Suzyn Waldman doesn’t think Aaron Boone is a puppet.
The longtime Yankees radio analyst pushed back against the narrative that the Yankees manager is just following orders from Brian Cashman and the front office. According to Waldman, Boone genuinely agrees with the analytics-driven approach that defines how the Yankees operate.
“You’re not going to like this, but people think Aaron Boone is doing what they tell them to do; he is in lockstep with [Brian Cashman],” Waldman told WFAN hosts Brandon Tierney and Sal Licata on Thursday. “I don’t understand why nobody understands this. He believes everything they believe. They go over a plan that they think, ‘This’ll happen, this’ll happen, and this’ll happen.’ If it doesn’t happen, Boone makes the decision of who can come out, but don’t think he disagrees with them. I don’t think anybody gets that concept.”
That view directly contradicts what Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter said after the Yankees’ season ended with a loss to Toronto in the ALDS. Both former Yankees absolved Boone of blame and pointed fingers at the front office instead.
“Honestly, from the entire organization, he’s the one guy I would circle that has least to blame,” Rodriguez said on FS1’s postgame show. “I mean, he’s got a lot of talent, but for me, personally, one of the worst constructions of a roster I’ve ever seen.”
Jeter similarly suggested Boone isn’t making all the calls. “Aaron did a good job. He’s working with what he has to work with, and he sticks up for his players. I know he takes a lot of heat,” Jeter said. “Look, I’m not saying it from any inside knowledge, but I’m pretty sure Aaron’s not the one that’s calling every move that they make throughout the game.”
The idea that the Yankees’ front office meddles with in-game decisions has followed Boone throughout his tenure. When New York moved on from Joe Girardi after the 2017 season, the perception was that it wanted a manager who better aligned with its analytical approach. Boone, then an ESPN analyst, fit that profile. He had no managing or coaching experience, but he spoke the same language as Cashman and the front office.
Waldman pointed to Boone’s interview process as proof he wasn’t hired to be a yes man; he was hired because he thinks like the Yankees’ front office does.
“When he had his interview here, one of the things that they did was make out lineups,” she said. “The analytics did, and he did it. And they did it for a long time. He matched them all the time. He thinks just like the [front office]. What do they think they do? That someone calls down from Cashman’s suite and there’s a phone in the dugout that says, ‘Bring in this guy.’ These decisions, in-game, they’re his. But the plan is that whole group. It’s a group. It’s not somebody sitting upstairs and coming down. It’s together.”
She also noted that Boone’s analytical leanings were apparent even during his time at ESPN, adding, “If you think back to when he was on ESPN, he was always bringing up this weird analytics stuff. He was. He was really out there. And sometimes you’re watching… and would say, ‘What is he talking about?'”
Both Boone and Cashman have pushed back on the idea that the front office dictates in-game decisions. But the speculation hasn’t stopped. Fans have spent years assuming Boone is just a figurehead, and now Jeter and Rodriguez have given that theory more credibility by publicly suggesting the same thing.
Waldman sees it differently. According to her, Boone isn’t disagreeing with the front office behind closed doors. He’s not fighting for different lineups or different pitching changes. He’s aligned with them philosophically, which is exactly why the Yankees hired him in the first place.
“And anybody that thinks Aaron Boone doesn’t agree with them, that’s how he got this job,” Waldman said. “He believes in all of this.”
The Yankees’ disappointing season ended with plenty of blame to go around. Rodriguez called it one of the worst-constructed rosters he’s ever seen. Jeter implied Boone was working with his hands tied. But to Waldman, Boone isn’t a victim of the front office. He’s a willing participant in everything they do.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.