Baby Bombers Page 29
“There was a difference of opinion among the participants as to who their number two or number three choice was,” Steinbrenner said, “but there was little to no difference of opinion as to who their number one choice was. It wasn’t even close, in their words.”
An affable forty-four-year-old from La Mesa, California, who held a reputation as one of the best clubhouse influences in the game during his twelve-year playing career, Boone had been somewhat surprised when Cashman reached out to gauge his interest in flying to New York for a managerial interview. Boone’s response to Cashman had been, “Heck yes!”
It helped that Boone’s name conjured sweet memories for an entire generation of Yankees fans, having hit one of the most memorable homers in postseason history, a deciding blast off knuckleballer Tim Wakefield that defeated the Red Sox in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series. Boone’s middle name happens to be John, but like Bucky Dent, he will forever carry a different one in New England because of one swing.
“It’s certainly something that I’m known for in my baseball life, and in some way probably is a contributor to me being here today,” Boone said. “Not a week goes by that I’m not reminded of how big the New York Yankees are or how big their reach is. I’ve had hundreds of stories told to me about where people were or what side of the ledger they were on.”
Boone said that, in a way, he has been preparing for the job since childhood. The former corner infielder is part of the first family in history to produce three generations of big league players; Boone’s grandfather Ray (1948–1960), father Bob (1972–1990) and brother, Bret (1992–2005) all played in the majors, while his father managed the Reds (1995–1997) and Royals (2001–2003). He’s also a descendant of the legendary 1700s American pioneer Daniel Boone.
“I feel like my job is getting the most out of these players, especially the young players,” Boone said. “I think everyone that goes into this, we all desire and thirst for the championship. I feel like we have all the tools and potential to get there. Now it’s on us to get the most out of it.”
Cashman lauded Boone’s intelligence, open-mindedness, and communication skills as having been factors in the Yankees’ decision. Boone’s character and honesty also were mentioned; Boone had been forthright after blowing out his left knee in a pickup basketball game following the 2003 season, setting off a sequence of events in which Boone was released and the Yankees traded for Alex Rodriguez.
Though Boone only played a half-season with the Bombers, Steinbrenner said that he was pleased his new manager at least had some prior experience in New York, which should allow him to understand the demands of the market.
“It’s clear in talking to him that he realizes, the way we all should, that there’s always more to learn and the willingness to do it,” Steinbrenner said. “His calmness, patience, confidence. I just think with a young, young team that’s only going to get younger…he’s going to be good for this particular group at this particular time.”
Aaron Boone was introduced as the 33rd manager in Yankees history on December 6, 2017, and said one of his priorities would be to bond with catcher Gary Sanchez. “I understand what I signed up for. I understand what the expectations are,” Boone said. (Photo by Bryan Hoch)
On the afternoon that Boone was formally introduced to the media at Yankee Stadium, the baseball world seemed to agree that Giancarlo Stanton would not be wearing a Marlins uniform in 2018, though his next destination remained uncertain. The Cardinals and Giants had worked out separate trade agreements to acquire the reigning NL MVP, who led the majors with 59 home runs but expressed reluctance to be part of what Derek Jeter had warned him would be a cost-cutting effort in Miami.
“I thought our lineup was legit and we needed help with our pitchers, and we needed to add rather than subtract,” Stanton said. “The way they wanted to go was to subtract, so I let that be known that I didn’t want to be part of another rebuild, another losing season.”
The problem for Jeter and the Marlins was that, because the previous ownership group issued a no-trade clause as part of Stanton’s record-setting thirteen-year, $325 million contract, the leverage had shifted to the player’s side. Stanton provided the Marlins with four contenders to whom he might approve a deal, listing the Astros, Cubs, Dodgers, and Yankees. He wanted to put someone over the top. In eight seasons, Stanton’s Marlins had never managed better than an 80-82 record.
“He feels like he has no more time to waste in his career, because life is fleeting for him,” said Stanton’s agent, Joel Wolfe. “You can get hit in the face and have your career almost come to an end at any point. That almost happened to him [in September 2014]. I’m not equating it with a near-death experience or anything, but it was a near career-ending experience. That gave him a lot of humility. Because he feels that way, he wanted to win, right now.”
During a meeting with Jeter and Miami GM Michael Hill, Stanton said that he was told that if he did not approve a trade to St. Louis or San Francisco, he would have to play the rest of his career in Miami. It was an empty threat, as Stanton’s contract includes an opt-out clause after the 2020 season, and the twenty-eight-year-old slugger saw it as such. Stanton reiterated that he had provided Miami with four teams to whom he would consider a deal, and urged Jeter and Hill to call those clubs again.
“You can’t say that and expect me to jump at what’s there, if that’s not the right situation for me,” Stanton said. “You’re not going to force me to do anything.”
Cashman had spoken with the Marlins briefly in November, but his focus at that time had been split between the managerial search and preparing for the expected availability of twenty-three-year-old Japanese standout Shohei Ohtani. When Ohtani came off the board, eliminating every club east of the Mississippi River before selecting the Angels, Cashman pivoted and re-engaged with the Marlins. Steinbrenner was intrigued when presented with a scenario in which the Yankees could add Stanton’s contract while still keeping payroll under $197 million in 2018.
