Following Tuesday’s disappointing 6-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Game at Fenway Park, Aaron Boone addressed his future with the Yankees.
With Boone’s contract expiring with the end of this season, time will tell whether he will be back for his fifth season at the helm of the Yankees. For now, Boone said he is unsure of what the future holds.
“I have no idea. We’ll see,” Boone said when asked about his contract situation.
“Obviously, my contract is up and I haven’t had any conversations with anyone about that, so we’ll see. I love being here. I love going to work with this group and love going to work with this group of players. We’ll see.”
In four seasons as Yankees manager, Boone has led a team that won 100 games twice and made the postseason all four years. The problem, though, is that the Yankees failed to reach their ultimate goal of winning a World Series — or even making it to the Fall Classic — the last four seasons.
“Look, all I can say is that I love doing this, I love doing this with this group,” Boone said when asked if he expects to return. “I’ve felt incredibly supported from the organization, from ownership and [GM Brian Cashman] and front office and on down. So, whatever happens moving forward, I’ll be at peace with.
“I’ll walk out of here tonight proud of what a lot of people have done here since I’ve been here. It’s a group and a shared effort. I love going to battle with all these guys, players, coaches, support staff, front office, so we’ll see what happens on that front. But whatever does happen, I’m at peace with and I know that I can hold my head high.”
Following the loss, Boone said that he was grateful for everything he’s accomplished to this point with the Yankees, but also believes the league has “closed the gap” on the team.
“I guess my message is, first of all I’m grateful to be able to compete with that group of guys,” he said. “One of the things I’m most proud of with this team this year is this was a challenging year, this was not an easy year for us. When we had to play well the final two months and really compete at a high level, I thought we did that and put ourselves in a position and gave ourselves a chance to be in this game with an opportunity to do something special in October. So, I love the way we’ve competed and showed up the last couple of months.
“But the other message is that the league’s closed the gap on us. We’ve got to get better. We’ve got to get better in every aspect, just getting a little bit better. Because it’s not just the Red Sox and the Astros now in our league. Look at our division, the Rays are a beast, Toronto, there’s some teams in the Central that are better and better, teams in the West that are better and better, teams that have closed the gap on us. That has to be front and center as guys prepare in the offseason and get ready for spring training next year, that we’ve got to get better.”