Aaron Boone was standing in the bowels of Yankee Stadium, fresh off a most critical and tense triumph, explaining how he manages the modern ballplayer in the context of one of the most controversial moves of his baseball life.
His New York Yankees had just survived a sudden-death encounter with the Boston Red Sox — barely — in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series, and if the damn thing had gone the wrong way, it would have unleashed yet another storm around Boone and his eight-year hold on one of the toughest jobs in sports.
But he outcoached Alex Cora this time, and pushed the right buttons with his pitchers and with Jazz Chisholm Jr., whom he had benched in Game 1. Chisholm played offense and defense like his pants were on fire, and scored the winning run from first base on an eighth-inning single, racing around the bases as if he were sprinting for the final time.
If you believe the story the manager and the second baseman were selling — that Chisholm didn’t compete in this 4-3 victory with an I’ll show you defiance — you haven’t been paying attention long enough to professional sports.
And since this night was about relationships, and the rapport Boone has established with his players over the years, it seemed like a good time to stop him outside the clubhouse Wednesday night to ask about a hit he took for one of his biggest stars in last year’s World Series, Gerrit Cole, whom he had removed from a Game 1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers after a mere 88 pitches.
After Boone was ripped by Derek Jeter (of all icons) and prominent voices all over Yankeedom, I had reported that Cole told Boone he was gassed, leaving the manager with no choice but to pull him. On a night when the Yankees battled for him, and reminded people that Boone is one of only three managers in franchise history to reach the playoffs in at least seven of his first eight seasons in the Bronx (Joe Torre, Casey Stengel), I wanted to ask Boone why he absorbed such a fierce coast-to-coast pounding instead of just telling the truth.
“That’s my job,” Boone told The Athletic. “My job is not to save face or make myself look good.”
I explained to him that a simple statement of fact, when hammered on national TV by his famous former teammate, does not amount to a face-saving ploy.
“That’s not who I am,” Boone shot back. “That’s not who I am. … I don’t want to ever just go out and defend myself just to superficially satisfy the masses. That’s not leadership. That’s not who I am. That’s not why I signed up for this. I never wanted to be that person.”
As Boone was responding, it struck me that it’s easy to forget why the Yankees had hired him out of the broadcast booth in the first place. General manager Brian Cashman decided he needed to replace Joe Girardi with a lighter managerial touch, someone who could lower the temperature in the clubhouse and act as connective tissue among the players and staff. Boone was ultra-likable and, of considerable consequence, Aaron Judge became a big fan.
Despite a complete lack of experience, Boone became a consistent winner. And yet so much negativity surrounded his failure to reach the World Series, and then his failure to win the World Series once he finally got there.
Oh, and only about 97.5 percent of the fan base believes he’s too protective of the players. After the Dodgers beat the Yankees in five games last year, Boone was widely viewed as an enabler of a culture that lacked accountability and contributed to the fundamental breakdowns that defined that World Series. He got his two-year contract extension anyway.
Did he deserve it? Boone is a good guy and a good manager who has yet to prove he is a great manager. If the Yankees don’t win Thursday night’s do-or-die Game 3 with Boston, it’s possible, but not likely, he will have to continue pursuing greatness somewhere other than New York.
“Jazz will be playing, I haven’t decided on my catcher, first base, all that.”
– Aaron Boone on who will play Game 3 pic.twitter.com/IzkE9whUL3
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) October 2, 2025
But the manager in the other dugout made the pitching mistakes in Game 2, one night after Boone made them in Game 1, when he didn’t have Chisholm, an All-Star, in his lineup. Chisholm is one of three Yankees to ever hit at least 30 homers and steal at least 30 bases in a season. Even with the indomitable lefty, Garrett Crochet, on the mound, it took some conviction to put that guy on the pine.
The second baseman wasn’t happy about it, putting on a performance at his locker that was something of a warmup act for Shedeur Sanders. Boone saw the video later on, talked to his player, and made it clear he didn’t much care whether Chisholm liked his Game 1 decision.
“I need him to go out and play his butt off for us tonight,” Boone said before Game 2. “And that’s what I expect to happen.”
And wouldn’t you know it, Chisholm played exactly as his manager predicted he would. After saving runs with his glove and scoring the biggest one with his legs, Chisholm said he’s never had a problem with Boone because the manager gives him the space he needs to be a passionate player.
“There was never a problem between me and Aaron Boone. He’s been my manager all year and I’ve stood behind him all year.
We always have disagreements – I mean, I played third base this year and we had a little bit of a disagreement in that – but at the end of the day, I always… pic.twitter.com/7DZ7hAs8CN
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) October 2, 2025
“Jazz and I are pretty tight,” Boone told The Athletic. “I love the kid, and I think it’s reciprocated in him feeling that way, too. It doesn’t mean we don’t bump heads on certain things or don’t have to have a difficult conversation along the way. I’ve had many with him where I pulled him in and had to give him something, but he feels a responsibility to the guys in there, too.”
So Boone isn’t afraid to confront his players — in this case, Chisholm, and many times, by his own account. He just doesn’t do it in front of the rest of the world.
The man knows his team. He knows his players. Carlos Rodón lobbied to stay in the game when Boone visited the mound in the sixth, after the starter had surrendered a score-tying homer to Trevor Story and a walk to Alex Bregman. Boone bought the sales pitch, and Rodón rewarded his faith by getting a popup and a double play to end the inning.
“I said, ‘I’m staying in,’ and it worked out.”
– Carlos Rodón on convincing Aaron Boone to keep him in the game in Game 2 pic.twitter.com/Xccrr474eK
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) October 2, 2025
In the end, the home team fought for Boone in what theoretically could’ve been the manager’s final game as a Yankee. They play for him because of the way he treats them, because of the way he protects them like he protected Gerrit Cole in the World Series.
That should count for something on Aaron Boone’s judgment day, whenever that day comes.
(Photo of Aaron Boone taking the ball from Carlos Rodón in the seventh inning: Ishika Samant / Getty Images)
