Most Yankees fans may not be thrilled with the news that Aaron Boone is returning, but two Yankees legends seem to have Boone’s back when it comes to his return as skipper for the ballclub.
Hall of Famers Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter both weighed in on Boone at separate events on Wednesday night. Rivera and Jeter were teammates of Boone during his one season in the Bronx in 2003 and both players were part of the last five Yankees World Series teams.
It had originally been reported that the star closer had been critical of the Yankees’ decision to bring him back as manager when he was speaking at the Sports Forum of the Panamanian Association of Business Executives.
“If I’m the owner, Aaron Boone wouldn’t stay… when things don’t come out the way we want them to all of the fault goes on the manager and somebody has to pay the price and we won’t put that on the players,” Rivera said, according to a translated version of his comments by SNY.
However, Rivera told the Associated Press that
“I said when a team like this, the New York Yankees, is expected to win, the season that they had, and they don’t make it to the end, always the manager is the one that always ends up paying,” Rivera said during a telephone interview with the AP.
“Although the manager doesn’t hit, the manager doesn’t pitch, the manager doesn’t run, the manager doesn’t do nothing but manage and make sure everybody’s ready to play, unfortunately they never fire the whole team, they always fire the manager,” he said. “I was giving a generic estimation. And obviously they took it out of context.”
it was Jeter who appeared to voice his support for Boone while on the red carpet of his Turn 2 Foundation dinner in Midtown.
“Sometimes, when you’re in a situation like that, it’s almost like you’re in a no-win situation, unless you do win.” Jeter told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “I like Aaron. He puts them in a position every year to have that chance to win. Ultimately, it comes down to the players.”
When asked a follow-up about general manager Brian Cashman, the legendary shortstop balked at the question.
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Regardless of either’s opinion, the Yankees seem hell-bent on keeping both Boone and Cashman in the fold. Hal Steinbrenner told the Associated Press in Florida that Boone would be back despite the Yankees being swept out of the ALCS by the Houston Astros.
There has been a growing frustration among Yankees fans over the lack of postseason success under Boone and Cashman during their recent tenure.
