livestream icon

Aaron Boone

New York Yankees: Will Aaron Boone remain Yankee Manager at the end of 2020?

by

At the beginning of December 2017, the New York Yankees officially replaced Joe Girardi with Aaron Boone.  He signed a three-year contract with the Yankees for $1.15 million a year with a team option for 2021.  That amount is high for a rookie manager but low compared to many in the MLB, including the Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Scioscia, who earns $6MM a year for a team that has won one World Championships in 60 years.  Scioscia last brought the Angels to the World Series 18 years ago.

Many Yankee fans were sorry to see Joe Girardi go, and just as dissatisfied with the Yankee’s pick of Aaron ‘who” Boone.  Some Yankees had remembered him as a player that was unremarkable except for his famous home run that brought the Yankees to the World Series against the Red Sox.  Their main concern was that he had no managerial experience, not even being a baseball coach.  But, in his first year, he managed a team that produced 100 wins, he gained some respect among Yankee fans.

Upon his hiring New York Yankee owner and General Partner Hal Steinbrenner said:

“I firmly believe that Aaron possesses the attributes needed to follow in the tradition of great Yankees managers,” Hal Steinbrenner said in a statement. “From all accounts, he is a polished communicator who possesses the ability to cultivate and grow relationships. Aaron has also spent a lifetime immersed in baseball, affording him a unique and intimate understanding of what fosters team success.

 

“Aaron’s name is already etched into Yankees history, and my family and I are excited to welcome him back to this franchise. This opportunity will allow him to continue to make a positive impact on this organization in distinctly new and meaningful ways.”

Enter the 2019 season.  Boone would be faced with unimagined problems in managing a team that would have an unprecedented number of injuries, 39 to 30 different players.  Boone had to continually bring up players from the minor leagues and shift his lineups almost every day.  In that task, Aaron Boone was masterful, and he brought his team to even more wins (103) and take them to the postseason.  The New York Yankees would sweep the Minnesota Twins in four games in the ALDS.

After winning the ALDS, they moved on to face the Houston Astros in the ALCS.  The Yankees shut out the Astros in Game one 7-0. By the time Game 5 came about, the Yankees would find themselves in an elimination game in which the Yankees James Paxton would best the Astros at Yankee Stadium.  The series moved to the last two games at Minuteman Field in Houston.  In Game 6, it would be the top of the ninth that the Yankees would tie the game up when first baseman DJ LeMahieu hit a two-run homer.  But at the bottom of the frame, Altuve’s walk-off Astros home would take them to the World Series.

Many in baseball think that the Houston Astros cheated in the ALCS and that the may have worn electronic devices that alerted hitters what pitch was coming, thus cheating the Yankees of a World Series berth.  MLB later proved that the Yankees were cheated in the 2017 ALCS.  Leading to the further belief that they continued to cheat, although MLB could not find enough evidence to support the claim.  Whatever the case, the Yankees went to the 6th game of the ALCS, proving that Boone’s management success wasn’t just a fluke and further endearing him to fans.

This year with the coronavirus, the season, if played at all, will be greatly shortened with an expanded postseason.  Regardless, Boone’s contract is up whether a season is played or not.  The Yankees do have a team option to hold on to him for a 2021 season when his contract will expire.  19 managers in MLB make more money than Aaron Boone, most of which haven’t made the postseason in years.  With the exception of Davey Martinez, who won the World Series last year for the Washington Nationals.  He earns only $850k a year.

With Boone’s success, the New York Yankees are bound to take up their option and keep Boone for the 2021 season unless he fails miserably in 2020.  What happens after that depends on Boone’s performance and whether the Yankees will be willing to pay Boone, who undoubtedly will demand a salary commensurate with managers that usually take their teams to the postseason.

New York Yankees: Aaron Judge could still miss time in a significantly delayed regular season

by

Taking a look at Aaron Judge and why he could still miss time during the 2020 season with the New York Yankees:

When the Yankees initially diagnosed Aaron Judge with a stress fracture on a rib, nobody anticipated such negative news. He had been feeling some discomfort for months without realizing a fracture in a bone —  that’s a significant miss. This is a testament to the previous strength and conditioning regimen, who were unable to decipher the physical strain he was experiencing.

