By Ray Negron
When Reggie Jackson left the Yankees after the 1981 season, he went to the California Angels on a five year free agent deal. During Reggie’s time there I would visit him quite often. The Angels weren’t the Yankees but they were an interesting group. One of the players that caught my attention was their catcher Bob Boone. The reason being that he was a very intense guy. He always seem to have a plan. He studied the other team and liked to share his observations.
Bob also had two little boys that I saw around the park named Bret and Aaron. Like the Alomar boys from a decade before, the Boone boys were little baseball players. Since I wasn’t a part of the Angels, I would only watch and admire and think back to the Alomars and wonder if this was dejá vu.
Bob would coach and later manage the Cincinnati Reds, son Bret would become an all-star player for the Seattle Mariners and Aaron would hit one of the most famous homeruns in Yankees history.
Oh and by the way, Aaron was just named manager of the New York Yankees after spending eight years in the broadcast booth for ESPN. Naturally, some people are going to question the fact that Aaron has never coached or managed at any level. But neither did former Yankees second baseman Jerry Coleman, who left the broadcast booth for the San Diego Padres to do a fine job as a manager.
In talking to some of Aaron’s colleagues, including Harold Reynolds who I consider one of my closer friends in the game, I think the Yankees have made a good and exciting choice for both the Yankees and their very loyal fan base.
I can guarantee you that between Brian Cashman, the Steinbrenner’s and the Yankees brain trust, there is a solid plan in place and evidently Aaron Boone is the right ingredient for that plan.
Let’s not forget that last week Cashman was awarded MLB executive of the year.
The Boone family, like the Alomar’s, are baseball royalty and if you have any of them associated with your team then your going to be better for it and you are going to have a real good chance to win. I am a very old school guy, however when you take a look at the Yankees and all that youth and talent, then Aaron Boone might just be the right choice at just the right time.
When I asked Robbie Alomar for his thoughts on Aaron Boone getting the managers job, Robbie said, “He’s got baseball in his blood so he’s gonna be just fine.”
Listen To Ray Negron weekends on ESPN 1050 AM Impact at noon. He is also known as the Number 1 Batboy of the NY Yankees and works with the organization as a community consultant.
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