Entering the 2017 season, the New York Yankees thought they were beginning a rebuilding year. Nevertheless, led by young stars, such as Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez, the Yankees smashed all expectations. The young and fun “Baby Bombers” went on an electric playoff run and came one win shy of a World Series appearance. The Yankees’ inability to capitalize on a 3-2 series lead in the ALCS was enough for the front office to decide to move on from manager Joe Girardi. They replaced Girardi with Aaron Boone.
That offseason, the Yankees acquired the reigning National League MVP, Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton hit 59 home runs in 2017 and was arguably the best hitter in the MLB. Aaron Boone inherited a roster that came a game shy of a World Series appearance, plus the best hitter in the game. One would think Boone would instantly take this team to the promised land, but that’s far from what has happened. Throughout the Aaron Boone era, the Yankees have consistently added talent, making them World Series contenders, only to fall short in the playoffs. In 2018 they lost to Boston in the ALDS, then they traded for Edwin Encarnacion and James Paxton, and signed Troy Tulowitzki and DJ LeMahieu. In 2019 they lost to Houston in the ALCS and then signed Gerrit Cole. In 2020 they lost to Tampa Bay in the ALCS and then traded for Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo. In 2021 they lost to Boston in the Wild Card game and then traded for Josh Donaldson and Harrison Bader. In 2022 they lost to Houston in the ALCS and then signed Carlos Rodon, only to miss the playoffs in 2023. The way I see it, every time the Yankees underachieve, the common denominator was Aaron Boone. They overachieved in 2017, then brought in Aaron Boone, and have mysteriously been underachieving ever since. I did some research, and I may have figured out how Boone’s holding the team back:
FEEL FOR THE GAME:
Aaron Boone’s decision-making is extremely stat-motivated. Stats are a great tool for building a roster, for example, the 2002 Oakland Athletics. Stats are also useful for most in-game decisions. Nonetheless, in critical moments, a great manager must have some “feel for the game”. Dusty Baker and Bruce Bochy are two managers who have both won multiple World Series. In 2017, Dusty Baker’s Nationals’ pitching staff had a 3.88 ERA in the regular season. Baker’s incredible “feel for the game” helped lower their ERA to 2.66 in the playoffs. In 2023, Bruce Bochy’s Texas Rangers’ pitching staff had a 4.28 ERA in the regular season. Bochy’s incredible “feel for the game” helped lower their ERA to 3.87 in the playoffs. If the “feel for the game” wasn’t a legitimate factor, teams wouldn’t have managers. They would have a guy standing on the top step of the dugout with an iPad, reading out what the stats say to do in each situation. Aaron Boone lacks that “feel for the game”. The Yankees’ 5-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners on May 20th was the perfect example:
DOES HE HAVE HIS STUFF?:
For a pitcher to be at the top of his game during an outing, they perform several different preparations. There’s no guarantee that all of these preparations will be executed correctly every time. The top relief pitchers will be asked to pitch in up to 70 or more games per season. Therefore, it’s nearly mathematically impossible for them to perfect all the preparations and be at the top of their game in every single outing. They’re human, it’ll happen. Sometimes they won’t have their control, sometimes they won’t have their velocity, sometimes they won’t have their movement, and sometimes they’ll have multiple struggles. As I said above, even the pros are human, it’ll happen. Part of a manager’s job is to be able to recognize these outings. The manager has to know when the pitcher simply needs a few pitches to figure it out, and when the pitcher simply doesn’t have his stuff. If the pitcher doesn’t have his stuff, it’s the manager’s responsibility to get him out of the game before it’s too late.