Fast forward several months, and Judge has been gifted the opportunity to heal while the MLB suspends operations. The Yankees were scheduled to open the season without Judge, Aaron Hicks, James Paxton, Giancarlo Stanton, and Luis Severino. Manager Aaron Boone mentioned the additional time to heal has been a silver lining for the Bombers, who have been experiencing higher rates of injuries the past few seasons.

“This time down has allowed that rib, that bone to hopefully continue to heal,” Boone said. “All signs are encouraging there. Hopefully, this time down allows that rib to heal properly and hopefully have him part of all this as well.”

Despite Judge slowly making a recovery, reports have indicated that the league could open back up in the coming weeks. A suggested July 1 opening day has been floated in the media, but nothing is confirmed yet. With Judge still recovering, it is possible he could miss regular-season games, which attest to how significant the injury was and how much time he would have missed if the league had started on time. He would not be ready for spring training if it were to begin today, and he was far from participating in Grapefruit League play back in February and March.

Aside from the broken rib, Judge also suffered a collapsed lung that has healed over the past few months. He received injections prior to the postseason, so he could mitigate the pain interfering with his performance. Throughout the off-season, he did not experience any discomfort, but when he began to ramp up activities before spring training, the pain started to settle in. Last year, Judge was limited to 102 games due to an oblique strain.

Getting out of this injury funk is a priority for Eric Cressey and the new strength and conditioning staff.

New York Yankees: Aaron Boone provides an injury update on four key players

by

New York Yankees skipper Aaron Boone gave us an injury update on four key players in a recent radio interview.

Giancarlo Stanton

Stanton was diagnosed with a grade one calf strain in spring training. He had just two plate appearances and was expected to miss an extended period of time.

“He’s doing really well and should be good to go whenever we get ready to go back,” said Boone of Stanton.

Aaron Hicks

Hicks injured his arm in August, and the team thought that he would be able to avoid Tommy John surgery. He was able to return for part of the postseason, but more tests after the season showed that he did need Tommy John.

“He’s doing really well,” said Boone. “He’s already doing soft toss from both sides of the plate and throwing out to 90+ feet.”

Hicks could potentially be the first player to undergo Tommy John surgery in the offseason and still play on Opening Day.

James Paxton

Paxton underwent surgery in February to remove a peridiscal cyst in his back.

“James Paxton, who’s gonna be ready in mid-May, is on that timeline,” said the third-year skipper. “He’s already thrown five or six bullpens, and I think he actually threw a sim game yesterday to a couple guys where he is. His rehab has gone really really well.”

Aaron Judge

Judge was sidelined at the beginning of Spring Training due to a fractured rib and collapsed lung sustained in September of 2019.

“He’s due for another CT scan, I believe in couple more weeks,” said Boone. “This time down has allowed that rib, that bone, to continue to heal.”

With the season possibly beginning next month, the Yankees hope that players will be able to report soon if they choose to.

Yankees’ skipper Aaron Boone expresses confidence that 2020 season will happen

by
New York Yankees, Aaron Boone

New York Yankees’ skipper Aaron Boone speaks about the possibility of a season in 2020:

With rumors beginning to bubble to the surface that baseball could return in the coming weeks, excitement has started to brew. It has been seven weeks since the MLB shut down operations and prematurely ended Grapefruit League and Spring Training play. This significantly sets back teams and players looking to leave their mark and potentially make the active roster.

However, Yankees field manager Aaron Boone joined ESPN to speak about the potential of returning to baseball and if a season will, in fact, go on in 2020.

“Yeah, we are certainly hopeful that it seems like as more time goes off the clock and as we learn more every day, hopefully it’s bringing more information and more opportunity,” Boone said. “It does seem like maybe more plans are becoming feasible, so we’ll just have to see how the next days and weeks play out. Hopefully, we could have, as [you said] the best of those bad plans. I think a lot of us, and I know a lot of sports fans would love to see some way shape or form, us back and performing again.”

There have been rumors that the MLB could rearrange the divisions, where each division has 10 teams, and the season could begin in late June or early July. The hope is that teams will be able to play in their home park by the summer, but the reality is Arizona seems like the best fit at this point.

