Aaron Boone remembers Brett Gardner, regrets the way Yankees left him

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CLEVELAND — Aaron Boone, the manager of the Yankees, has a regret that he expressed on Sunday. He was regretting not being in touch with Brett Gardner, who was a member of the Yankees’ 2009 World Championship win.

Boone said before Game 4 of the ALDS:

“That’s one of my regrets this year because I owe that to him.”

Aaron Boone blamed the atypical MLB schedule, claiming that it was the reason why he was unable to communicate with the outfielder, despite the fact that Brett Gardner was a free agent at the time.

Brett Gardner began his career with the Yankees in 2008. The team chose him as the starting central fielder for the 2009 season opener. He appeared in all but two playoffs that culminated in the Yankees winning the World Series.

Brett Gardner was a one-time All-Star, won Golden Glove in 2006, led in stolen bases in 2011, hit more triples than anyone in 2013, and became the best fielder thrice. However, after 14 consecutive years with the Yankees, he became a free agent in 2022.

The Yankees made the decision not to re-sign the 39-year-old player who appeared in 140 games for the team in 2021 and finished with a .689 OPS, which was a career low for him.

Brett Gardner received interest from other teams in spring training, including the Blue Jays, but ultimately made the decision to remain in his home park.

“I guess he was always in play,” Boone said. “The offseason was weird obviously because of the lockout and I couldn’t talk to people. And then all of a sudden, it broke and free agency and everything happened so quick.”

Brett Gardner had played for the Yankees in each of the 14 seasons of his professional career. He had a career with a batting average of .256, 139 home runs, and 274 stolen bases.

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