Yankees commitment to Aaron Boone and mediocrity will cost Aaron Judge his prime

Allow me, if you will, to return you to Game 1 of the 2024 World Series.

After the New York Yankees took a one-run lead in the top of the tenth inning, the Los Angeles Dodgers got two runners on with one out in the bottom of the frame. Thus, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was left with a decision: should he turn to Tim Hill, the capable lefty reliever who gave the team a 2.05 ERA in 44 innings out the bullpen last year, or starter Nestor Cortes, who hadn't pitched since mid-September and hadn't spent any time as a reliever since 2021?

Now, if you watched the game, you know what Boone did. You know that, against all logic and reason and baseball instinct, he went with Cortes to face a trio of Hall of Famers atop the Dodgers lineup. Though he would get Ohtani out on a 92 MPH fastball right down the middle (thanks to a miraculous catch in the stands by Alex Verdugo), Boone elected to walk the right-handed Mookie Betts to face Freddie Freeman with the bases loaded and the game on the line.

Suffice to say, it did not work out the way Boone was hoping.

Of course, the Yankees went on to lose the series 4-1. And then, over the ensuing offseason, they lost superstar Juan Soto to the New York Mets.

Sure, they've done a good job saving face by signing Max Fried and trading for Cody Bellinger and Devin Williams, but they've lost the Robin to Aaron Judge's Batman. It's going to take an extraorindary effort from all the team's other pieces to make another World Series run in 2025.

But on the eve of their first spring training game of the year, the Yankees did something fans have been fearing all winter: they extended Boone.

It's not a stretch to say the Yankees' biggest weakness remains their head coach. Even if the rest of their core comes through for Judge and the Bronx faithful, the Yankees will have to win in spite of their manager, not because of him.

Judge cannot afford to wait out Boone's mismanagement

In his seven seasons at the helm of the most storied franchise in sports, Boone has piloted the Yankees to an impressive 603-429 record in the regular season. Only once in that time have they missed the postseason entirely (2023).

The issue, of course, remains that his managerial playoff record stands at 22-23 with just the one World Series loss to show for the team's six playoff appearances.

Aaron Judge, who can safely be considered an all-time great in the the pantheon of both the franchise and the sport, is 32 (33 in April). Two of his last three seasons have been two of the greatest offensive seasons in baseball history, but he isn't getting any younger. And guys of his size (6'7", 280 lbs) aren't likely to stay perfectly healthy as they approach their 40s.

The new captain of the Yankees hasn't achieved a fraction of the team success the last one did, despite his own individual accolades standing toe to toe with Derek Jeter. Of course, Jeter had a stronger core around him thanks to better scouting and front office work, and No. 2 never had to worry about the competency of his managers (Joe Torre and Joe Girardi) either.

Judge can't do it all alone. Heck, last year proved he can't do it all even with a teammate who is almost his equal.

Boone doesn't automatically condemn the Yankees to mediocrity. There's something to be said for continuity, especially after the manager just guided the team to an AL Pennant less than six months ago.

But the choice to extend him is alarming. This is a commitment to being "good enough", the likes of which we've never seen before from this franchise.

Being "good enough" shouldn't be good enough for the Yankees. It never has been before. Apparently, though, it is now.

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