According to a source at MLB network, the season will go on; it is just a matter of when and how they will arrange each division so that a shortened season makes sense logistically.

New York state governor Andrew Cuomo stated that there is a possibility Yankee Stadium and Citi Field could be open this summer for games to go on. While fans might not be in attendance, the injection of entertainment into society at this moment would be extremely beneficial and heartwarming.

New York Yankees: Aaron Boone checks on Adam Ottavino and Gerrit Cole’s respective programs

by
New York Yankees, Aaron Boone

By now, the New York Yankees were supposed to be playing official MLB games. However, due to concerns about the coronavirus’ outbreak that has killed thousands of people around the world, the league decided to follow CDC’s recommendations and suspend its activities indefinitely.

While MLB and the players’ association are seeking several avenues for baseball to return this year, it is unclear if medical and public health officials will allow it, and it is not a given that minimal conditions for the safety of players, fans and staffers are met. For now, the Yankees and the other 29 teams are patiently waiting.

Meanwhile, New York Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone keeps doing his job: managing the team. Lately, he spoke about the health of James Paxton, Aaron Judge and other injured stars, providing hope that they can be healthy whenever the season starts.

He is at home with his family, according to MLB.com, but Boone has also occasionally joined hurlers Gerrit Cole and Adam Ottavino to help them in their respective programs. In fact, both pitchers threw bullpen sessions with the manager on Wednesday.

Basically, Boone is monitoring the “offseason” activities of his players. He is helping them stay sharp in case the season starts relatively soon, which is a possibility.

“They’re both doing really well,” Boone said. “Physically, they’re in a good place as far as workload and keeping their arms going. It’s putting them in a good position once we get going.”

The Yankees’ skipper is taking advantage of Zoom calls

The Yankees’ manager also stated he has been busy getting in touch with everybody in the organization, including players, through Zoom calls. The communication has been very active in the last month.

Boone explained that the Yankees had a rather large call last week with several players taking part, in addition to coaches, strength and conditioning staff and front-office personnel. According to the Yankees’ on-field leader, it was a “casual, fun call,” that offered players a chance to ask questions and share their progress.

“It was a little bit of a state of the union, I guess, from my standpoint,” Boone said. “It was more a chance for guys to get on and just talk smack to one another, see how everyone’s doing, see everyone — which I think was cool for everyone. I know they have their different FaceTime and video game things they do together, but it was good to get on and see those guys, and have Tommy [Kahnle] come in and be silly on there.”

Yankees News/Rumors: Boone on the cheating Red Sox, Injury updates and much more

by

Boone on the cheating Red Sox

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone weighed in on the Red Sox sign-stealing scheme that was released on Wednesday by Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred.  The commissioner’s report said that Boston’s video-replay operator in 2018, J.T. Watkins, at times during that season, used the game feeds in the replay room “in violation of MLB regulations, to revise sign sequence information that he had permissibly provided to players before the game.’’

MLB found that the Boston cheating scheme was not as egregious as the sign-stealing that was committed by the Houston Astros that may have cost the New York Yankees a berth in the 2017 World Series.  Many feel that the punishments issued by MLB against the Astros was too light and did not strip them of their Championship.  Likewise, the punishments given to the Boston team were also too light. 

MLB suspended Watkins from operating the video replay machine through the 2021 season.  The MLB did not fine the team or any of the players or front office with the exception of manager Alex Cora who had already been fired by the Red Sox.  He was suspended for one season but not for what he did as a Red Sox.  The only real punishment given was the loss of a second-round draft pick. The cheating may have cost the Yankees wins in 2018 that saw the Yankees lose to the Red Sox in the ALDS.

Boone was asked yesterday on the YES Network if he thought the MLB punishments fit the crime?  Boone responded:

“I don’t know. Who knows exactly what went down? I do trust that Major League Baseball thoroughly investigated and got to the bottom of things as best they can. I feel like if that’s what they come up with, so be it. It’s time to move on.’’

New York Yankees injury updates:

New York Yankee pitcher James Paxton who underwent back surgery late in the offseason, was expected to miss at least three to four months of the season.  With his rehab going well, that was reduced to two to three months.  New York Yankees’ new pitching coach Matt Blake from his home in Cleveland said the Paxton had been playing catch for some time now, and his rehab is going well.  Paxton will benefit from the coronavirus shutdown and may now not miss any playing time at all, depending on when the regular season starts.

