Yanks’ Boone plans to stay steady amid major team changes
With the clock running down on 2021, like most of us, Aaron Boone will be taking some time to look back on the year and try to set some goals for 2022. The MLB lockout and the Yankees’ disappointing Wild Card Game loss to the Red Sox has left a lot of time for the Bombers’ manager to evaluate where they stand.
Speaking to reporters about his revamped coaching staff on Wednesday, Boone said that he uses it to try and shape the path for the future.
“I think you always reflect on it. Especially right now where you’re not able to have those conversations with players or kind of follow along with what they’re doing in the winter,” Boone said, referring to the rules that prohibit management personnel from any contact with players on the 40-man roster until a new collective bargaining agreement is in place. “We believe that some of the people that we’re bringing in will hopefully allow us to continue to try and get the most out of our players so that’s what we’re trying to do,” he said of the new coaching staff.
That early exit and a disappointing season that saw the Yankees finish third in the AL East had many fans calling for a change of manager. Instead Boone, who had no managerial experience when he was tabbed as skipper in 2018, was re-signed to a three-year deal with a team option for the 2024 season. Boone said that post-season retrospection and the negotiation process for the new deal hasn’t had him pinpoint any changes he will personally make in 2022.
“Hopefully, you continue to get better and grow from the experiences you have,” Boone said. “Whatever you’re trying to do, you’re always trying to get to higher ground and you’re trying to get a little bit better at what you do. There’s nothing that (I see) making a change about the way I go about things, but, hopefully you learn from all the experiences, the successes and failures that you have allow you to grow in the job, but nothing that re-signing has altered anything.”
The reflections on the 2021 season, however, did result in a shakeup of Boone’s staff. Most notably, hitting coaches Marcus Thames and P.J. Pilittere were not brought back after their contracts expired and minor league hitting coordinator Dillon Lawson was promoted.
There is no question the Yankees’ offense disappointed in 2021. They were built on power hitters and to overwhelm their opponents with offense, but finished seventh in the American League in OPS (.729), 10th in runs scored (711) and were fourth in strikeouts (1482). That had fans calling for the heads of Thames and Pilittere, the same hitting coaches that had the Yankees leading the league in OPS in 2020 and runs scored in 2019.
The Yankees also added Casey Dykes, the Triple-A Scranton hitting coach, and former big leaguer Eric Chavez, who will be an assistant hitting and “Swiss Army” utility coach to the staff. Former Mets manager Luis Rojas was added as third base/outfield coach and longtime minor league coach and field coordinator Travis Chapman will replace Reggie Willits as the first base coach. Desi Druschel will go from being the team’s minor league manager of pitching development to an assistant pitching coach.
The staff reflects the organization’s commitment to following a growing analytics department’s influence and a departure from experienced-based coaching the Yankees and the industry favored in the past. It is also a staff that continues to grow, with bench coach Carlos Mendoza, pitching coach Matt Blake, longtime bullpen coach Mike Harkey and catching coordinator and quality-control coach Tanner Swanson also returning.
The industry has continued to add coaches. The Bombers are currently at a staff of 10 coaches for the 26-player major league roster.
“First and foremost, we believe they’re going to be really impactful coaches. … Ultimately, we’re trying to get the most out of individuals, and we feel like the people that we’ve added have a chance to be really impactful,” Boone said. “So whether that means keeping up with industry standards, as far as growing our number of coaches, which obviously, we’ve done, I think it’s more about the people that we believe we’re bringing in to have a chance to impact us.”