LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Yanks not concerned newly hired coaches lack MLB seasoning
Aaron Boone’s revamped coaching staff is trending more toward new industry standards — in both its size and the fact major league playing experience is not required.
The Yankees’ staff for 2022 grew to 11 last week when they announced the hiring of six new coaches to replace the four who were fired from or departed last year’s staff. Aside from assistant hitting coach Eric Chavez, whose 17-season big league career made him the most well-known name of the group, the new hires combined for one MLB game during their playing careers.
While Boone brings a wealth of major league playing experience, in addition to his four seasons as Yankees manager, his staff largely took other avenues to end up in the Bronx Bombers’ dugout.
“We’re trying to find the best coaches and the best people to impact our guys,” Boone said last week on a Zoom call. “Probably for a long time, we were a little pigeonholed with it having to be a guy with big league
service time and has this career. That is absolutely of value and part of a checklist … but we were also probably closing ourselves off to a lot of really great coaches, because in a lot of ways, that was a prerequisite.
“I think now we’re starting to probably follow more of an NBA/NFL model, where you have coaches that are really good at impacting players.”
Of the six new hires, only Chavez (1,615 games) and
first base and infield coach Travis Chapman (one game) played in the big leagues before beginning their coaching careers.
Third-base coach and former Mets manager Luis Rojas played in the minor leagues, but the other three hires — hitting coach Dillon Lawson, assistant hitting coach Casey Dykes and assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel — ended their playing careers at the college level.
More importantly, Lawson, Dykes, Druschel and Chapman are all products of the Yankees’ player development system. Aligned with the organization’s philosophy of analytics and datadriven coaching, they proved that what they were teaching was working in the minor leagues, which earned them promotions to Boone’s staff.
“Ultimately, players want to [know], ‘Can you help me?’ And, ‘Are you helping me?’ ” Boone said. “If somebody from a coaching standpoint I know is helping me and impacting me, in the end I don’t really care how I get it.”
That was on full display last season for the Giants, who had a 13-person staff under manager Gabe Kapler. The majority of the coaches had no major league experience. The result was an NL West crown, with San Francisco playing well beyond preseason expectations and racking up 107 wins.
Boone said the number of coaches on his staff was not as important as making sure the Yankees hired the right people. But having Chapman take on infield coaching duties will free up bench coach Carlos Mendoza to further assist Boone and his staff. And adding an assistant pitching coach and an extra assistant hitting coach will allow the Yankees to best support their players.
“There’s obviously more things readily available that guys have to sift through,” Boone said. “But that’s not to say when a coaching staff was smaller 20, 30, 40 years ago that there weren’t tremendous responsibilities then. It all just kind of changes and evolves.”
Near the end of a season in which his running lanes have been closed, Saquon Barkley was in no mood Wednesday to stroll down Painful Memory Lane.
Barkley is returning Sunday for the first time to the site (Soldier Field) where his career took a sharp turn on Sept. 20, 2020 — when a clean tackle from safety Eddie Jackson left the running back with a torn ACL, partially torn meniscus and strained MCL in his right knee.
“I’m not thinking like, ‘I hate the field,’ ” an uncharacteristically sullen Barkley said. “I’m excited that I’m healthy enough to be able to play another game. You never know when these opportunities are going to be taken away from you. My whole mindset is to cherish these last two games that we have and try to finish on a high note.”
Barkley did not practice Wednesday, as is his normal
weekly maintenance plan. But he strongly rejected the idea of sitting out the last two games — “No,” he said to the suggestion — to avoid further injury and turn to rehabbing because the Giants already are eliminated from playoff contention.
After a great two-year start to his career, Barkley’s last two seasons have been lost. He missed 14 games last season and hasn’t rushed for more than 64 yards in any of 11 games this season. His season-best performance — 126 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns against the Saints — preceded a fluky sprained ankle the next week that caused him to
miss the next four games.
It creates a big what-if. What if Barkley didn’t get injured? Would the Giants have made the playoffs last season instead of falling one win short? Would this frustrating season look differently? Would he have signed a big-money extension instead of possibly playing on a contract-year in 2022?
“I try not to think about it, but it happened,” Barkley said. “I really don’t think about it. I guess probably more so last year, but this is a whole different season.”
The Giants’ woeful runand pass-blocking complicated key personnel evaluations of Barkley and quarterback Daniel Jones. But where Jones’ backups have flopped, Devontae Booker is averaging 4.5 yards per carry to Barkley’s 3.5.
Barkley has made it clear many times, including earlier this month, that he wants to be part of the Giants’ future and any turnaround from five consecutive losing seasons. Asked again Wednesday, he said only, “Yeah, I’ve answered that before.”
But, with the general manager who drafted him likely on his way out and the possibility that Dave Gettleman’s successor won’t hold running backs in the same high regard, Barkley’s future is less certain than it seemed at the start of the season. Definitely less than before Sept. 20, 2020. Not that he ever thinks this could be the end of his Giants career.
“I can’t control those things,” Barkley said. “I can’t have that thought process.”
The only thought is to finish strong. For what reason?
“Heart, pride, your last name, those little kids that are still watching,” Barkley said, “and for each other.”