Aaron Judge suffered a fractured rib and a partially collapsed lung while diving for a catch near the end of last season.  After a series of MRIs were performed during spring training that saw Judge not take part in any games, it was determined that the shoulder issues he was having were really caused by the cracked rib.  The collapsed lung resolved itself nicely, and when spring training was halted, his rib was already healing.   Judge as well has benefited from the time off.  Boone said when speaking with the YES Network’s Meredith Marakovitz said:

“He’s in Tampa, we’re using this time, he’s using this time to continue to heal. I don’t really have much more for you other than, obviously, it’s been very productive having the chance to have this time to allow that rib to heal. That is happening. But as for where he’s at exactly, we don’t have anything for you on that yet.”

In other injury news, Aaron Hicks that was supposed to miss a large chunk of the season due to rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, is now expected to miss only a small portion of the shortened season if he misses any of it.  He is throwing and progressing nicely.  Outfielder and DH Giancarlo Stanton has completely recovered from his grade one calf strain and is ready to go, according to Boone.   Unfortunately, ace Luis Severino will miss the entire season due to Tommy John surgery that was performed during spring training.

What are Yankee pitchers doing during the shutdown

New York Yankee pitchers are trying to stay in form during the coronavirus shutdown.  Newly acquired ace Gerrit Cole is at his new home in Greenwich, CT.  He is working out and pitching to his athletic wife Amy and to Yankee Manager Aaron Boone, who lives nearby.  James Paxton is rehabbing at his home in Wisconsin.  Matt Blake is keeping close tabs on him and his recovery and is directing his pitching rehab. Blake has said he is closer to a return each day.

Masahiro Tanaka is staying in form and doing some pitching at local fields in his native Japan.  J.A. Happ is also at home trying to stay in form.  Pitching coach Matt Blake has said he is letting his veteran pitchers pretty much handle there own ways to stay in shape so that they can start where they left off during a mini-spring training.  He is more closely supervising the programs of Jordan Montgomery, Johnathan Loaisiga, Luis Cessa, and others.

Giancarlo Stanton on his performance

Giancarlo Stanton came to the New York Yankees after being traded by the Miami Marlins at the end of the 2017 season in which he was named the National League MVP.  Since coming to the Yankees, he has underwhelmed and has suffered several injuries.

No one wants Stanton to get back to his 2017 form more than Stanton himself.  He has said that he thinks he is one of the keys to advancing the Yankees back to the World Series.  “The newness of my surroundings was the most challenging thing for me,” Stanton said this past February from his locker inside the Yankees clubhouse at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida. “Even things as simple as getting to the ballpark and getting around the city took time to get comfortable with. You try to minimize the time you spend concentrating on all of the things away from baseball, to be your best on the field. But everything was brand new.”

Stanton is now healthy and ready for the season to begin whenever that happens.  He wants to contribute in a big way.  He knows it’s a team effort and that it doesn’t come from just home runs.  He, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, and Gleyber Torres have the ability to hit 160 home runs if they hit to their potential.  Stanton indicated that that is the icing on the cake.  It’s a team effort of getting on base and having excellent defense.  Stanton wants this to be a breakout season with the Yankees.

 

 

New York Yankees: The risk they took on Aaron Boone keeps paying off

by

Imagine you’re spending the week at Caesar’s Palace in the iconic Las Vegas, Nevada. You’ve had a wonderful week of great bets that consistently get you your money back, if not a little bit more. Lots of highs, and of course a handful of lows. Then Friday hits, and you place $1,000 on black at the roulette table, just for the thrill of taking that risk. It ends up landing on red, and you’ve lost that $1,000. After an entire week of solid bets and winnings, all that’s in your mind going back to your hotel room is that most recent loss of $1,000.

Now, take that same logic and apply it to the New York Yankees stretch under Joe Girardi. Girardi was the Yankees manager from 2008-2017. In those nine seasons as manager, he put together a record of 910-710 (.562 Win %), brought a ring back to the Bronx in ’09, and led one of the most exciting teams in recent memory — the 2017 team. Ultimately, despite that 2017 team’s fantastic run, he lost the locker room, as that was the last season he would manage the Bronx Bombers. Despite all his successes as skipper, the final year was what ownership remembered, and thus decided it was time to move on from Girardi.

