About The Off-Season: A Boone-Doggle

About The Off-Season: A Boone-Doggle

By Tim Kabel

October 22, 2026

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The Yankees announced earlier this week that Aaron Boone would be back to manage the Yankees for the 10th year in 2027. It is also the final year of his contract. Not long after, it was announced by Brian Cashman, that his own contract had been extended by the Yankees. It is a long-term contract, but the terms have not been released as the final language is being worked out. They can't decide between “in perpetuity” or “forever”

I was one of many people who advocated for the Yankees to make a change in manager for 2027. They did not. Aaron Boone has managed the Yankees longer than anyone else in franchise history without winning a World Series. 2027 will be his 10th year as the manager. In the Yankees storied history of championships, the Boone era will be known as “the Decade of the Participation Ribbon.” My initial reaction to this announcement was disappointment, frustration and confusion. I have moved past that to feeling like Paulie Walnuts on the Sopranos, “How much betrayal am I supposed to take?”

I'm trying to process this in a logical and calm manner. It is not extremely surprising. But I still don't like the move. However, let's take a closer look at it.

 Aaron Boone was already under contract for 2027. There is uncertainty regarding the collective bargaining agreement and whether there will be a lockout. Due to that uncertainty, the Yankees probably didn't want to bring in a new manager without having an idea as to when the season will start and what the season will look like. On some level, that makes sense.

The other aspect that can be best described as a silver lining is that the Yankees did not give Aaron Boone an extension. They did not reward nine years of excuses and failure to win a World Series with two or three more years. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Without an extension, Boone’s contract will expire at the end of the 2027 season.

Based on that information, it is extremely safe and reasonable to believe that if the Yankees do not reach their ultimate goal, (or at least their stated goal), of winning the World Series next year, Aaron Boone will not return in 2028. I could be wrong about that but if they planned to bring him back in 2028 regardless of whether they won the World Series, they would have extended him now. In addition, Hal Steinbrenner admitted that Boone’s future was discussed for over a week before it was ultimately decided to bring him back. So, it was not a lock. There was some doubt. There is another aspect to this. Let's say that the 2027 season starts as scheduled or is delayed only slightly.  

A couple of years ago, Brian Cashman caused a bit of a stir when he stated that you had to expect Giancarlo Stanton to miss time due to injuries every year. He stated that at this point of Stanton’s career, it was a given that he would have a fairly lengthy stint or perhaps two on the IL every season. Stanton and his agent were apparently mortified and wounded to the core by this statement. However, it's true. In 2026, Stanton spent far longer on the IL than he did off it off it. 

That same principle can be applied to swoons as long as Aaron Boone is the manager. Every season, the Yankees go into a tailspin usually at the end of May or the beginning of June and it lasts through June and July and sometimes deep into August. It's inevitable. It's a given. It's like when you were in algebra class and the teacher said that it was a given that X = 7. With Aaron Boone the given is that the Yankees will have a lengthy slide every season. They will play mediocre baseball, right around the .500 mark, for at least thirty to sixty games. The thing about it is the manager never knows how it started, why it happened, when it's going to end or why it ended. It simply happened. It's like asking a child why the rug has a giant ink stain in the middle of it. “I don't know.” Meanwhile that same child has a big bottle of ink in his hand.

The thing about the 2027 Boone-Swoon, which we all know is coming, is that this time, Aaron Boone does not have a safety net. The Yankee aren't going to say, “well, we can't fire him. We'd have to pay him for two more years. He's already under contract; we might as well ride this out.” No, that will no longer be the case. When the Boone-Swoon comes in 2027, Boone might be dancing to a different tune during the swoon. It could be High Noon for Boone. In the words of Ralph Kramden, it could be. “To the moon, Boone”. If Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner decide during next year's Boone-Swoon not to wait around for the team to pop out of it simply to once again be a Wild Card team and then be eliminated early in the playoffs, they would only have to pay Boone for the remainder of the 2027 season. That might be a loss they're willing to take.

Considering all that, as annoying and disheartening as it was to hear that the Yankees were bringing Aaron Boone back, it was someone inevitable, particularly in light of the potential work stoppage. It is also a very limited situation. They did not extend Boone’s contract. As Brian Cashman has repeatedly stated, he believes the shelf life for a manager is ten years. This will be Boone’s 10th year. I suspect that the only way he would come back for an 11th year under a new contract would be if the Yankees won the World Series. 

The first thing is to get through the period of uncertainty regarding the lockout and the 2027 season in general. Once that happens, it will be interesting to see how things play out. I think the leash for Aaron Boone will be exceptionally short in 2027. It certainly wasn't extended. He doesn't have one of those little leashes that keeps going and going when the dog runs out forever like the reel on Quint’s fishing rod in Jaws. This is a short leash that could lead to a Boone Voyage.

By the way, this is my 715^th article for SSTN. I have passed Babe Ruth.

(Editor's Note - Tim, you're the Babe Ruth of SSTN. Thanks for writing so often and so well!)