Typically, the New York Yankees utilize the media as a building tool and growth orchestrator. Curating stories to keep attention from fans and expand their reach is how sports grow in general. In recent years, baseball has done a poor job of expanding to younger demographics and capturing the minds of young potential fans. However, it’s not because of a lack of New York media coverage, as the Yankees have been relatively good despite failing to make a World Series appearance in over ten years.
It is crucial for managers to understand how they can utilize the media to brew excitement within their team. That is what Aaron Boone has been doing with Gary Sanchez, on his weekly spot with Michael Kay on ESPN 98.7. While Sanchez has been struggling mightily to begin the season, Boone always has a silver lining to portray. Whether it be how he’s framing pitches or taking more balls at the plate, any way to bolster his catcher is a go.
However, New York fans are highly investigative with their team and know as much as possible. Every player is in the spotlight, and there’s nobody that goes unseen in New York. Boone has to understand that the media will utilize anything against the team.
The New York Yankees created a hostile environment with Judge’s injury:
This past week, after star slugger Aaron Judge was pulled from a game in the fifth inning after a solo home run, Boone blatantly lied to the media.
While it is quite difficult to navigate these circumstances, as Judge might not have appeared injured at first, being honest with the scrum is a necessity. Fast forward a few days, and Boone stated that Judge was dealing with some “lower body tightness.”
The worst of it came on Friday evening when Judge was placed on the injured list with a calf strain, and everybody was up in arms. People believe Boone lied to the media and the fans, which, in their eyes, is unacceptable. While it might have been a way to suppress the noise from Judge’s injury as they prepared for Boston, it had more of an effect on Boone’s trustworthiness.
After he pushed his usual press conference from 4 PM to 5:20 PM on Friday, the New York Yankees’ media begin to speculate on the situation. Of course, it was never going to be good news when the lineup was released, and Aaron Judge was not in it.
Things really began to percolate when Boone stated that Judge was feeling the “wear and tear” of the season. Many felt that playing 17 games with multiple days off should not result in “wear and tear” for a 28-year-old player. However, the reality is simple; Judge is injury prone, along with Giancarlo Stanton. Most fans expect them to go down at some point during the season, and Boone remaining honest with the media is something that will only help him. Either way, people will be upset over these injuries.
How do you feel about Aaron Boone withholding this information from fans and the media? Comment below!