Girardi was a fantastic manager for the Yankees in his own right, and will likely be a great leader for the Phillies as well. However, when its time, its time, and a vast majority of fans of the team saw this day coming. When the news broke, everyone began to wonder who could be the new guy that would replace someone as successful, as committed to winning as Girardi. There were ideas of either Raul Ibanez coming to manage his former team, or Carlos Beltran even. I was one of the people that would’ve loved to have seen Alex Rodriguez be given an opportunity as I feel like his knowledge and love for the game of baseball makes him one of the smarter people around the game today. Yet, one name that was continually being talked about was that of Yankees cult hero Aaron Boone.

Boone’s career wasn’t anything special, as ultimately the only year he spent with the Yankees as part of the 2003 season — 54 games to be exact. However, as every baseball fan knows, he will forever live in infamy in the eyes of Red Sox fans, as he notoriously came into game 7 of the ’03 ALCS versus Tim Wakefield in the bottom of the 11th inning, and the rest is history. He also had no managerial experience but impressed nonetheless in the interview and extensive talks between him and the front office.

While his career as a player was less than exciting — career OPS of .751, 93 wRC+, and 10.0 fWAR across 4,331 PA’s — his career as a manager is already looking to be on the road to great success and having his name in Yankees history. Boone’s first season managing the team in 2018 saw the Yankees not only acquire Giancarlo Stanton in what was seen as a fleece of all fleeces at the time — and I’d argue still — but also saw the team put together a very solid year. The Yankees went 100-62 in a very competitive AL East division, and players like Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar shined bright in their first extensive big league showcase.

The future looked up for the Yankees, and the following season Aaron Boone would prove that he is truly one of the best managers in the sport of baseball, and should not be referred to solely as a “stop-gap” while the Yankees search for their “true” manager of the future.

In 2019, the Yankees went 103-59 and finish one home-run behind the Twins for the MLB record, with 306. Now, that is all the more impressive when one takes into account that the Yankees also broke another record that season — the most players sent to the IL in a single season. In ’19 30 players were sent to the IL, and of those players, it included Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Andujar, Aaron Hicks, and Luke Voit amongst countless others. Simply put, Boone managed to lead a team without all its star power to a 103-59 record. There’s no denying that Boone is one of the more involved managers, and despite the fact many people think its just Cashman pulling the strings while Boone acts as a pretty face, he continually fights for his guys and defends his team.

The most notorious moment of Boone’s managerial career has to be when he rushed umpire Brennan Miller, after a horrendous strike three calls on Brett Gardner which then led to an ejection, and yelled various things that have since stuck with all Yankees fans. Phrases like “I feel bad for you”, “Tighten this s**t up”, and of course the infamous “My guys are f***ing savages in that box.” To see Boone show that much fire and emotion was a rare sight as usually he is very poised and doesn’t lose his cool. However, it shows that he is on his guys’ side and has their backs regardless of whatever happens.

The 2019 Manager of the Year award was narrowed down to three finalists, Rocco Baldelli of the Twins, Aaron Boone of the Yankees, and Kevin Cash of the Rays. Baldelli ended up edging out Boone by ten total points, but there was a massive amount of people that felt as if Boone was completely robbed. For him to have the third-best record in all of baseball, despite having so many injuries — and so frequently, speaks bounds. No disrespect to Baldelli, but if Kepler, Rosario, Polanco, Berrios, Odorizzi, and say, Nelson Cruz, was to miss as much time as the Yankees core did, that Twins team would have won 85 games.

Take it back to the 2017 offseason when the Yankees were amidst their first true “rebuild” in a long while, within the front office, and people were hesitant to support and endorse Boone as manager. Many people viewed him as a signing to, as mentioned, hold the team over for a year or two. Yet, here we are, with baseball on hold, but with a top-quality manager managing over a top-quality team.

