Joe Girardi provided the Yankees with a ton of experience, leadership and a seasoned and conventional baseball mind, but in many ways, the Yankees upgraded and hired someone more fitting of the manager label in baseball royalty Aaron Boone. A position such as manager of MLB’s prized franchise is one that is reserved for superstars.
Billy Martin was a fiery World Series manager and a superstar. Joe Torre was the stoic, Brooklyn-born Godfather and a superstar. Joe Girardi was… a winner. Among the many changes that General Manager Brian Cashman is instituting for the future is a return of the flamboyant, superstar Yankees skipper.
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Aaron Boone is a perfect fit for the @Yankees, writes @richardjustice: https://t.co/1rYgoGRAWU
Cashman is now the most powerful man in the organization and feels like he can construct a system that alleviates the importance of managerial strategy and puts some of those responsibilities in the hands of the GM. Cashman got rid of Girardi because his plan is to modernize and micromanage the way managers function in MLB. He craves more control of the entire operation, driven by metrics and analytics. Cashman wants to make the construction of championship teams a perfect science, run by a philosophy of winning rather than the whimsical decisions of a manager who the front office may not agree with.
Girardi will surely be a tough act to follow as far as in-game managing and grasping the nuances of the craft, but Boones family is one of the royal families of baseball. They extended generations and are well respected. Legacy is the real deal when you speak of The Boones.
Aarons grandad Ray was a two-time All-star third baseman for Detroit in the 1950s, during his 13-year career. Aarons dad Bob, now a front office big wig with the Washington Nationals, made four All-Star teams and won seven Gold gloves in 19 years as a catcher. Brother Bret Boone spent 14 years in MLB and Aaron lasted 12 years. Boone bombed a series-clinching home run for the Yankees that teased the foul pole against Boston in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. To this day it is recognized as one of the most memorable Yankees postseason homers in a history loaded with them.
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The night Aaron Boone became a Yankees postseason hero https://t.co/oluE5Z4J1R
Its hard to find pedigree like that. AAron’s career as an MLB analyst has given the world a glimpse into his baseball mind which is rich with knowledge. And now that Cashman, one of the leading minds in the sport, has joined the growing ranks of general managers who feel that the game is no longer reliant on managers with great experience to be successful, Boone will have to be more like a chemist than a field sergeant. The ultimate diplomat, who understands that the manager-general manger relationship will never be the same. Boone represents a new breed of skipper.
Aaron Boone Reel April 2016
Uploaded by Wasserman Broadcast on 2016-04-26.
When you think about it, Boone is the perfect guy to be the face of Yankees management. Hes nine years younger than Girardi and from speaking with him personally, hes captivating, very personable and forthcoming. Boone will be the master media manipulator and whereas Girardi and even Joe Torre to an extent had much pressure to succeed, Boones fate will always be tied to Cashman who by all accounts will be the one pulling the strings.
It’s a job that requires a specific personality. The Yankees believe Boone, a guy who has tasted the ultimate success and failures of life in pinstripes, is the guy to get it done.
