Aaron Boone Nearly Walked After 2021 - And Maybe the Yankees Should’ve Let Him
Aaron Boone’s tenure as Yankees manager has been a lightning rod for fan frustration, and with spring training around the corner, that conversation isn’t cooling down anytime soon. But buried in the usual preseason chatter is a revealing detail: Boone was ready to walk away after the 2021 season. And honestly, maybe that would’ve been the right call - for both sides.
According to Ian O’Connor, Boone told him that after the 2021 campaign, he felt at peace with the idea of stepping away. He was content with the work he’d done and prepared to return to family life.
Then the Yankees offered him a contract extension, and Boone took it as a sign. He stayed.
Let’s pause there. That’s not the mindset of a man clinging to the job.
It’s the mindset of someone who believed he’d done enough - and was okay with moving on. That’s admirable, even healthy.
But in the Bronx, where the standard is championships and the pressure is relentless, is “peace” really what you want from your skipper heading into Year 9?
Boone is a good manager. Sometimes, he’s even very good.
He communicates well, handles the media with ease, and players generally like him - no small feat in this market. But the Yankees haven’t hired him to be liked.
They’ve hired him to win titles. And so far, that hasn’t happened.
Since taking over in 2018, Boone has had his share of regular-season success. But when the lights get brighter, his teams have consistently come up short.
And it’s not just that they’ve lost - it’s how. The 2022 season is a prime example.
The Yankees came out of the gate scorching, playing at a historic pace through the summer. Then the wheels came off.
A 15+ game lead in the division nearly evaporated, and the team limped into October, only to get swept by the Astros in the ALCS.
That sweep wasn’t just a loss. It was a gut punch.
Boone tried to fire up the team with clips of the 2004 Yankees collapse - yes, that collapse - as motivation. It didn’t work.
The Yankees were outclassed, outplayed, and out of answers. In most organizations, that kind of ending gets people fired.
In the Bronx of old, it certainly would’ve.
But these aren’t the Yankees of George Steinbrenner anymore. This is a more patient, more process-driven front office.
They prefer to let contracts run their course rather than make midstream changes. Boone’s survival after 2022 wasn’t about results.
It was about continuity.
Still, if we’re being honest, 2021 might’ve been the cleaner break. That season ended with Gerrit Cole walking off the mound at Fenway Park, shell-shocked in a Wild Card loss that felt like the final chapter of a team that couldn’t get over the hump.
Boone had a respectable resume at that point. He’d taken the Yankees to the postseason in four straight years.
But they hadn’t reached a World Series. And that loss to the Red Sox - in a season filled with “they can’t lose this one… oh, they just did” moments - felt like a natural endpoint.
Boone was ready. The Yankees weren’t. And now, here we are.
Heading into 2026, the expectations haven’t changed. The roster is built to win now.
The payroll is massive. The fan base is restless.
And Boone, still at the helm, is facing another year where anything short of a deep playoff run will reignite the same questions.
Does Boone have the fire to push this team over the top? Can he channel urgency into results? Or is he still the guy who was ready to walk away five years ago?
That’s the tension at the heart of this season. Boone doesn’t need to become someone he’s not.
But if the Yankees are going to write a different ending this time around, they’ll need more than calm resolve. They’ll need a manager who’s not just at peace with his past - but obsessed with chasing the future.
Because in New York, good isn’t good enough. And Boone knows that better than anyone.