New York Yankees News: Yesterday was a very difficult day for Yankee Manager Aaron Boone (video)

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone had a very tough day yesterday.  First, one must understand that everything that went on yesterday, happened under the shadow of the great Jackie Robinson.  Number 42 paved the way for black players to enter the major leagues. Jackie Robinson was an African American professional baseball player who broke Major Leagues Baseball’s infamous “color barrier” when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. Until that time, professional ballplayers of color suited up for teams only in the Negro Leagues.

Yesterday MLB celebrated Jackie Robinson day.  The celebration usually takes place on April 15th, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the celebration of his life was pushed forward to when baseball was actually being played. Yesterday on the Diamond Vision screen at Yankee Stadium images of Jackie Robinson’s career was shown. The bases were all marked with the number 42. All the Yankees and Mets players wore the number 42 on their backs. Famous New York Yankee and Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera was one of several active players who wore No. 42 when he began his career. Those active players already wearing the number were permitted to wear it until they retired. Rivera retired in 2013, and when his number 42 was finally retired in Monument Park, Jackie Robinson’s widow and daughter were at his side.

In a horribly ironic occurrence, the black star that played Jackie Robinson in the movie “42”, Chadwick Boseman died yesterday on Jackie Robinson day.  The talented star was just 43 years old. He died of colon cancer, which he had been battling since 2016.  Jackie Robinson died of a heart attack at the age of 53, at his Stamford, Connecticut home.

For Aaron Boone, the day started with the hope of curbing the slide, that the Yankees have suffered over the last several days, losing five games in a row.  That hope was dashed as the Yankees slipped to third place in the East Division, after losing two more, making it seven in a row.  This was particularly hard for Boone as the Yankees had the lead in both games of the doubleheader. In both cases, the Yankee bullpen gave up the lead. In game one Jordan Montgomery pitched five solid innings, only to have the Yankee’s most dependable reliever, Chad Green come into the game, and give up five runs that the Yankees could not recover from.

Game two was more of the same, being the seventh loss in a row, something the Yankees hadn’t done since Joe Girardi’s 2017 team. For the Yankees, it was an “opener game” started by Jonathan Loaisiga, who pitched one-run ball for three innings, striking out three on 39 pitches. Adam Ottavino, Nick Nelson, and Luis Cessa turned over a 3-2 lead to Chapman, who has yet to record a save after opening the season on the COVID-19 injured list. Zack Britton who covered for Chapman saved all of his eight tries. Chapman allowed a two-run walk-off homer to Amed Rosario.

Following the games, in a post-game interview, a clearly dejected Boone was asked a difficult question, that he became very emotional over and could not answer, abruptly leaving the room.

He recovered shortly thereafter, and stated about the games: “you have to quickly move on.”  On the matter of his black children, he said, his eyes puffy from just having fought back tears, had been asked if the Black Lives Matter movement may have resonated more with him because two of his four children are adopted, and black. “It’s been a hard and heavy year,” Boone said. “A heartbreaking year in so many ways.”

A very tough day for Boone for sure. Today the Yankees will again try to end the slide when New York Yankee pitcher J.A. Happ takes the mound in a matinee game at Yankee Stadium.