What Kind Of Manager Do The New York Yankees Need?

I will answer that question, easily. A manager that not only knows the game, but knows how to play his talent, when to play his talent and can collaborate with upper management. Coaching needs to be fluid and organic; not stiff and robotic. And that means, Aaron Boone can’t be part of the Yankees future.

According to The Athletic, “The question with Boone comes down to some game-management practices — he tends to have a slow hook for struggling pitchers in particular — but also to his autonomy as a manager.” The Athletic goes on to say that Boone is a modern-day manager with a progressive mindset. But the criticism for Boone is deep and it goes way beyond his dugout antics and decisions. It carries all the way up to the clubhouse, where Brian Cashman sits as presumed puppeteer, and Boone nothing more than a lifeless puppet with no say.

“The Yankees have a big front office and a lot of decision-makers and want to be seen as a highly collaborative organization. Essentially, every great team in baseball has a robust front office and analytics department with a coaching staff that understands it will receive input from above.” It is one thing to understand that you will receive direction, it is another thing to be collaborative in the approach and execution. It appears that collaboration has been completely thrown out the window. Unless of course Boone really knows nothing about his team and can’t communicate what he is seeing in his players to upper management. 

“Because for Boone’s first four years on the job, no matter how much you want to emphasize his 328-218 regular-season record (at .601, the eighth-best winning percentage with a minimum 315 games since 1901) and play down his 11-11 postseason mark with zero World Series appearances, you couldn’t seriously contend that he stood as the best manager in the ultracompetitive American League East. And you can’t win baseball’s toughest division unless you deploy enough bests up and down the organization. So since he isn’t currently the best, the Yankees must project whether Boone can be the best,” wrote the New York Post.

So what do the Yankees do? Keep Boone and send him to coaching school? Build an experienced coaching staff around him? Invest in Boone’s future? Or find someone who can do the job and win? And if not Boone than who is a worthy replacement? Do you go old school? Do you keep with the modern approach? Now those are tougher questions than the title of this piece. And it is not going to be an easy answer, unless, they go with the investment in Boone’s future scenario. So what does that say for the future of this franchise and current stock of players? 

“There are many personnel and roster decisions the Yankees will have to decide this offseason. Who stands on the top step of the dugout next year, the most public face of the organization for its flaws and victories, is their most crucial consideration of all,” reported The Athletic. And honestly, it does come down to who will be at the helm. Winning means having a good foundation. And a good foundation is a good coaching staff, that understands the game, their players and how to collaborate with upper management. What kind of manager doe the Yankees need? A manager that can manage a team to victory. And for that reason: Help Wanted!

–Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof