position, hitting just .227. Oakland was the only team that hit worse than the Yankees during scoring chances.
He Has Just One Guaranteed Year Left On His Contract
Boone has just one guaranteed year left on his contract before the Yankees can accept or decline a club option. The Yankees are better off letting Boone manage in 2024 rather than paying him to sit at home. He also still has the support of the clubhouse and firing him would require a new manager to begin that process all over again. They’ve had success with him before, it’s better to see if the Yankees can bounce back rather than make a rash decision based on one down year.
The Yankees Made The Right Decision
Embed from Getty ImagesThere is no doubt that Aaron Boone needs to make changes to how he manages next season. Given their payroll, there is no reason why they shouldn’t be in the postseason contending for a title. However, given all the injuries, underperformance, and other issues, Boone was in no position to be successful last year. It seemed as though everywhere you looked inside the organization a fire needed to be put out. It’s almost shocking that the Yankees didn’t finish under .500 and in last place. The organization might as well thank Red Sox owner John Henry for making that possible. With the team turning the page from 2023, the Yankees made the right decision to bring Aaron Boone back. Prior to this year, Boone’s program had been successful and he only has one more year left on his contract. The Yankees are smart for letting him see it through.
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1 Comment
Obviously payroll doesn’t guarantee that the coaches and the players mesh with one another. Seems to be too many egos and no comradery.