As the 2021 MLB playoffs continue, the New York Yankees are still reflecting on their disappointing finish. Before the season began, many saw the Yankees as World Series favorites and thought they had the firepower to make a deep postseason run. Instead, New York finished with a 92-70 record and was eliminated by the Boston Red Sox in the Wild Card round. Now, people are wondering if manager Aaron Boone is right for the job after this disappointing ending.
With most of the Yankees’ coaching staff being let go on Thursday, there’s a chance that Aaron Boone could be next. New York is 328-218 since he took over as manager in 2018 — the third-best record in that span. The Yankees made it to the American League Championship Series in each of his first two seasons, but have been eliminated in the Division Series and Wild Card round since then.
Nevertheless, Bovada is favoring the Yankees, at -400 odds, to keep Boone around as the manager for the 2022 MLB season. On one hand, it’s easy to call for his head after another underwhelming postseason appearance. On the other, it’s important to understand that Boone is a good manager who just needs to find out how to translate regular season success into a dominant playoff performance. He has all the pieces he could ever want to build a contender and New York is always an attractive destination for players.
Boone still needs a new contract, however, it’s looking like the Yankees will likely give him one more shot to bring another World Series banner to New York.
Status of Aaron Boone for Game 1 of the 2022 MLB Season
Odds via Bovada as of Friday, October 15
- Managing the Yankees (-400)
- On another MLB coaching staff (not a manager) +350
- TV broadcaster/analyst (+500)
- Manager of another MLB team (+800)
Could Boone Join Another MLB Coaching Staff?
If Aaron Boone leaves the Yankees organization, he’s likely (+350) to join another MLB coaching staff in a non-managerial role. It would actually be interesting to see him in a position where he isn’t the manager because he skipped that step when becoming New York’s bench boss.
There’s no doubt that Boone has a good mind to the game, proven by his stints as a player and an analyst (more on that later). Even in the role of some sort of assistant, he could surely help a team. There’s also the fact that he has spent the past four seasons coaching in New York — one of the toughest markets in all of professional sports. While he’s handled it well, perhaps Boone could use a “break” by taking on a smaller role in another organization before looking for another managerial position a few years down the line. He’s only 48 years old, so there’s still plenty of time to become a manager again.
Aaron Boone Odds: Return to TV Broadcasting
Before he became the Yankees manager, Aaron Boone had been spending his time as a television broadcaster and analyst. He did a lot of work for ESPN both in terms of pre-game material and working the actual games themselves. He wouldn’t shy away from giving his perspective as a former player and showcased a natural on-air personality.
Now, the odds are+500 that Boone will return to being a broadcaster/analyst if he doesn’t re-sign with the Yankees. It wouldn’t be a shock to see him returning to television, especially since he excelled at it in the past. ESPN or any network would snap him up in an instant, even more so now that he has the experience of managing in New York on his resume. As mentioned above, Boone could always take a break from the game by broadcasting for a few years before returning to MLB coaching duties. We’ve seen managers do it in the past before, so he’d hardly be the first if things head that way.
