Add The New York Post on Google MINNEAPOLIS — When the Yankees wrapped up their spot in the postseason Monday night, Aaron Boone joined some select company.
He became the second manager in MLB history to reach the postseason in at least eight of his first nine seasons, joining Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who has now done it in each of his first 11 seasons. Boone is also the third manager to make the playoffs in eight of his first nine seasons with the Yankees, joining Joe Torre and Casey Stengel.
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Of course, Roberts, Torre and Stengel have combined to win 14 World Series titles while Boone is still in search of his first. And ultimately, in New York, that is how he will be judged, as opposed to just getting his team to the postseason regularly.
But in a season in which the Yankees have had most of their biggest stars spend sizable chunks of time on the injured list, Boone has helped lead them through the adversity to still have as good a chance as any team in the American League to make a run to the World Series.
“He’s our guy,” Aaron Judge said in the champagne-soaked visitors clubhouse at Target Field late Monday night. “He’s the one we go to battle for every single night and just lucky and blessed to have him here, to be able to fight for a guy like that. He loves every single guy in this room and we’re going to fight till the end for him.”
The Yankees still have bigger things left to accomplish this year, starting with trying to chase down the Rays for the division, but then more importantly, attempting to go the distance in October for the first time since 2009.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone became the second skipper in MLB history to reach the postseason in at least eight of his first nine seasons. Corey Sipkin for New York Post But by the time they clinched their playoff spot, the Yankees had survived 84 games without Judge; 124 games and counting without Giancarlo Stanton; 25 games without Cody Bellinger; 27 games and counting without Trent Grisham (across two IL stints); 22 games without Ryan McMahon (across two IL stints); 51 games without Gerrit Cole; 71 games without Max Fried (across two IL stints); 40 games without Carlos Rodón (across two IL stints); 21 games and counting without Ryan Weathers; and 150 games and counting without Clarke Schmidt, among others.
Every team deals with injuries, but not every team survives them to the extent that the Yankees have, entering Tuesday on pace to match the 94 wins they have had in each of the last two seasons.
Aaron Boone (right) poses for a picture with pitching coach Matt Blake during the Yankees’ postgame playoff clinching celebrations after their win over the Twins on Sept. 14, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post Go beyond the box score with the Bombers Sign up for Inside the Yankees by Greg Joyce, exclusively on Sports+.
“It’s very tough for a Yankee manager to win Manager of the Year,” bench coach Brad Ausmus said Tuesday, pointing to the high expectations with which the franchise enters every season. “Obviously [Rays manager] Kevin Cash and [White Sox manager] Will Venable will be extremely strong candidates. But with the job [Boone] has done this year with the injuries, keeping the group as one cohesive unit, I think he should definitely be in the discussion.”
There were some rough stretches along the way during Judge’s three-month absence, most notably a 5-15 skid from late June to early July.
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Even when the Yankees started to snap out of that, it did not often feel like it as their offense was still in a malaise and almost every game they played was a low-scoring, nail-biting battle.
Though that stretch threatens to ultimately cost the Yankees a chance at overtaking the Rays for the AL East, Boone is hoping he will have his team in a position to be at its best in the postseason to make a run at an elusive title.
“It’s not easy,” Austin Wells said. “You lose guys left and right at different parts of the season. Having to piece wins together, keep us right there in the division race throughout the whole year, he does an impressive job. Definitely a testament to him. Looking forward to more of that, more winning decisions and keep leading us.”
