Bret Boone on Aaron Boone, Yankees ALDS Strategy

aaronboone

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone was roundly criticized for his handling of Deivi Garcia in Game 2 of the ALDS on Tuesday, which the Yankees lost 7-5 to the Rays. Garcia pitched just one inning and gave up a home run before being removed from the game for J.A. Happ.

Many fans and analysts, including Bret Boone, did not understand that decision.

“I don’t ask,” Boone said on The Zach Gelb Show. “Aaron, when we talk, we talk more about the kids and mom and dad and the family. We’ll touch a little bit on baseball, but when it comes down to the ‘Why did you do this?’ and ‘Why didn’t you do that?’, I try to stay out of it definitely during the season. In the offseason, we talk quite a bit about strategy, but I’ve kind of stayed away from it.”

Garcia’s unconventional usage, of course, was likely not (Aaron) Boone’s decision, at least not entirely.

“There are things beyond just what Aaron does,” Boone said. “There’s a lot more that goes into it. Without being there on a daily basis with him, I think there’s a game plan before the game. A lot of decisions in my day, there was a lot of gut decisions made at the time – and I still think that goes on quite a bit. But I think today’s game in 2020 is much more of a calculated, data-based game, that moves are already made before the game even starts. I don’t like that part of the game, for the record. But it is what it is.”

Still, Boone understands that his brother is the one who has to take the heat when decisions backfire, especially in the postseason.

“The onus is on you,” Boone said. “You’re the manager, you got to answer the bell, you got to walk to the podium – and I think the great ones do. When it comes to personnel, when it comes to mistakes a player will make, the great managers I had step to the podium and they take it and they protect their guys. I don’t know what happened in that situation. I have an inkling of what happened. But I think the guys, you run the team, your name’s on that lineup, you take the criticism when it’s there and you get the praise when it goes the other way.”

The ALDS is tied 2-2. Game 5 is Friday at 7:10 p.m. ET.

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