While ultimately in baseball it is a game of taking risks, and the slightest changes can make all the difference in the world, the Boone signing is one that will show its quality and value for many years to come. Boone has played an integral role in the development of numerous key players on the team, as well as a key role in bringing Giancarlo Stanton and Gerrit Cole to New York. A very smart, savvy, and analytics-driven Yankees front office has found their man for the foreseeable future, and as a Yankees fan myself, I couldn’t ask for anyone better.

Take that same gambling analogy at the beginning, and view it as if when the Yankees signed Boone, while you lost that $1,000 Friday night, you woke up Saturday and hit the jackpot.

MLB: The 10 biggest cheats in baseball, and it doesn’t exclude the New York Yankees

by

Throughout the history of sports, there have been cheaters, and that includes the New York Yankees.  From ice skater Tanya Harding to bicyclist Lance Armstrong to the Patriots and the Houston Astros, cheating has always entered into the results of sporting events.  Some cheating was relatively innocent to some that were totally outrageous.  Here is a look at this writer’s top ten baseball cheats.

10. Ty Cobb

It may be shocking to know that a name as famous as Ty Cob was involved in cheating at the game he is known for.  In fact, this cheating athlete was known to frequently trip base runners as they ran around the diamond,
step on infielders with his sharp cleats, and steal signs as well, maybe relatively minor compared to some, it shows that the best of athletes still cheat sometimes.

9. Whitey Ford

The beloved “Chairman of the Board” Whitey Ford did in fact cheat for the New York Yankees.  Apparently he would use his own wedding ring to cut open the baseball and then proceeded to put mud inside before pitching to the batter. He even conspired with his catcher, Elston Howard, who would use his shin guard to slice the ball as well.  Ford would later admit, “I used enough mud to build a dam,” referring to the 1963 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

8. Danny Almonte

Kids cheat at sports too.  Pitching sensation, Danny Almonte found a way to cheat.  There are rules in baseball, and these rules were broken in the Little League World Series of 2001.  Almonte was mowing down hitters with his 70mph fastball.  The age limit for Little Leaguers is 12. After the series documents turned up, proving Almonte was actually 14 years old giving him an unfair age advantage.

7. Kenny Rogers

In the 2006 World Series, something fishy was going on with Detroit Tigers pitcher Kenny Rogers in Game 2. While he was taking his spot on the mound, the cameras caught something strange. There was a strange substance on Rogers’ hand, which he later described as “dirt mixed with
rosin.”  The altered ball would not perform as expected.

6. Graig Nettles

Craig Nettles boasted a 22 year-long career in baseball. He earned himself the nickname “Puff” and played for the Montreal Expos, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and Minnesota Twins. In 1974, Nettles was caught cheating by way of using superballs, which are said to help hitters by adding an extra bounce to a bat.  When discovered, the balls were taken off the field, and Nettles was given a 10 game suspension.

5. Joe Niekro

Joe Niekro’s cheating method makes for an interesting addition to the vast amount of cheating methods that other players used. It’s unclear how
long Niekro was doing it, but it was in 1987 that he was caught.  He was pitching for the Minnesota Twins at the time, and during the game an emery board and a sheet of sandpaper fell out of his pocket.  Niekro was removed from the mound and suspended for ten games.

4. Gaylord Perry

Everyone knew that Gaylord Perry was using a “spitball” and it led to MLB making it illegal.  It’s a well-known fact that he would slab a nice helping of Vaseline underneath his cap, or even inside his sleeve. This was so that he could swipe it on the ball for a spitball. The additive you make the ball fly unpredictably.  Somehow this was overlooked, and Perry made it to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

3. Barry Bonds and company

From Barry Bonds to Alex Rodriguez the former New York Yankee the “steroid era” will forever affect the baseball sport and the validity of records for those players and the dozen upon dozens of undiscovered cheats. These groups of baseball cheats together comprised one of the most legendary and notorious examples of fraud in the history of modern sports. In the case of one of the greatest baseball players ever, Alex Rodriguez will never be considered for the Hall of Fame.

2. The New York Giants

The New York Giants came as close as a team to the cheating Houston Astros as a team could come. ESPN once called this 1951 team the “biggest group of cheaters in baseball history.” They would use an actual telescope in order to steal signs from the opposing team’s catcher. Once they knew what pitch the pitcher was about to throw, they would ring either a bell or a buzzer to inform the batter. Although the technic was ancient compared to the electronics used by the Astros it was just as egregious.

