If his former Reds teammate Sean Casey hadn’t beaten him to the nickname, Aaron Boone could go by “The Mayor.”
To watch Boone traverse the Yankees’ clubhouse is to witness an effortless ballet of small talk, eye contact, handshakes and shoulder pats, be they with his players, his coaches, his superiors or media members. See it once and you’ll understand why the Yankees viewed him as the perfect successor to the more intense Joe Girardi in the manager’s office.
As Boone began to welcome his players to Yankee Stadium for spring training 2.0 on Wednesday, with the club’s first full workout set for Saturday, he acknowledged he’ll need to alter his impressive man-of-the-people routine in light of strict rules intended to manage the coronavirus. What does the mayor do when Main Street gets shut down? What happens when the king of connectivity faces a plethora of connecting restrictions?
“I’ve definitely thought about them and honestly don’t quite know exactly what to expect,” Boone said on a conference call. “… We’ll get creative as we have to. I know in the early days here in spring training, obviously being at Yankee Stadium, we’ll try to take advantage of the entire facility, the entire stadium, take advantage of some outdoor situations.
“… The reality is on the first day, when I address the team, it’s probably going to be several different times. I’m probably going to have to do it three or four different times where I’m addressing different groups and that’s OK. That’s part of what we’ve got to do to get our message across.”
That message, Boone made clear: “We want to be champions.” You know that 2020 easily (probably?) could go down as a year without champions in any sport, so prevalent and dangerous is COVID-19 and, consequently, so long-reaching are its tentacles as MLB attempts a restart.
MLB’s operations manual for life in the coronavirus era includes this passage: “To the extent possible, meetings should be conducted virtually or, if in-person meetings are necessary, Clubs should make efforts to hold in-person meetings outdoors with participants sitting apart from one another and wearing face-coverings to the extent possible.”
Those correct limits decrease the likelihood of us someday reporting on a legendary clubhouse meeting that resets the team’s course toward a parade. They also beg for the YES Network to record Boone’s “three or four” opening addresses and air them at season’s end so we can dissect the nuances. By his fourth rendering, will he look as exhausted as Moe on “The Simpsons” when he must repeatedly perform his “million dollar birthday fries” shtick to eager youngsters?
Throw in dugout social distancing and the stresses attached to the disease, and Boone’s greatest strength (arguably) on the job will be challenged. The upside, arguably, is that his skill set should equip him to adjust on the fly.
Referring to the absence of fans at the ballpark as well as the myriad medical protocols, Boone said, “There’s an edge to be gained there for the teams that handle that the best, and hopefully we’ll do a good job of winning that edge on a daily basis.”
Part of that, the manager acknowledged, will be “constantly holding each other accountable as we navigate these waters.” Translation: No extracurricular activity on the road, especially Florida, and the players must do some self-policing and peer pressuring on that front. Moreover, Boone said, “There’s going to be things that we’re probably not even accounting for yet at this point.”
So many headaches for the Yankees’ mayor to treat, all with a knowing smile.
“We know there’ll be bumps along the way and who knows where it ends up?” Boone said. “My job and my focus is on the next few days. Really starting to lay that foundation and try and get our guys in the best possible position to go out and be successful.”
Some new materials will be required to construct that foundation, that culture with which Boone has become synonymous. If the season actually occurs, it’ll be fun to watch Boone figure out solutions, like a spiritual MacGyver, amidst this most unusual episode of MLB.
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