Yankees manager Aaron Boone bothered a little by criticism of defense after World Series meltdown

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees manager Aaron Boone is bothered a little by criticism of his team's defense from Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly and defended New York's fielding following a World Series of mistakes and mental errors.

“It’s a story that blew up too much and understandably we had a really, really tough inning,” he said Monday. “If you go back and look at the storyline throughout the season, I felt like there were a lot of times that we were winning games because of whether it was a big defensive play, whether it was small ball on a given day.”

Boone spoke during a Zoom news conference, three days after the Yankees exercised his 2025 option.

New York wasted a five-run lead in Game 5 of the World Series when center fielder Aaron Judge and shortstop Anthony Volpe made errors and pitcher Gerrit Cole failed to cover first on an infield grounder. The Dodgers won 7-6 to capture the title.

“The sting of not finishing it off stays with you forever,” Boone said.

Kelly said on his “ Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast the Dodgers entered each game saying: "Just let them throw the ball into the infield. They can’t make a play."

“We didn’t play as well as we could've,” Boone said. “And obviously especially had a tough inning in Game 5, so that’s the ultimate disappointment. I try never to get too caught up into what other people are saying or doing, especially when it comes from certain places. Everyone’s going to have their opinions and be entitled to things. Certainly, I am very proud of what we do as a group. Obviously, there’s always areas to to get better.”

Boone has led the Yankees to a 603-429 record, three AL East titles and one pennant. He agreed in October 2021 to a three-year contract that included a team option for 2025. He said the sides haven’t talked yet about a deal for beyond next season.

“We’ll see what unfolds but either way I’m prepared and ready to go and excited for 2025," he said.

Boone will fly to California to join owner Hal Steinbrenner for a meeting with Juan Soto, who helped the Yankees reach the World Series for the first time since 2009 and then became a free agent. The 26-year-old hit .288 with 41 homers, 109 RBIs and 129 walks, batting second in the order, followed by Judge.

“I want him in pinstripes moving forward,” Boone said, ”but you also know there’s going to be a lot of people competing for that and who knows where it ends up? All I know is that we’ll try and put our best foot forward with it and hope that Juan's back."

Boone anticipates New York will be interested in 23-year-old Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki, who will be posted and made available for bidding this offseason.

“He’s really gifted and very young. It’s a unique and special talent, a guy with top-of-the-rotation qualities and so hopefully we’re in the mix with him," Boone said. “I've seen some video, so I certainly know about the triple-digit heater and the forkball. This is a guy that you can certainly envision coming over here and being an ace and being a dominant starter.”

Boone expects at least one coaching change and possibly two for next season.

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