The Yankees’ annual Old Timers’ Day is a celebration unlike any other in baseball. One day each summer, the winningest franchise in the sport welcomes back an esteemed group of alumni from across the generations to don the pinstripes once again, shoot the breeze with each other about the good old days, and soak up the enduring adoration of Yankees fans.
There was one familiar face missing from Saturday’s ceremony, a former player who regularly participates in the introductions and happened to already
be in the building — Aaron Boone. The Yankees’ current manager, who was listed among the old timers expected to attend in advance of the ceremony, reportedly missed the festivities because they conflicted with pre-game meetings. Given that hasn’t stopped him from attending in previous years, when the ceremony also took place on a game day, it strains credulity that the real reason for his absence was anything other than a desire to avoid a showering of boos from the Yankee faithful.
But Boone’s absence did not keep him from being a topic of discussion throughout the day, either directly or by extension of concerns about the current Yankees squad, which has struggled mightily over the past month-plus. Some of this is par for the course, with the revelry of reliving the glory days leading to “back in my day” gripes from some of those in attendees. “I don’t know these players very well. I don’t know their personalities.” said legendary third baseman Graig Nettles, who starred on two Yankees championship teams in the ‘70s. “I don’t think Billy Martin would have handled it the same way (as Boone). I don’t think he would have coddled the players.” The 80-year-old served up the perfect template for the type of comment I’m referencing — he admits he doesn’t know the current team, criticizes the current generation for coddling players, and throws in a reference to a franchise icon of yesteryear for good measure. For all he accomplished in the game, Graig Nettles has earned the right to say whatever he wants about it. But it’s hard to put too much stock in his perspective on the current team.
There was a different brand of critique directed Boone’s way at this year’s Old Timers’ Day, though. The event coincided with the 25th anniversary of the 2000 championship team, and many veterans of that squad assembled to celebrate the milestone. And several men associated with that more recent iteration of Yankees greatness — including some who were still around when Boone played for the team in 2003 and have a relationship with the Yankee manager that goes beyond the perfunctory — offered a more subtle rebuke of the current club that was a stronger indictment due to their proximity.
Akin to a former head of state reticent to criticize a current one, Joe Torre was the most diplomatic of those asked about Boone’s performance. “There’s plenty of games left,” said the Hall of Famer, who managed Boone in 2003, striking a similar tone to what Boone often expresses to the media. “Boonie knows what he has here. He’s gonna get a run out of these guys.” Jorge Posada took pains to show deference to Boone as well. “It’s not his fault that some guys are not playing at their potential,” he said when asked about the manager. But in a separate interview, the fiery former backstop who was teammates with Boone in ‘03 revealed some deeper concerns, telling SNY that the current team has “gotta get a little angry. They need to have a chip on their shoulder. You can’t be friends with everybody.”
Some other legends were more direct. “The mental mistakes are unacceptable,” said Tino Martinez, the first baseman on the 2000 team who was honored with a plaque in Monument Park in 2014, “The physical mistakes you can accept: You’re going to make errors, you’re going to strike out. But the mental stuff, you can’t have that. You can’t give away outs, you can’t make your pitchers throw extra pitches,” he continued. “You can’t do that. You can’t do that in the regular season. You definitely can’t do it in the postseason.” And then there was Willie Randolph, the third base coach on the ‘03 Yankees who famously predicted to Boone that the struggling third baseman would be the difference maker in Game 7 of that year’s ALCS. “Teams are not afraid of us anymore” was his frank assessment of the current team’s lack of mojo.
All these quotes deride the current team’s mentality and focus without calling Boone out by name. It’s worth noting that all these Yankees luminaries were spring training instructors this season and would presumably like to be invited back in future seasons, a decision that lies in part with the team’s manager. While Posada, Martinez, and Randolph all have cause not to burn bridges with Boone by criticizing him directly, as Nettles did, it’s hard not to see criticism of a team’s drive and professionalism as a jab at the team’s manager (despite Posada’s protestations).
These are not the first times Boone has had to confront these criticisms — they’ve been a steady drumbeat from media and fans alike that has only intensified in recent weeks. The skipper has grown more taciturn in kind, including his tone-deaf, steadfast defense of Anthony Volpe that culminated in Boone emphatically telling YES’ Meredith Marakovits that the shortstop “is fucking elite” as he walked out of a presser. This has extended to Boone’s weekly spots with the “Talkin’ Yanks” podcast, in which he ostensibly has chosen to participate to engage more directly with the fanbase. When pressed about the team’s apparent lack of urgency, Boone’s response was an emotional “I don’t care what you want.” If that’s how Boone feels about his hand-picked fan surrogates, it’s easy to imagine what he thinks of the concerns of the rank and file. Maybe the more nuanced prodding of his fellow former Yankees will have a better chance of breaking through. If not, he runs the risk of further isolating himself in the midst of what will no doubt be a pivotal stretch for his future with the club.