Pete Rose

Although not part of the top ten because it doesn’t involve actual cheating in a game, Pete Rose broke a cardinal rule by betting on baseball.  Suspended for life, this great baseball player may never enter the Baseball Hall of Fame, which he so richly deserves due to his clearly illegal deeds.

1. The Houston Astros

During this baseball postseason, the Commissioner of Baseball after an investigation determined that the Houston Astros when out of their way to electronically steal signs and relay them to hitters.  It may have cost the New York Yankee a World Series bid and may have cost the Los Angeles Dodgers a World Series win.  That is not to mention the stats of players they played against that year.  The New York Yankee player Aaron Judge may have missed out on the MVP for that year when Astros player Jose Altuve received the nod.

The sign stealing was so egregious that they were fined, their general manager and field manager were suspended and later fired.  It is still controversial as the Commissioner failed to strip them of their 2017 World Series title, and did not fine or charge any Houston Astros player for wrongdoing.

 

The Yankees will start the 2020 season with a full bill of health

by
New York Yankees, James Paxton

The late start to the season will give the Yankees plenty of time to heal and ensure they’re prepared to feature their starting team.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused every sports league to shut down operations and adapt to the new way of life during a global crisis. It’s essential to be aware of the severity of the virus and how it’s affecting the country, and sports are in flux because of it.

The Yankees have sat idly while the virus progresses and moves through the nation, informally working out from their homes and staying connected via zoom and other video-chat meetings. Most players have returned to their homes after cases spiked in Florida, around their facilities. Gerrit Cole purchased a house down in Florida near Aaron Boone, so the pair have been in contact and have played catch on a few occasions.

The extra tie has given players like Aaron Judge, James Paxton, and Giancarlo Stanton time to heal. If the league were to start today, Stanton would be eligible to return but would need live reps in the minors to work his way up to form. Judge is still healing from a stress fracture in a rib that was diagnosed late, and Paxton was projected to return in early-May.

With talks of the league returning in the next few months, the Yankees would have most of their starters back. Playing in Arizona with no fans would undoubtedly be a problematic situation, but it would at least give solace to fans waiting for the start of fans.

The idea behind baseball in Arizona stems from ten ballparks within a 50-mile radius. The heat is also an important factor to consider, as the virus reportedly cannot stand temperatures over 77 degrees. The league is considering triple-headers in the Diamondbacks’ Chase Field, which has a retractable roof.

New York Yankee manager Aaron Boone and other Yankees thank Health Care workers, watch

by

The New York Yankees, like all of baseball, is dealing with a delay of an unknown time for the start of the baseball season.  Even though that is bothersome to Yankee management as well as the players, they fully realize that the coronavirus trumps that inconvenience.   Manager Aaron Boone recently said this situation is more significant than baseball.  In the past few days, New York Yankees have come out of the woodwork from where they are trying to stay safe to show their appreciation to health care workers for their efforts in this difficult time

My mom and her ICU coworkers were supposed to go to a @Yankees game this week but instead they’re out here saving lives. Thanks to all of our medical professionals putting their lives on the line for us! ElGarySanchez@TheJudge44@TorresGleyber@YankeesPR

When New York Yankee Gleyber Torres saw this, he wasted no time thanking the doctors and nurses.
“grateful for the excellent work, we are fortunate to have great people saved life in this difficult situation, that is some real savages in the box .. I hope to see you soon take care and stay safe Thank you”
Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez also have thanked health care workers for their devotion to the job during the COVID-19 outbreak.
With the coronavirus continuing to spread at a rapid rate, the start of the New York Yankee season is becoming less known rather than becoming more evident.  One thing that is clear is the jeopardy that doctors and nurses alike put themselves in every day as they try to do the job that they have picked for their careers.  They worry about their own health and the health of their families they have to go home too.  Although I am not directly connected, I have a friend who is a chaplain in a Chicago hospital.  He is worried, he changes his clothes before returning home.
All of the Yankees, including its manager Aaron Boone, want these workers to know how much they are appreciated and that they are thought about as they go about saving lives.