New York Yankees All-Star slugger and captain Aaron Judge once again went to bat for manager Aaron Boone as it pertains to Boone’s future with the organization.
“I’ve been with Boonie all the way since 2018,” Judge told Andy Martino of SNY ahead of Thursday’s home game against the Detroit Tigers. “He’s the guy…He has been there for us in good times and bad times. The guy shows up and supports his players. You can probably tell by the amount of times he’s been thrown out of games that he always has our back.”
Judge offered similar support for Boone last month amid conflicting stories regarding the 50-year-old’s status beyond what’s become a disappointing season. As recently as Thursday, Bob Klapisch of NJ Advance Media reported that he was “told two weeks ago a firing was a foregone conclusion, even though Boone had a year remaining on his contract.” However, Klapisch learned that information before the Yankees won five straight games and eight of nine to improve to 70-69.
Despite recent successes, the Yankees entered Thursday evening in last place in the American League East standings. They were six-and-a-half games back in the race for a wild-card playoff berth.
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner is expected to retain senior vice president and general manager Brian Cashman even if the Bronx Bombers miss the playoffs and finish in last place in the division. Steinbrenner revealed to Mark Didtler of The Associated Press last week he is “looking to bring in possibly an outside company to really take a look at the analytics side of what we do,” and it’s thought that could mean the end of Boone’s tenure even though he guided the Yankees to the postseason each year from 2018 through 2022.
Judge insisted Boone is the right skipper to lead both veterans and younger, could-be stars such as 20-year-old “Martian” Jasson Dominguez.
“I think [he] definitely [is],” Judge explained. “He is a great person for that.”
Judge added that “there are 28 guys in here that have (Boone’s) back.” Whether or not Steinbrenner will listen to those guys come October is anybody’s guess.
