24-07-2025
Aaron Boone 'Losing Grip' as Yankees Melt Down in Toronto; 'Close to Dead Day'
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The New York Yankees added to their error total on the season Wednesday, with four by four different fielders — including one by pitcher Max Fried and another by Ben Rice in just his 20th appearance at first base — in an 8-4 loss to the first-place Toronto Blue Jays.
The defensive meltdown, which also included a botched fly ball by right fielder Cody Bellinger that was not ruled an error but led to a standup triple for Toronto's Ernie Clement, left the Yankees four games off the American League East pace.
The game also featured the fourth ejection of the season for Manager Aaron Boone, leading one Yankee observer to worry that "Boone keeps losing his grip."
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JULY 19: Manager Aaron Boone #17 of the New York Yankees looks on prior to facing the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on July 19, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JULY 19: Manager Aaron Boone #17 of the New York Yankees looks on prior to facing the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on July 19, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
"With 60 regular-season games remaining, the Yankees still have plenty of time to get their act together," wrote Yardbarker scribe Clark Dalton. "Still, they should do it soon for Boone's sake. He seems like he's reaching his breaking point."
Cody Bellinger loses the ball in the lights, and Ernie Clement makes his way to third base 🫨 — Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) July 24, 2025
Boone has lost his cool off the field as well as on it this week. During his regular appearance on the "Talkin' Yanks" podcast Tuesday, Boone grew "clearly agitated," Yardbarker reporter Adam Gretz noted, and went into a "rant."
The trigger came when the Yankees skipper was asked whether his players have been overly controlled and unemotional when commenting on the misplays and painful losses that have plagued the team over that past several weeks.
"I don't care what you want," Boone snapped. "These are answers of pestering, everyday questions. I want our guys in a good like, boom. We are locked in, when it's (expletive) and when it's really good, and all in between."
A Ben Rice fielding error leads to another run for the #BlueJays. Toronto leads the #Yankees 6-4 in the sixth.
— Bronx Bombers News (@NewsBronx) July 24, 2025
Robert Casey, founder of the popular Bleeding Yankee Blue site, displayed no sympathy for Boone following Wednesday's hard-to-watch defeat.
The loss was the third in the Yankees' last five games. The Yankees have played at a sluggish 21-26 pace since they held a seven-game lead in the American League East on May 28.
"Boone is awful and needs to be canned. Sure, suggest I'm being dramatic, but the truth is I'm right," Casey wrote on Thursday. "Bad leaders destroy a franchise. Google it."
Casey has been especially critical of Boone's support shown toward shortstop Anthony Volpe, who is tied with the San Francisco Giants' Willy Adames for the MLB lead among shortstops for most errors with 13.
More MLB: Yankees' Anthony Volpe Enters 'Death Spiral' as Offense Collapses
"Volpe could boot three ground balls and strike out looking twice, and Boone would still run out like a helicopter parent screaming at the ump for hurting his 'special boy's' feelings," Casey wrote. "It's not just cringe -- it's deeply weird. A grown man managing a professional baseball team should not act like he's defending his son in tee-ball."
The Yankees as a team are now tied for eighth overall in MLB with 53 errors.
"I've been calling for Boone's firing since Aaron Judge had baby cheeks. And at long last, baseball insiders are starting to see what I've been yelling about," Casey concluded. "We're getting close to Boone's dead day."
After an off day Thursday, the Bronx Bombers face another tough assignment when they host the Philadelphia Phillies for a three-game set at Yankee Stadium.
More MLB: Yankees Manager Called 'Brainwashed' Over Anthony Volpe, 'Weird' Relationship