The Marlins, a money-losing franchise for years, were now desperate to clear Stanton’s salary off their books. Hill contacted Cashman on December 7, and the GMs stayed up well past midnight trying to find an acceptable deal. The Yankees agreed to send infielder Starlin Castro, right-handed pitching prospect Jorge Guzman, and infield prospect Jose Devers to Miami, while promising to take on all but $30 million of Stanton’s future salary.
After years of renting, Stanton had finally decided to buy a mansion in the Miami area following the 2017 season. He was in the process of designing his home gym and picking out furniture when Wolfe sent him their special alert code, which told Stanton to drop everything and call right away. As Wolfe brought Stanton up to speed on what was happening, Stanton said that he cut his agent off before he could complete the word, “Yankees.” Yes, he’d approve the deal.
Stanton was urged to sleep on his decision, but it hadn’t been necessary. He flew to Tampa, Florida, on a Saturday morning to undergo an extensive physical exam with the Yankees’ medical staff, avoiding the main gate at Miami International Airport so as not to be spotted. Meanwhile, Cashman called Judge, explaining why the Yankees were about to trade for another power-hitting right fielder and how they could both be part of the team’s success in 2018.
On the morning of December 11, the trade was officially completed. Stanton tried on the pinstripes for the first time during a 2:00 p.m. news conference at the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Hotel in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, buttoning his jersey over a white dress shirt in front of the national media during the opening day of the Winter Meetings.
With the 2018 Yankees featuring Giancarlo Stanton (59 homers in 2017) and Aaron Judge (52 homers in 2017), they will join the 1962 Yankees as the only team ever to have two players with 50 or more homers the prior season. That year, Roger Maris (61 homers in 1961) and Mickey Mantle (54 homers in 1961) anchored the Yanks’ lineup. (Photo by Bryan Hoch)
Stanton delivered a few swipes at
the Marlins on his way out the door, remarking that there had been a “circus” atmosphere with “no structure” during much of his time in Miami. He advised Marlins fans to “watch from afar, if you’re going to watch,” then said that he was elated for the challenges and packed houses that awaited in New York.
“That’s what I’ve always dreamed of,” Stanton said. “You always want to be in competitive games that mean something, and your performance means something to the team and the city.”
In particular, Stanton was looking forward to joining Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez in the heart of the batting order, as that trio promised to comprise a modern-day right-handed installment of the Yanks’ fabled Murderers’ Row lineup. Judge and Stanton spoke shortly after the trade, and said they looked forward to making each other better.
“They strike from everywhere, they’re well balanced, and they’re hungry,” Stanton said. “The city’s been waiting for another World Series and a playoff run, and they got close enough this year. But hopefully with my addition, we’re going to advance and be a better team.”
• • •
Cashman often repeated that “pitching is the key to the kingdom,” and as the Yankees prepared for the 2018 season, they had assembled a promising group that boasted Albert Abreu, Domingo Acevedo, Chance Adams, and Justus Sheffield as rotation candidates. Miguel Andujar, Clint Frazier, and Gleyber Torres were among the position players poised to jump from a strong farm system in which the Yanks’ eight domestic affiliates combined to win 60.2 percent of the time in 2017, with seven of those clubs qualifying for the playoffs.
Yankees left-handed pitching prospect Justus Sheffield has averaged 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings over his first four years in the minors. (© Lianna Holub)
“I keep saying this, but the depth of our farm system is insane,” Frazier said. “I know everyone ranks the Braves number one, but I don’t think one of their teams made it to the playoffs in the minors and every one of ours did, with a couple playing for championships.”
Adams, the team’s top pitching prospect, went 15-5 with a 2.45 ERA in 27 minor league starts, spending most of the season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. While the organization resisted the urge to call Adams up and start his service clock, instead preferring to allow the converted reliever some additional time to polish up parts of his game in the International League, manager Al Pedrique said he saw exciting signs of improvement.
“This kid showed me a lot of composure on the mound,” Pedrique said. “Each time out, he was getting better at slowing the game down. Definitely, he’s got a great arm. Great fastball, the command of his changeup got better as the year went on. This kid has a bright future and if he stays healthy, he’s going to be a bulldog. He’s not afraid to challenge the hitters. This is a guy, for me, that you want to have on the mound in big games.”
Chance Adams has risen quickly through the Yankees’ ranks since going 5-0 with a 2.61 ERA in 12 starts at Class-A Tampa in 2016. The team believes he could be ready for the majors in 2018. (© Bryan Green)
Perhaps the highest ceiling talent in the system is Estevan Florial, a left-handed hitting outfielder from Haiti who will turn twenty before Opening Day. The speedster’s relatively brief rise in the ranks was marked by some controversy: he’d played under the name Haniel d’Oleo while registering for school in the Dominican Republic and had been declared ineligible for one year when MLB discovered the discrepancy.
After verifying Florial’s actual birth certificate, the Yankees signed him in March 2015 for $200,000, which was perhaps one-tenth what he might have received otherwise. The investment was rewarded by a solid showing in 2017 that included a trip to the All-Star Futures Game, and Florial’s name came up early in that season as vice president of baseball operations Tim Naehring came through Charleston.
