BOOTH TO BENCHNCHCH
Analyst’s seat has been path to job in dugout
You could be listening to the next Yankees manager right now.
The past two skippers have been plucked from the booth to take over one of the more scrutinized position in sports. That includes Joe Girardi, who went straight from the YES Network booth to managing twice, including when he became the Marlins manager in 2006.
“I think a lot of ex-players and broadcasters, we try to manage every night when we are up in the booth,” said YES Network analyst John Flaherty, who was interested in the job that ultimately went to Aaron Boone last offseason.
“We think about what it would be like to get back on the field and maybe your personal life takes a change, your kids get a little older and you start thinking about it. I love what I do and managing games from the booth, you don’t get second-guessed. I have a pretty good gig, but it’s fun to watch Aaron because he basically did what I was doing for the last eight years and did a great job at it.”
Boone is 50-22 in his first season as Yankees manager after replacing Girardi this offseason. His timing was fortuitous, as The Post’s Andrew Marchand reported that ESPN had been eyeing Alex Rodriguez to replace him in the “Sunday Night Baseball” booth since last All-Star break. Girardi is now biding his time as an analyst for MLB Network and has admitted he plans to manage again.
David Cone also was interested in replacing Girardi, though it seems less so than Flaherty.
“It was more of a situation where the question was presented to me: Would you take an interview as a potential candidate to manage the Yankees. That’s a question that you can’t say no to,” the YES Network analyst said.
“It wasn’t something I was seeking, it was something that was presented to me. It’s the Yankees, and if the New York Yankees call for an interview that’s just a tough ‘no.’ ”
The YES Network booth is unique in that its rotating cast of analysts allows for each to have a part-time schedule alongside play-by-play man Michael Kay. To leave that job for the spring training and 162–game grind of the clubhouse is not for everyone. That includes Al Leiter. “I spent 19 seasons in the big leagues, more than I ever dreamt,” said Leiter, who also works for MLB Network. “I pinch myself every day. I know the bigleague life: charters, hotels. I pitched in the biggest games there [are] in this sport. I lived a dream and I am just not interested. I don’t need the money.”
But Leiter is not without conflict. He has an old-school mentality and worries analytics are taking over the sport and blinding organizations to certain types of players. So, though Leiter is not interested in the managing grind, a front-office role intrigues him.
“There’s something about helping an organization at the ownership level to try to impart knowledge of someone who was in the trenches and experienced it,” Leiter said. “I just hope these owners just don’t steer all the way away from ‘baseball guys.’ I do have interest in that side of the sport and if the opportunity exists I am open to it.”