The New York Yankees officially introduced Aaron Boone as their newest manager on Wednesday afternoon from Yankee Stadium.
The 44-year-old becomes the 33rd manager in franchise history and just the third since 1996, following Joe Torre and Joe Girardi.
“This is a special, special day for me and my family,” Boone said. “It means the world to me and feels like the chance of a lifetime.”
He was chosen from six candidates, including former MLB manager Eric Wedge and longtime Yankees coach Rob Thomson.
“We are very proud of the fact that we’re going to introduce someone who we think is going to be a great asset to this franchise,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “We were extremely impressed with Aaron Boone. We’re all in.”
“All in” despite Boone having no managerial experience as he spent the past eight seasons as an analyst for ESPN, a job he took up immediately after retiring from a 12-year playing career. Though it’s not really phasing him.
“There’s obviously some things that I’m going to be green at and will have to get my feet wet…but I feel pretty comfortable,” Boone said. “They’ll come in short order to me as I get the mechanics down.”
He continued to preach those mechanics and a process, stressing that he’s not going to be all about the standings.
“The most important thing is going to be my relationships with the players. I expect myself and our staff to be very forthcoming and honest… I think the way you can breathe into guys, tap into them, is by establishing relationships. One thing I promise you is that we’ll have great relationships. Because they know we care so much about them… it comes from a great place and from someone that they can trust,” Boone said. “I think, as a manager, I’ll be someone who isn’t chasing after wins every day. I want to get locked into the process and by doing that, I think we have the chance to get the best out of our players… success…will follow when you’re getting the most out of your guys.”
Though, he was quick to say that this is a team “chasing championships.”
World Series titles are a feasible target for this Yankees club, who came within a game of winning the American League pennant before bowing out to the eventual champion Houston Astros.
With a bevy of young stars like Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and Luis Severino, the cornerstones of a competitive franchise are already in place. Boone is ready to help them get to the next level of success.
“This is a team with loads of talent,” he said. “This is a team that in many ways came of age this year and arrived and I am really comfortable and believe that me and my staff will play a part in helping them take the next step.”
While he’s about to enter the lion’s den that is the New York media while coaching one of the most recognizable teams in the world, he’s not feeling the pressure yet.
“I understand the expectations,” he said. “I hope those expectations are ramped up each and every year. That’s part of it. That’s part of being here.”