“I called Cashman just to check in and I said, ‘This kid Florial is a pretty exciting young man. I think your phone is going to start to light up here close to the deadline with people recognizing the intriguing tools that this guy brings to the table,’” Naehring said. “Sure enough, there’s no telling how many organizations called on him during the deadline and basically asked how available a Florial type would be in a potential trade.
“He’s probably one of the higher evaluated players that I’ve written up in my scouting days. Is he close? No, he still has some work to do on the development side, but when you look at the interesting dynamic of this young man, he has a chance to be an above-average defender that has speed, arm strength, raw power to all parts of the field and intangibles like a sense of urgency with his work ethic that is unparalleled.”
Especially after the Stanton trade, it seemed possible that the 2017 Yankees might be looked upon as having been the team’s weakest group for the next four or five years, a season in which they had only started to touch upon the greatness to come. In short, they hope to follow the path forged by the Cubs in 2015, an exciting, rebuilt Wild Card-winner who’d advanced to the LCS before winning it all the next season.
Asked if he believed this was the best that the farm system has been in his time with the organization, Cashman demurred, saying that it was difficult to compare anything to the chain that produced Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, and Bernie Williams.
“We’re trying to reset the clock and move forward,” Cashman said. “This group—whatever it’s going to be—we’re just trying to win one. That group, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000. That group had a lot of crazy success that typically it’s hard to come by. We’re just trying to get one.”
One of those Core members was willing to make that leap, though.
“I see where you could compare that; just some great talent,” Pettitte said. “All they’re going to do is continue to go out and play and they’re going to get better. All they’re going to do, if they’re able to get back to the postseason and play in games like this, is feel more comfortable. You see a lot of talent. You believe that it’s not going anywhere, as long as they’re able to stay healthy. You’ll see success for a long time.”
That positivity was contagious. Why not dream on what was still yet to come? Cashman was presented with the names of Adams, Andujar, Florial, Frazier, Sheffield, and Torres, and he enthusiastically added to that list by rapid-fire rattling off the names of Domingo Acevedo, Domingo German, Kyle Higashioka, Billy McKinney, Dillon Tate, and Tyler Wade.
Outfielder Jake Cave, right-hander Freicer Perez, right-hander Matt Sauer, and infielder Nick Solak have also been cited as possessing the talent and winning pedigrees to help down the line.
“It’s nice to have the young guys pushing up,” Cashman said. “It’s nice to have the older guys hear the footsteps.”
More than ever, it is realistic to envision a night in the near future where these “Baby Bombers” will hoist a championship trophy that signifies the franchise’s twenty-eighth World Series championship.
“I believe, as the Yankees did for us, they’ll continue to surround these guys with great talent,” Pettitte said. “We wouldn’t have been able to do what we’d done when we were younger if the Yankees didn’t stick the talented players around us like they did. Every year I’d feel like they would rebuild and they would put great players around us. That’s what made us have success.
“I think the Yankees have a great idea of how and what to do as far as keeping this thing going.”
Acknowledgments
Thanks first to my beautiful wife Connie for her love and support throughout this project. You are the most important part of my life, and without you, none of this would have been possible. During the 2017 season, Connie and our one-year-old daughter Penny tagged along for spring training and to various American League outposts, attempting to turn the Yanks’ scheduled trips to Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Tampa, and Toronto into something resembling family time. The life of a baseball reporter is a strange, wonderful ride, and Penny has to be among the youngest fans in history to have already chec
ked off each AL East city.
It meant the world to be able to share a breakfast or lunch with the girls before games, especially since Connie had a talent for finding the best eateries around, making each trip feel like a homestand. No matter what happened in that night’s nine innings (and, in the case of that eighteen inning game at Wrigley, sometimes much, much more), it provided great joy to know that as I sent my final copy, they were snuggled in a Marriott bed and hopefully had not done too much damage to the room service bill. I love you both more than words can express.
Thanks to my parents, Fred and Dorothy, for inspiring my dual loves of baseball and writing, while understanding that an unorthodox career path had taken root in my childhood bedroom. As a high school freshman in 1996, in the Wild West days of the Internet, I launched a website called Mets Online that was essentially a precursor to a blog. It predated Mets.com by three seasons and gained a following that opened doors into the journalism world, including an internship with the team that placed me in the Shea Stadium executive offices on the night Mike Piazza flew out to Bernie Williams to end the 2000 World Series.
Most parents probably wouldn’t understand why their teenage son needed to lug a Compaq desktop computer up a flight of stairs during a family vacation to Disney World, then use the hotel telephone line to dial into Prodigy or AOL. They got it, and for that, I am forever grateful. Thanks also to my younger brother, Shawn, a United States Navy helicopter pilot who is one of the bravest people I know—and not only because he never flinched at the errant curveballs that spun out of my left hand on a Sloatsburg, New York, sandlot. The sacrifices that he and his wife, Jaclyn, have made to serve our country while welcoming Julia and Seth into this world are an ongoing inspiration.