Inside The Pinstripes

Mariano Rivera: Yankees Are Making Mistake Keeping Aaron Boone as Manager

Hal Steinbrenner said this week that he plans on keeping Aaron Boone at manager for the 2023 season.

Max Goodman

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If Mariano Rivera was in charge, the Yankees would be in the market for a new skipper this offseason.

The Hall of Fame closer said that Aaron Boone wouldn't return as the Yankees manager next season if he was the boss.

“If I’m the owner, Aaron Boone wouldn’t stay,” Rivera said Wednesday at the Sports Forum of the Panamanian Association of Business Executives. “When things don’t come out the way we want them to all of the fault goes on the manager and somebody has to pay the price and we won’t put that on the players…”

Rivera's comment was initially delivered in Spanish and translated by SNY.

Boone and Rivera were teammates in pinstripes during the 2003 season. New York made it to the World Series that year, thanks in large part to Boone's legendary walk-off home run in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, but ended up falling short to the Marlins in the Fall Classic.

As much as the longtime Yankees closer thinks New York is making a mistake retaining their skipper, it doesn't seem like Rivera's recommendation will come to fruition. Owner Hal Steinbrenner told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he doesn't plan on making a change, remarking that Boone is a "very good manager."

In a sense, Boone did his job in 2022. Coming off a season littered with inconsistencies—ending with a crushing loss in the Wild Card Game against the rival Red Sox—Boone led New York to a 99-win campaign and a division title. Still, the Yankees couldn't get over the hump in October, getting swept by the Houston Astros in the ALCS. They haven't been back to the World Series since 2009.

You can point fingers in many different directions when looking back at this season. Everyone from the players to general manager Brian Cashman and Steinbrenner himself played a role in another early postseason exit. 

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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