The Tuesday Discussion: Who Gets The Credit?

by Paul Semendinger

September 8, 2025

***

This week we asked our writers the following:

If the Yankees keep playing well and actually win the A.L. East and have the best record in the league, who deserves the most credit for this: Aaron Boone, Brian Cashman, A Specific Player, Someone Else... ?

Here are their responses:

***

Lincoln Mitchell - If the Yankees win the division, there will be plenty of credit to go around. Cashman gets credit for two major offseason acquisitions, Cody Bellinger and Max Fried, that turned out about as well as could be expected. Several players, Fried, Bellinger, Aaron Judge and Carlos Rodon have hall had excellent seasons while others including Ben Rice, Jazz Chisholm and Carlos Rodon have exceeded expectations and become major contributors to this team. One person who does not deserve credit is Aaron Boone. He continues to be a dreadful manager and is the primary reason why the Yankees are not solidly ensconced in first place now. However, the question, as I interpret it, is what person gets the most credit, so I am going with Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins. Atkins had a good team going into the trading deadline but was in a very tough division. If the Yankees catch the Jays and win the division, a big part of the reason will be that Atkins did not do enough at the trading deadline.

***

Andrew Hefner - Aaron Judge is the only right answer. The leadership he brings is far greater than Boone, Cashman, or anyone else can provide. I do not think I need to explain what his actual on field stats provide to this answer, but rather how he has a personalized handshake with every player, or how he helps give advice to coaches and staff that clearly need it. His off-field work is in some ways greater then his production on field and him being named the captain is by far the greatest move the organization has made in recent memory. 

***

Cary Greene - I think we're likely jumping the gun with this question, but if the Yankees are able to win the East and also wind up with the best record in the league, my first inclination would be that MLB scheduling deserves some of the credit. Afterall, the Yankees had one of the easiest stretch run schedules of any playoff team. That said, if the Yankees can stay hot against the upcoming teams they're now about to face, the Tigers and Red Sox, then anything is possible. To win the East, the Yankees will either need to stay red hot or, more than likely, they'll need some help in the form of a team that can win a series against the Blue Jays - or better yet -- sweep them. Perhaps a more realistic goal would be managing to make the postseason?

After completely turning things around, the Yankees have indeed shocked me as I projected them to continue their losing ways during the stretch run as I saw very few indications that the Yankees were going to be able to simply flip a switch and turn things around. They've proven me dead wrong and now the Yankees are on the precipice of ending the season in a very special way, which begs the question: Who is responsible? Has it been a specific player or perhaps the manager, Aaron Boon, or has it simply been thanks to the comparatively harder schedules all the other American League contenders have been playing?

Boone deserves some credit, he's found a way to get the Yankees in the win column and when we stop to consider that the Yankees have gone 18-7 since August 11 as their offense has been able to feast on the weak pitching staffs of teams like the Twins, Cardinals, Rays, Nationals and White Sox - some credit has to be given to Boone for not allowing the Yankees to continue to play poorly. The Yankees are still playing poorly defensively, which certainly reflects on Boone and his coaching staff, but it's largely been a feel good month so who's complaining? 

***

Derek McAdam - The only ones that should be credited are the players, since they are the ones that make the difference on the field. Maybe they finally woke up and realized that there isn’t much baseball left this year. 

***

Mike Whiteman - Much like the swoon did not have one source, the "boon" came about due to multiple factors. If I had to give high credit, it would be to the pitching staff. 

From 6/13-8/15, the team was 23-32, with a 4.41 ERA. 

Since 8/16, they are 20-9, 3.35. 

Teams that pitch well win. Teams that don't lose. It's been that way for a long time. 

***

Tim Kabel - I do not believe the Yankees will have the best record in the league,. Nor do I think they will win the American League East. However, I will accept the premise. If that were to occur, I would give the lion’s share of the praise to Brian Cashman for bringing in Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, and David Bednar, among others. I would also give him credit for re-signing Trent Grisham, a move that I was opposed to. I would not  hold a celebration in honor of Aaron Boone because the Yankees were leading the division by seven games at the end of May and now seem likely to be a Wild Card team.

***

Paul Semendinger - Most often, I write my responses before I read anyone else's, but these last few days I have been swamped with work and didn't get to this until after most everyone else submitted their answers. And, I agree with almost all of them. That's, though, too easy of an answer for me to give...

Aaron Boone should not get much credit, because things seem to happen around him that he reacts to rather than setting in motion. He is still not a good in-game manager. And many of his decisions backfire spectacularly. He also stuck with Anthony Volpe for far too long. That being said, when the Yankees were at rock bottom, some teams could have crumbled and fought among themselves, and completely fallen apart, but that did not happen. Aaron Boone, as the leader, must get credit for that. His continued, "Go get 'em, kid" approach certainly works in that regard.

I was critical of Brian Cashman's trade deadline. As most heaped praise on him, I looked at the deals more critically. I don't think it's smart to wait until July to address a position (third base) that needed a player since the off-season started. Of the three relief pitchers he acquired, only one (David Bednar) has proven his mettle. Still Bednar and McMahon have demonstrated value and have helped this team gel. Along with Cody Bellinger, Max Fried, and Paul Goldschmidt, the team's new players have come together. For that Mr. Cashman deserves credit.

It is the players are, of course, who are getting it done. They're doing the work.

More and more, I am of the belief that this Yankees team will reach and win the World Series. Maybe I have rose-colored glasses right now. Maybe I am just waiting for them to break my heart. But, they did turn it around, if nothing else - and for that there is a lot of credit to go around.

***

Andy Singer - For all of the vitriol this person gets from the larger fanbase, I think he deserves the right to claim success: Brian Cashman. Cashman rebuilt this team nearly from top-to-bottom coming into this year and made a slew of moves at the trade deadline to patch some holes. The pitching and offense have been fantastic over this stretch of baseball, but Cashman built this roster; Cashman is in charge of the player development staff that has produced numerous young players that are contributing to this team; Cashman acquired Rodon, Fried, Bellinger, Chisholm (while giving up little in pieces that could help NY), Bednar, and Grisham. Cashman is in charge of the amateur scouting group that consistently brings along prospects consistently worthy of use in trades or in the lineup.

The only real mark against Cashman, as I see it, is his continued insistence on keeping Aaron Boone as the manager. Cashman has built a winner; it's up to Boone to get the team playing up to its capability. The players on the field have been excellent, but I think Cashman has built one of the best rosters in baseball using a really potent mix of free agent spending, smart trades, and prospect development.