Yankees manager Aaron Boone is generally always under fire because that’s the nature of the beast when you accept the position. However, the heat has been turned up this summer as the Yankees have endured an ugly slump in their attempt to return to the World Series and repeat as American League champions.
A terrific 35-20 start and a seven-game lead in the AL East have gone by the wayside over the past few months. Since that lead plateaued on May 28th, the Yankees are 27-36 (third-worst in the AL) and have been passed in the division by both the Blue Jays and Red Sox, and they are currently the third Wild Card, a mere half-game over the Guardians. Given that the Yankees’ preseason expectations are much higher than “clinging to the very last playoff spot,” that does not reflect well on Boone’s record — especially given the numerous instances of lackluster play and mental mistakes in addition to odd bullpen choices. It’s conceivable that the Yankees could miss the postseason for the second time in three years under Boone. No one has managed more games in franchise history without winning at least one World Series, and New York never even won a pennant under him until last year. And the less said about how that Fall Classic ended, the better.
Does the onus lie on the Yankees players themselves to simply play better? Sure. This is a talented roster, and they’re the ones playing the game on the field. There are copious examples from baseball history of teams succeeding despite having a manager who didn’t have a sterling reputation. Nonetheless, it’s not a shock to see fans exhausted by Boone at this point after eight years at the helm. So again, the heat is on Boone even if it’s unlikely that he actually goes anywhere given the extension he signed in February that runs through the end of the 2027 campaign.
One of Boone’s former players recently offered some insight on the process of how Boone was chosen as the Yankees’ skipper in the first place back during the 2017-18 offseason. Outfielder Clint Frazier was once a top prospect in the Yankees’ system and never quite realized his potential in New York outside of starts and stops here and there from 2017-21. Now retired, he just started a podcast to offer up some unfiltered insight, aided by his past experience in big-league clubhouses. If I am being frank, I listened to the first episode, and there were factual inaccuracies that were not corrected by his co-host, not to mention some—shall we say—bold personal claims.
That being said, Frazier did have some interesting thoughts, specifically his recollection of the Boone hiring. To give some brief background, the Yankees had a comeback season in 2017 (led by a youth movement that starred then-rookie Aaron Judge) and held a 3-2 lead over the Astros in the ALCS before losing two games in Houston to end the year in heartbreaking fashion. Despite coming closer to a World Series return than in any other season since 2009, the Yankees chose to let manager Joe Girardi’s contract expire and hire a new leader in the dugout; prior to 2017, they had missed the playoffs in three years out of four, losing a one-game Wild Card playoff in the lone exception, 2015. The decision to move on from Girardi even after the successful 2017 was fascinating enough on its own.
Frazier had debuted under Girardi in July 2017, so he was obviously curious to see who would be the next Yankees skipper. According to Frazier, the popular choice in the clubhouse was bench coach Rob Thomson, who is now the Phillies’ manager and led them to a National League pennant in 2022 (coincidentally after replacing Girardi midseason).
KANSAS CITY, MO – APRIL 8: Manager Joe Girardi and bench coach Rob Thomson of the New York Yankees watch from the dugout during the game against the Kansas City Royals on April 8, 2008 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by G. Newman Lowrance/Getty Images) Getty Images
Frazier recalled Girardi telling him early on that he almost considered Thomson to be more of the team’s manager than he was, since he was so involved with on-field strategy and pregame prep. So it wasn’t surprising to see Thomson’s name among the finalists for the job, which also featured Boone, the just-retired Carlos Beltrán, and Giants hitting coach Hensley Meulens.
Here’s the full quote (and clip) from Frazier on the clubhouse’s preference for Thomson, and what caused the organization itself to apparently feel uneasy:
”When the next season rolled around, I heard something through the grapevine that when [Joe] Girardi was fired, and they’re going through situations to find the next manager, every player on the team wanted Rob Thomson to be the manager. I still to this day know he was the guy. He would’ve been such a good option. I’m not taking anything away from Boonie, but Rob Thomson was the guy who probably should’ve gotten the first look.
“But from what I was told was that when he went into the meeting, he told the team that he wouldn’t have done anything different from what Joe Girardi did. So they’re kind of like… ‘F*ck, how are we gonna get past what we just got through if his successor is saying that he wouldn’t do anything differently?’
“So if Boonie were to go, the next guy cannot come in and do everything the same. That’s just the reality of not just being a New York Yankees manager, it’s being … in a normal workplace too, if something’s not working, you can’t have the same person come in and do the same thing that the person you just fired did.”
It’s probably not surprising that the Yankees’ players preferred Thomson. He was who they knew and already trusted, having come to the precipice of the World Series with him at Girardi’s side. And given how much the Phillies’ players loved Thomson’s personality leading them in contrast to Girardi a few years later, it’s not hard to connect the dots of the Yankees liking Thomson a lot, too.
Thomson also had decades of coaching experience in the majors and minors. This was a stark contrast to Boone, who was a complete newcomer when the Yankees decided to hire him as their manager. He had a long, successful playing career and immediately transitioned to broadcasting. He spent eight years with ESPN, ultimately ending up on Sunday Night Baseball and even announcing the Yankees’ 2017 AL Wild Card Game. The Yankees liked the cut of his jib and seemingly thought that Boone’s media experience would prove valuable while also forming a closer bond with the players. Evidently, Thomson’s reluctance to handle matters differently than Girardi was an issue.
Frazier was careful to say that he didn’t necessarily think that the choice of Boone over Thomson (and others) cost them a championship or that he thought it was a mistake. He has been complimentary of Boone and was a part of two 100-win teams under him, falling two wins short of the World Series in 2019. Frazier has also been quick to state that if fans got their wish and Boone was gone, meaningful change wouldn’t necessarily be instantaneous due to the other personnel involved in the Yankees’ decision-making process, which involves Boone but is not dictated by him. But Frazier has also taken note of the Yankees’ lapses and the fact that they haven’t been playing well for awhile.
All of this only means so much in the year 2025 and honestly is best served as a historical reference point for what was going on behind the scenes around the time that Boone got the job. It doesn’t feel like Frazier was on the Yankees all that long ago, but the only overlapping players between the current club and the 2021 team he departed are Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Jonathan Loáisiga, and Luis Gil (plus Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt on the IL). And of course the only holdover from 2017 is Judge. Although the team certainly liked Thomson, they didn’t know Boone beyond the fact that he was a former player and media personality. All iterations of the Yankees have pretty much always had his back since, as Boone is without question a player’s manager.
As to the question of whether Boone is too much of a player’s manager and that could be part of the issue? Well, that’s a topic for another day.