Fired-up Boone signs 2-year extension with Yankees
Bryan Hoch
@BryanHochTAMPA, Fla. -- As he prepares to enter his eighth season as the Yankees¡¯ manager, Aaron Boone says ¡°there's no other place I¡¯d rather be, and no other team I¡¯d rather be doing it with.¡±
Boone¡¯s tenure in the Bombers¡¯ dugout has been extended by an additional two years, as the Yankees announced a new deal on Thursday that will take him through the 2027 season. The club had picked up Boone¡¯s option for '25 in November.
¡°I¡¯m just excited we were able to knock it out and get it out of the way,¡± Boone said. ¡°To get to do it in New York, in front of passionate New York Yankees fans, this is the end result that I certainly wanted.¡±
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman recently said managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner was involved in extension talks with representatives for the 51-year-old Boone, who has been the club¡¯s manager since 2018.
¡°I¡¯ve been optimistic, now, the last few weeks as they started to talk,¡± Boone said. ¡°I felt like there was common ground there and that we were going to be able to get to a place [where a deal could be reached].¡±
Team captain Aaron Judge said he was pleased by the announcement.
¡°It¡¯s great stuff,¡± Judge said. ¡°Leading us to the World Series last year, the amount of winning seasons we¡¯ve had, taking us to the postseason all those years, except for 2023 -- as players, having a leader like that who we can look to and come to, he knows all of us in this room.
¡°We¡¯re just in a good position. It helps us have this good foundation going in, knowing that it¡¯s not a one-and-done thing. We¡¯ve got him for a couple of years.¡±
With a 603-429 lifetime managerial record, Boone ranks seventh in wins on the Yankees¡¯ all-time list, having surpassed Billy Martin (556) last season.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Boone was the first manager in Major League history to reach the postseason in each of his first five seasons, doing so from 2018-22. Boone and Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts are the only two to do so in six of their first seven years.
Cashman said Boone¡¯s even temperament is one of his biggest assets.
¡°There¡¯s a lot of slings and arrows coming our way, despite -- even last year -- having a nice run,¡± Cashman said. ¡°It wasn¡¯t ultimately what we wanted at the end, but at the end of the day, he¡¯s handled all the ups and downs, the successes and failures, the same way. I think that is a strength; that is a benefit.¡±
Judge said Boone is excellent at allowing players to feel comfortable and show their personalities, both in the clubhouse and on the field.
¡°We¡¯ve got so many personalities that come through here -- different egos, guys that have won MVPs, won Cy Youngs,¡± Judge said. ¡°To bring us all together, he does such a good job with that. He just cares about all of us.¡±
However, Boone¡¯s clubs have also been unable to deliver the organization¡¯s elusive 28th championship, with the Yanks¡¯ most recent title coming under Joe Girardi in 2009.
The 2024 campaign marked Boone¡¯s first American League pennant, and the Yankees were defeated by the Dodgers in a five-game World Series. Boone said he understands why fans hungry for a title have expressed some frustration.
¡°I don¡¯t like that we haven¡¯t won a championship yet, so that bothers me,¡± Boone said. ¡°But I know what I signed up for when I got into this. I wouldn¡¯t want it any other way. The fact that it matters as much as it does here and that there¡¯s such a high standard and so much expectation, that so much beats the alternative in my view.
¡°I¡¯m confident in what I¡¯m doing. I feel like I¡¯m pretty good at this. But also it¡¯s the humility of sports, too, that always keeps you grinding and always keeps you on your toes. You know what you signed up for, and you understand that those [criticisms] are going to come your way. If you can¡¯t handle that, then it ain¡¯t for you. So I came in eyes wide open.¡±