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Aaron Boone’s Former Players Rip Manager After Controversial Jazz Chisholm Jr. Benching

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jake Elman | Last updated Oct 1, 2025 9:24 AM ET

New York Yankees fans weren’t the only ones critical of manager Aaron Boone following a Game 1 Wild Card Round loss to the Boston Red Sox, with various former Yankees — including some who played for Boone — ripping the veteran manager for benching All-Star second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr.

Rather than start Chisholm against lefty Garrett Crochet, Boone instead started Amed Rosario at second base. Although Rosario entered play with six hits in nine at-bats against Crochet, he went 0-for-3.

Chisholm entered in the eighth inning and flew out against Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman in the ninth. Despite loading the bases with no outs against Chapman, they failed to score against their ex-closer.

“I miss the days where you won or lost with your best players,” ex-Yankees outfielder Cameron Maybin wrote on Twitter/X. “No reason Ben Rice and Jazz Chisholm Jr. shouldn’t be in that lineup. Nobody would’ve said ‘we should’ve started Rosario over Jazz’ if the Yankees lost.”

I'm not even mad at Jazz....he should be pissed. The man just had a 30-30 season and then gets treated like a platoon player is unacceptable.
The third player in Yankees history to achieve a 30-30 season (joining Bobby Bonds and Alfonso Soriano). https://t.co/8wRkozALLP
— Cameron Maybin (@CameronMaybin) October 1, 2025

“Leave it up to the dorks to [expletive] the game up,” commented Clint Frazier, a former teammate of Maybin’s and a Yankee from 2017-21. “Just use your eyes and make a lineup that way. [Rice and Chisholm] are too good to sit in a [must-win] playoff game.”

Frazier later added: “[I said] it months ago that they are capable of winning the World Series and if they didn’t it would be because they do dumbass [expletive] and tonight was an example of dumbass [expletive].”

Hall of Fame pitcher CC Sabathia spent his final two seasons playing under Boone and posted a simple “” emoji on X.

Although neither Joba Chamberlain nor Doug Mientkiewicz played for Boone, both joined the parade of former Yankees displeased with the club’s current manager. Chamberlain, a key piece of the Yankees’ 2009 World Series team, sarcastically questioned what Boone’s Game 2 lineup would look like.

Mientkiewicz, himself a former left-handed hitter, dismissed the idea that Rosario was a safer option solely because he bats right-handed.

“Do you expect anyone to crush Crochet?” Mientkiewicz asked an X user. “He’s an ace for a reason. Who is more likely to click one, a guy with 5 homers on the year or a guy with 30? Point is Crochet, and aces, ‘crush’ everyone. Doesn’t matter what side of the plate they hit from!”

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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