How Aaron Boone Can Save Yankees Legacy

Boone's .584 winning percentage is tied for 12th with Al Lopez. It's a higher winning percentage than Earl Weaver and Sparky Anderson.

In a few more years, Boone will crack 1,000 wins, putting him in a place that 66 other managers in the sport's history have been in. 33 of those managers have made the Hall of Fame.

Boone even has 46 ejections. That is more than firebrand managers Lou Piniella and Billy Martin during their times in New York. Piniella had 11, and Martin had 20. Granted, this is because the younger Steinbrenner has a little more patience with his managers.

At some point, Boone may get a plaque in Cooperstown for his time as manager. It feels certain that he'll get his own bust in Monument Park.

Falling Short

Talks about any potential enshrinement feel awkward, though. Since the moment of Boone's hire, you can't turn on WFAN without a caller chiming in once an hour about his status as manager. It doesn't matter the time of the year or how long baseball has been away.

The Jets could win a Super Bowl. The talk will, at some point, be about firing Boone.

Whether that's fair or not, this is the team that proclaims every spring it is championship or bust to begin Spring Training. Nobody asks them to, or believes it will happen, but they still do it.

This job comes with certain expectations, and zero championships, along with a singular lackluster World Series appearance, will always be held against Boone. It doesn't matter just how much he accomplishes. Without a championship, fans will declare him a failure.

For now, Boone will be known for being at the helm of some cataclysmic postseason failures. It also doesn't help that every elimination has come at the hands of a rival. In his tenure, they have been eliminated by the Houston Astros twice, the Boston Red Sox twice, the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Blue Jays. The Dodgers are a more historic rival, but they can count here, too.

Finally Winning

If Boone does win a championship with the Yankees, it will be interesting to see how his legacy is discussed. Championships in New York cover up the blemishes.

Just look at Alex Rodriguez's career. Before 2009, the two big knocks against him were PEDs and, locally, his inability to deliver the big hit in postseason games. It probably didn't help that in his first year in New York, he was a part of the biggest collapse in American sports history.

Rodriguez being at the center of every big hit in the 2009 postseason completely changed the narrative around him. He even gets some carte blanche among locals after an ugly PED suspension in 2014 because of that championship.

Winning in New York will make a hero out of anybody. Even Boone experienced this a little as a player because his home run in game seven of the ALCS in 2003 is etched in Yankee lore.

Boone finally winning the big one is likely to change how he is viewed here in New York. He'll go from the apathetic failure who was at the helm of one of the more prolonged droughts in New York to a guy who persevered. Those managerial outbursts, leading to his 46 ejections, might even get some play, pushing him out of that tepid perception he currently holds.

At some point in the near future, we will receive the quote outlining Boone's expectations for 2026. The word championship will surely be used. Whether it's fair to pin success and failures on a manager in the modern game, for his sake, hopefully, he lives up to those words.

Make sure to bookmark Yankees On SI to get all your daily New York Yankees news, interviews, breakdowns and more!

• Broadcaster Calls Out Yankees for False Definition of Success
• Yankees Infielder Bringing First Base Glove to Spring Training
• Ben Rice Could Be Yankees Biggest Breakout Star in 2026
• Yankees Won't Use Shohei Ohtani Method with Gerrit Cole Rehab
• Yankees Chase for Veteran Pitchers Isn't Over Yet