Complacency, Disappointment, and Arrogance: The Yankees Are Bringing Back Aaron Boone For a 10th Season, Further Proving Winning a World Series Title Is No Longer a Priority

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It's truly incredible that I'm once again here writing this blog, but the definition of insanity is doing something over and over again expecting something different to happen. That's what Aaron Boone being at the helm of the New York Yankees feels like. It's extra fitting to type this blog just as another AL East team punches their ticket to the World Series. That's how it's gone in this era, a continuous humiliation ritual as a Yankees fan. 

Now I must preface something before I continue this blog. Aaron Boone is not the primary reason the Yankees have failed to win a World Series title over the previous nine seasons. That would be Brian Cashman, who is set to receive yet another contract extension in the coming days. He's family to the Steinbrenners and it'll be on his terms when he's done calling the shots. That doesn't mean Boone is absolved of blame. Make no mistake about it, he contributes to the failures of this franchise, he's just not the main culprit. 

Yesterday the news came through that Boone would be back for a TENTH season. In previous years I received this news with anger and shock. This time it was more exhaustion, along with expectation. 

Now if you want an idea of how they regard Boone at this point, just realize he's going to be managing his 10th season with the Yankees, but without any kind of extension. So he's good enough to run the show for a full decade, but not enough to guarantee anything further. Wonder why that is…

The thing about Boone here is he's coming off what I think was his best managerial job during a regular season as the Yankees manager. Without Judge for most of the year and no offense really to offer with that situation, the Yankees comfortably secured the top wild card spot in the AL. That allowed them to host the Red Sox in the wild card round where they would advance in two games. Waiting for them were the Rays, who would dismantle them in a three game sweep to advance to the ALCS. For the second consecutive year the team who out-classed the Yankees in the AL East all season long ended up dusting them in the postseason. For the ninth consecutive season under Boone, the Yankees lost their final game of the season. 

The problem here is that exact result has become the standard with this franchise. No longer is it championship or bust. The commercials on the YES Network may tell you that, but in reality the standard is 90+ regular season wins, a WC series victory over an inferior team, and an embarrassing postseason exit soon after. They chalk the season's failure up to injury or bad luck, and then they do it all again the following season. That's the M.O. under Boone. His job is not to win a World Series title. Clearly not or he wouldn't be back for a 10th season despite never winning one. Nope, Boone's primary objective is to be the face of the team's failures. In a way he's their very own version of the White House Press Secretary, but with way more job security. While the organization collects money hand over fist from their fans, he stands in front of the media and takes the brunt of the criticism full force. As part of the job, Boone refuses to hold any of his players accountable publicly or privately, and they adore him for that. Cashman then uses him as a scapegoat to distract from the fact that he's public enemy number one and constantly builds a roster with massive flaws to the modern game. All of that happens while Hal watches on from his ivory tower with no interest of ever showing an ounce of fight like his dad was. Instead of proving to the fanbase that he believes this isn't good enough, Boone keeps his job and manages this group of losers to their scheduled season's end sometimes in early October. It's all good. The team wins a bunch of regular season games, the Steinbrenners get some postseason ticket money, and they blame the bad ending on a crapshoot, one they mysteriously never win. 

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There are talking heads out there who laugh at Yankee fans for holding their franchise accountable. God forbid. The Jeff Passans of the world scoff at the idea that Boone deserves to be fired after all these years. Nine years of failure apparently isn't enough torture. Meanwhile, practically everyone else in the sport leapfrogs them at some point. This year was Tampa. Last year Toronto. 2024 it was LA. Plenty of other times it was Boston or Houston. Everyone but the AL Central. Credit to Boone, whenever the AL Central comes around he can strong arm them into submission. Well done, here's another extension. There is no manager or head coach in any sport across the globe with expectations like Boone has who has survived as long as he is. Whenever the 2026 season gets going Boone will become the 7th manager in franchise history to last 10 seasons, but he'll be the first to do so without winning a ring in that stretch. 

The first year I wouldn't have brought back Boone was 2021 after the embarrassing Wild Card loss in Fenway. In 2022 they weren't close to Houston in the ALCS. 2023 they missed the dance entirely. 2024 they beat up on the AL Central to make the World Series before getting out-classed in front of the entire country. Remember Boone putting in Nestor Cortes with Game 1 hanging in the balance despite the lefty having not pitching in a full month? Last year was another shellacking, this time at the hands of the Blue Jays. This year it was much of the same to the Rays. We had to watch him start Ryan McMahon twice in Tampa despite zero signs of life from him all season. Trent Grisham inexplicably led off in Game 3. The roster designed for platoons was never used that way when lefties came in. Sure Boone can manage the roster to 90+ wins most years, but once October rolls around every other team in the postseason knows you can beat his squads by simply making them play baseball. They see a Boone led squad in the playoffs and lick their chops. 

Again, this is on us the fans for getting upset. The organization has proven to us they do not hold winning the World Series as a priority. If they did there would be serious change and people actually being held accountable. Instead they are comfortable running it back, believing their process is better than everyone else. That's why in the coming days you'll get a Cashman extension followed by an end of the year press conference where they will tell us that Aaron Judge's injuries doomed them and there was nothing else they could do. The old Yankee way of demanding excellence is dead and gone. Now it's all about just getting to the playoffs and being proud. The tradition, mystique, and aura of this franchise has evaporated under Aaron Boone, and yet here we go for another season in 2027. I truly hate it here. Thank God for the Knicks.