KANSAS CITY – Marcus Stroman was sitting in the blue folding chair in front of his locker in the visitors’ clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium. The New York Yankees had just beaten the Kansas City Royals 10-1 on Monday night, and Stroman played a big role, pitching 5 2/3 scoreless innings. After his teammates finished another raucous postgame ceremony, awarding their Player of the Game championship belt to Austin Wells, who had hit a three-run home run, manager Aaron Boone tapped Stroman on the shoulder. He handed her a baseball.
Except it wasn’t just any baseball. He was dirty. There was handwriting. A signature too.
Ball game
#48
another strong
tone marker
Six silent
—Aaron Boone
Stroman read it, smiled and put the ball inside his locker, with the inscription facing out. The next day, he took a photo of her and posted it on social media.
“Just to get a nod, a vote of confidence from the manager, I think it’s a really great idea and process,” Stroman said before the Yankees lost 4-3 to the Royals on Thursday to fall to 49-22. the best record in the MLB.
It was part of a new Yankees tradition.
After every win this season, Boone has given a game ball to his personal player of the game. It’s never the obvious choice, Boone said. That’s the player who gets the championship belt from his teammates. Instead, Boone usually picks the next best player that day or someone who did something crucial that may have gone unnoticed and still helped win.
“It’s something I wanted to do to give it a personal touch,” he said.
The idea blossomed in spring training. Boone was talking to Chad Bohling, the Yankees’ senior director of organizational performance and mental skills guru, about another way to build camaraderie in the clubhouse. After all, there were many new faces. Over the winter, the Yankees looked to bounce back from a terrible fourth-place finish in 2023 by adding star slugger Juan Soto. They also added outfielder Alex Verdugo and Stroman, whose histories as strong, somewhat individualistic personalities were well documented.
Boone didn’t want to rely solely on second-year captain Aaron Judge to make all the personalities mesh. The 51-year-old was entering his seventh season as Yankees manager and the final guaranteed year of his contract. He wanted his players to know that he has their back.
“I try to be myself and be authentic and I feel like the connection part with these guys, on a different level, is really important,” he said.
“It’s been fantastic.”
– Aaron Boone on Marcus Stroman pic.twitter.com/l4XnhbosuT
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 5, 2024
Boone played 12 seasons in the majors. He was an All-Star in 2003 with the Cincinnati Reds, who traded him that season to the Yankees, where he finished the year. Boone became part of Yankees lore with his game-winning home run to beat the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series.
“I know how difficult the game is,” he said. “I know how difficult the season is. “I know the pressures these guys face.”
The operation is simple.
After a victory, Bohling tosses a used baseball to Boone, who pockets it and reflects on his candidates while in line for high fives. He then sneaks into his office to write a personal note about the dance before handing it to his choice.
Boone doesn’t consult anyone. He wants his choice to come from the heart.
“Usually,” he said, “it’s a word or a sentence to express what they did in a game that helped us win. It’s something I’ve enjoyed. “I’m glad we’re doing it.”
The players are too. A sense of anticipation bubbles at the end of the Yankees’ postgame celebrations. Some follow Boone as he enters the clubhouse, watching to see where he will go.
Soto said he received several game balls from Boone.
“It’s really special,” Soto said. “Your manager comes to you and tries to give you a little heads up that it doesn’t matter if anyone else saw what you did, he saw it and appreciated it. Sometimes it’s for a player who isn’t the player of the game, but he made a really good play to help the team win, and I think he really appreciates that. That’s why I think it’s important.”
Soto said Boone mentioned to him that he might want to collect all the game balls at the end of the season so the team could put them together and read each message.
“To be honest, I love Aaron,” Stroman said. “His energy from him is very clear. It shows how much trust he has in us. He shows that he is behind us no matter what. But yes, it is very comforting to play for a coach like that.”
“It’s a great honor to be recognized by your manager,” bullpen coach Mike Harkey said, “Someone who represented our team well and helped us win a game. That’s what Boonie does every day. He gives the ball to someone and someone else takes the championship belt. It’s just a good way to honor the guys who really made contributions. It’s great.”
Carlos Rodón pitched seven innings and allowed just one run in a 9-2 victory over the Royals on Tuesday. After the game, he saw Boone approaching him. Boone had a baseball. Rodón was ecstatic.
“I always say, ‘Yes,’ like a little kid,” said Rodón, who said he has received a game ball three times.
“I like the (man of the match) belt, but the ball is cooler,” he added. “I hope to have about seven autographs from Aaron Boone before the end of the year.”
And Boone hopes to keep handing them out, not only because it means more wins for the Yankees, but because it means more heartfelt messages between the players and their manager.
“I think it’s important to have at least some level of connection with the coach, and I try to do that,” he said.
(Photo: Vincent Carchietta / USA Today)
Keynote USA
For the Latest Sports News, Follow Keynote USA Sports on Twitter.