During the Yankees’ win over the Chicago White Sox on May 19th, Clay Holmes pitched a scoreless outing. This was Holmes’ 20th consecutive scoreless outing to start the year. The next night, with a 4-1 lead over the Mariners, the Yankees brought Holmes in to pitch the 9th inning. Holmes’ best pitch is his Sinker. During his scoreless outing against the White Sox, the slowest sinker Holmes threw clocked in at 97 miles per hour. Not one of the first 5 sinkers Holmes threw against Seattle topped 95 miles per hour. Aaron Boone either missed this, or saw this, shrugged, and said “Well his ERA is 0.00 so he’ll be fine”. Despite the velocity difference, Boone kept Holmes in the game. Sure enough, he allowed 4 runs on 4 hits, and the Mariners came back to win 5-4. Out of the 4 hits Holmes allowed, 3 came off his Sinker. Is it Clay Holmes’ fault? Yes. Could Boone have easily prevented it? 1000%! It’s unfair to expect a reliever to throw 21 consecutive perfect outings. This happened in a random game in May, so it’s somewhat acceptable. However, if this happened in a pivotal postseason game, New York City would be losing its mind. In fact, the truth is, that this already happened in a pivotal postseason game.
UNDERACHIEVING VS OVERACHIEVIING:
In the 2021 Wild Card game, the Yankees faced the Boston RedSox. The Yankees started their ace, superstar pitcher Gerrit Cole. In the 88th percentile, Gerrit Cole was one of the most accurate pitchers in 2021, walking only 5.6% of the batters he faced. However, half of Cole’s first 16 pitches were balls, he clearly didn’t have his command that night. With still 0 runs allowed, Boone had an opportunity to take Cole out of the game and scrape together 25 outs from the bullpen. In the 2021 season, the Yankees’ bullpen was the 4th-best in the MLB, so relying on the bullpen wasn’t an outrageous idea. Instead, Boone kept Cole in and the RedSox scored 3 runs in the next inning and a half. After the game, the New York media was outraged. Everyone was talking about how the Yankees gave Gerrit Cole a 9-year 324-million-dollar contract, just for Cole to blow their season. However, a few years prior, there was a similar instance, with a very different narrative. In this game, the manager handled the situation properly, and a few weeks later the pitcher was viewed as a hero.
In the 2017 Wild Card game, the Yankees faced the Minnesota Twins. The Yankees started their ace, young star pitcher Luis Severino. Severino was unhittable in 2017 and allowed a home run to only 1 in 37.3 batters. However, he gave 2 home runs within the first 16 pitches of the game, he clearly didn’t have his stuff. Unlike Boone, the Yankees' current manager Joe Girardi, trusted his eyes and his bullpen. Girardi took Severino out of the game after recording only a single out. Girardi’s bullpen recorded 26 outs while allowing only one run, and the Yankees came back to win. Statistically, Severino’s 2.98 ERA would’ve been better than the Yankees’ bullpen’s 3.34 ERA. Yet, Girardi’s “feel for the game” told him to pull Severino, and it saved New York’s season. A couple of days later, the Yankees hosted the 1-seed Cleveland Indians in game 4 of the ALDS. The Yankees were down 2-1 in the series, so it was a win-or-go-home situation. Luis Severino put the team on his back and the S on his chest (Superman reference), and pitched a gem. Severino’s 9 strikeouts over 7 quality innings propelled the Yankees to an easy win. Throughout the game, the sell-out crowd in Yankees Stadium chanted Severion’s name on multiple occasions. Two nights later, New York took down Cleveland in game 5 and advanced to the ALCS. Severino was seen as a hero and a big contributor to the young team’s upset of the top team in the American League.
Severino’s Wild Card performance was worse than Cole’s how is it that he was seen as a hero while Cole was criticized and called a “waste of money” and a “bust”? The difference is that Severino and the 2017 Yankees had a manager with “feel for the game”, while Cole and the 2019 Yankees didn’t. It’s important to note not knowing when to pull pitchers is only one example of the many areas that Boone struggles with due to his lack of “feel for the game”. If you look at all the times in the Aaron Boone era, that the Yankees fell just short, one can only wonder what could’ve been. Look at their two 1-run losses in the 2018 ALDS, look at their heartbreaking loss in 5 games in the 2020 ALDS, obviously look at their loss in the 2021 wildcard game, and look at their two 1-run losses in the 2022 ALCS. Nevertheless, the question that bothers me most isn’t “What could’ve been?”, but rather “What will be?” The Yankees have an incredible team this year and are off to an exciting start. But will Aaron Boone hold them back and cause them to underachieve in the playoffs again?
RELEVANT BASEBALL REFERENCE PAGES:
Comentarios