Aaron Boone and Buck Showalter in Purgatory


Even the coronavirus pandemic hasn’t kept Aaron Boone away from his players after the start of the 2020 season was delayed.

Yankees manager Boone made waves on social media in March when he signed up, and lent his voice A clip of Gerrit Cole shooting with his pregnant wife Amy at their home in Greenwich, Conn. The viral video was an example of Boone, 48, connecting with his players when it wasn’t baseball season. After a disappointing 2018 campaign, he specifically visited Gary Sánchez in the catcher’s native Dominican Republic and has planned a similar trip in January 2020 to see Miguel Andújar, among others.

But off this season, a new obstacle has found a way to keep Boone away from his players.

As negotiations continue between the players’ union and the team owners, new collective agreementMajor League Baseball’s lock up of players means that team personnel, including managers and coaches, cannot communicate with players in 40-man squads.

“I don’t like that,” Boone laughed earlier this season, adding that winter shopping is both a tool and a way of bonding. A manager may collect information about how a player is training or recovering from an injury, but such interactions also allow for a connection outside of work.

“I absolutely miss the simple things you communicate with, whether it’s a phone call or a text message,” said Boone, adding to the sadness of not knowing about the players’ families or their vacation and vacation plans. “Especially with many of our players that we have been with over the past four years that you have these strong relationships and history.”

At least Boone has the advantage of already knowing most of the players he’s not allowed to talk to during interviews. across town in Queens, Mets hire Buck Showalter after the lockout has started. He joins a long list of fresh faces in the organization: mostly a new coaching staff, General Manager Billy Epplerand a bunch of free agents led by pitcher Max ScherzerHis three-year, $130 million contract set a record for average annual value.

Showalter, 65, who last played for the Baltimore Orioles in 2018, has little personal experience with the players on his roster. To make up for this, he tried to do some exploration, looking for people who had played or worked with his players in the past. Showalter doesn’t want to exaggerate that.

In late January, I said, “I’d like to make up my mind a little bit early on in certain situations.” “It’s nice for players to know you have a new look. You won’t be clouded by all the different things that happen,” he said. There are no secrets in the game. People are very willing to share information, but sometimes you get overloaded with it.”

Credit…Associated press

MLB coaches, especially those just starting out, are in a similar position. With a new manager, the Mets had a lot of turnover on their roster. After a disappointing 2021 season, the Yankees did the same, but retained key positions from inside – a decision that seems advantageous in these times of enforced radio silence.

For example, Dillon Lawson, the new Yankees batting coach, has spent the last three years as the organization’s minor league batting coordinator. He’s new to majors, but not for most of the players he’ll be coaching.

“I feel very lucky to have been with the organization for the past three years,” Lawson said last month. “One of the little advantages from the 2020 season was that it brought me face-to-face with these players, whether on the alternate court or in the bubble, so there is experience with men.”

Before the lockout, Lawson managed to spend time with the players, break into the batting cage for practice, and eat. His Tampa, Fla., residency brought him closer to the Yankees’ player development complex, giving him and the players a chance to “get ahead of everything” in anticipation of the business stopping. It also gave Lawson an edge in relationship building, an important aspect of his job where he would only have a “zipped window” after the lockout.

Now independent of these players, Lawson spends time watching videos of both Yankees kickers and opponents (in addition to caring for his 3-month-old son). Meanwhile, other Yankees coaches are getting to know each other. Luis Rojas, the new third base and outfield coach that Showalter replaced at Flushing, spent time with Boone running over the signs shortly after he was hired. Spring training plans are starting to take shape, although the possibility of delays increases with each passing day.

Still, Showalter is gearing up for a typical February, probably or not, after off-season interviews, house calls, and Zoom calls. On February 6 or 7, the Mets’ spring practice home, Port St. Lucie said she was going to Fla. Staff of 40 – guys who don’t get in trouble for talking.

“I guess I’ll just wait until there’s an actor I can come down with and really talk to,” Showalter said. “Some guys on the roster.”





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