Yankees manager Aaron Boone’s 2024, in review

Where to begin with Aaron Boone? The Yankees ' skipper has helmed more than 1,000 games in pinstripes, reaching the playoffs in all but one of his seven seasons with a winning percentage better than any active manager outside of LA's Dave Roberts. Reports have already indicated that his option will be picked up in some capacity and he'll return in 2025 . Boone has also grown increasingly unpopular with the fanbase and pundits alike, in part due to his decision-making and in part due to the team's culture.

2024 was the Yankees' most successful campaign during the Boone era, with the club securing its first pennant since 2009. But the season ended in such a spectacularly unsatisfying manner—with a five-game drubbing at the hands of the Dodgers punctuated by a defensive inning that would put a high school team to shame—that the familiar questions about Boone's managerial acumen remain.

Perhaps more than in any prior season, there are tangible positives to point to on the decision-making front. Moving Luke Weaver into the closer role near the season's end. Giving Clay Holmes the chance to work his way back into high-leverage decisions after the indignity of his demotion. Moving Gleyber Torres to the leadoff spot despite his early struggles. Riding with Jazz Chisholm Jr. at third base for the first time in his career. Handing the keys at catcher to Austin Wells. Giving Luis GIl the fifth starter's job out of spring training.

Of course, as is the nature of the modern game, none of these decisions were Boone's alone. Many were likely made by the front office, with Boone's role being merely to implement them and defend the process to the public. Still, as long as the Yankees' brain trust remains cagey around how these types of moves are made, Boone deserves at least a share of the credit.

Most of these positives center around trust. Throughout his career, Boone has been an unapologetic players' manager, placing trust in his guys and, in turn, largely receiving it from them in kind. That kind of trust can be transformative for a player's confidence. It's not a bad thing for everyone on the roster to feel that their manager has their back, whether in making out a lineup card or speaking to the press.

But there's a downside to what has appeared to be nearly blind trust on the part of Boone. The Yankees were the worst baserunning team in the sport , costing themselves 12 runs on the basepaths over the course of the regular season. And, while the team boasts some talented defenders, their ability to execute on that side of the ball was inconsistent all year.

Whether it was Giancarlo Stanton repeatedly being waved around despite running well below peak strength, Anthony Rizzo outsmarting himself on the bases, Jose Trevino's arm becoming an alarming liability, Alex Verdugo locking down left field despite a paltry .562 OPS from mid-June onward, or Gleyber Torres dogging it on both sides of the ball, the Yankees played head-scratching baseball all year. As in years past, accountability (at least of the public kind) was rare. Boone did pull Torres for failing to run out a fly ball in August, though he refused to acknowledge the rationale behind his decision to the media postgame, getting characteristically defensive with the press instead of displaying any transparency and calling perceptions of whether players play hard "overrated."

Torres played much better after the benching and, while it's a sample size of one, it provides anecdotal support for the impact of accountability on a roster.

As the New York Post has reported , capitalizing on the Yankees' inability to play fundamentally sound baseball was central to the Dodgers' game plan in the World Series . They entered the series champing at the bit to take advantage of their opponents' poor positioning, lack of effort, and absence of situational awareness on the field. This "talent over fundamentals" branding of the Yankees was borne out by their historic fifth-inning collapse in Game 5 that handed the Dodgers their eighth title on a silver platter. As Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly aptly (and maddeningly) dubbed it after the game, it was simply a case of playing " Yankee defense ."

As with the positives, it would be unfair to heap blame for all the negatives on Boone alone. It's unclear if he's empowered to make the kinds of personnel decisions that truly hold players accountable. And the players need to take a degree of responsibility for their own performance; the misplays in Game 5 came from the team's captain (Aaron Judge), their strongest defender (Anthony Volpe), and their two most experienced postseason performers (Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rizzo). None of those players should need their manager to implore them to play fundamentally sound baseball.

However, culture always begins at the top. Organizationally that means GM Brian Cashman, but on the field it means Boone. Winning the pennant, even with a roster as talented as the Yankees', is a major achievement for which Aaron Boone deserves his share of credit. And there's no shame in falling three wins short of a championship to a capable, battle-tested Dodgers team. But the problem, from a leadership standpoint, is not that the Yankees lost. It's that they did not achieve their potential. They did not play their best baseball when it counted most. Instead, they folded under the pressure of October baseball as their longtime manager looked on helplessly. The more things change, the more they stay the same.