Have you ever been in one of those situations with your friends where someone wants to do something and you roll your eyes while thinking, “Here we go again?” That’s more or less where a significant amount of New York Yankees fans are with Aaron Boone.
Nearly a decade into his tenure with the Yankees, it’s seemingly the same song and dance every year. The Yankees are a great regular-season team, one capable of regularly clearing 90 wins and winning the AL East. Then, things suddenly change in the playoffs, and the same mistakes that Boone made all season — as was the case last year, with Boone being too loyal to struggling players like Anthony Volpe or Devin Williams — cost the Yankees a chance at their first title since 2009.
Then, we get to spring training, and we prepare for history to repeat itself. Boone will become only the seventh Yankees manager to hold that role for at least nine seasons, and he’s the only one not to win at least one championship in that time.
If you paid close attention during the World Baseball Classic, you may have noticed some former Yankees, including franchise legends Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte, on coaching staffs. Given the Yankees’ love of bringing back their alumni, maybe we shouldn’t be surprised to see an ex-Yankee replace Boone down the road.
Could the Yankees replace Aaron Boone with Jorge Posada or another former Yankee?
This year’s World Baseball Classic had 20 teams, with several having at least one former Yankee on their staff. Team USA led the way with three: Pettitte, Brian McCann, and Matt Holliday. Posada served as an assistant under Team Italy manager Francisco Cervelli, an amusing change of roles considering that Cervelli was Posada’s backup late in the latter’s career.
Andruw Jones, who shared a lineup with Cervelli and Posada during his two seasons in pinstripes, managed the Netherlands team. Additionally, Yankees bench coach Brad Ausmus managed Team Israel to a 2–2 record in pool play. Although there were other one-time Yankees on WBC staffs, those six (and Ausmus) are arguably the most notable.
Boone and his predecessor, Joe Girardi, both played for the Yankees before later becoming the manager. History, then, could work in some of those coaches’ favors, assuming that the Yankees part ways with Boone in the near future and are open to interviewing even more ex-players.
Of those seven possible candidates, though, neither Pettitte nor Holliday has shown any interest in being managers. Posada briefly served as a consultant to the Miami Marlins when Derek Jeter still had an ownership stake in the franchise, but he’s never been a coach. Then again, that didn’t stop the Yankees from hiring Boone away from ESPN after the 2017 season. Jones doesn’t strike me as a realistic fit to be an MLB manager, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see him remain as the Netherlands’ skipper for as long as he wants the job.
I’ve previously proposed that the Yankees consider Cervelli, a former prospect who spent 2008–14 with the big-league team, as a potential replacement for Boone. McCann would also be an intriguing option given how many retired catchers earn a manager job. Then, there’s Ausmus, who previously managed the Tigers and Angels. If the Yankees moved on from Boone, would they want to consider promoting one of his assistant coaches?
The only advice that I can give Yankees fans is to be careful what you wish for. As exciting as the idea of Posada succeeding Boone might sound, you won’t feel so thrilled if the Yankees fail to win a title with their longtime catcher running the show.