Yankees manager Boone has pacemaker inserted
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone took a leave of absence from the team to get a pacemaker and intends to return to work in a few days.
The team said the procedure took place Wednesday at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, Fla., and went as expected.
“It sounds like it’s going to be a short-term thing,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “I do applaud him for being very open and honest and sharing about the circumstances that he’s going through right now.”
Bench coach Carlos Mendoza took over as acting manager for Wednesday night’s exhibition against Toronto in Tampa. The 41-year-old is starting his 13th season working for the Yankees.
Boone, 47, is entering his fourth season as Yankees manager, and Cashman said the manager told him a few days ago he intended to have the pacemaker inserted whenever the surgery could be scheduled.
Boone said in a statement the medical team is “confident that today’s surgery will allow me to resume all of my usual professional and personal activities and afford me a positive longterm health prognosis without having to change anything about my way of life. I look forward to getting back to work in the next several days.”
Boone informed the Yankees staff from the hospital during Wednesday’s daily staff Zoom call that he was having the procedure later in the day. Mendoza said Boone was smiling and joking during the call.
Boone recorded a video that was given to players after Mendoza and third base coach Phil Nevin spoke.
“He just wanted them to continue to get our work in, continue to do (things) the right way, the same way we’ve been doing here, and that made all of us feel a lot better,“Mendoza said.
Brett Gardner, the Yankees’ senior player, said the video helped comfort players. Gardner said Boone had mentioned a few days ago when passing in a hallway that he was feeling tired.
“I think it was a shock to most of us,” Gardner said. “I think his first concern was making sure that we would continue to go about our business the right way with him being gone and, obviously, to kind of ease our minds that we weren’t too overly concerned about him and this procedure.” every full season since 2008.
His durability and health are defining strengths. But his major league career began with him beating anaplastic large cell lymphoma as a rookie with the Boston Red Sox.