NEW YORK — The inning ends. Three outs are recorded. What happens in the next 30 seconds, one veteran scout believes, says more about the Yankees than any box score.
He asked a reporter to watch it during the World Series. Which players jog back out to their positions? Which ones walk?
It sounds like a small thing. For a franchise that has gone 17 seasons without a championship, it has turned into a bigger one.
The Yankees won 93 games in 2026, then scored five runs in three games as Tampa Bay swept them out of the American League Division Series. In Game 1, Rays starter Drew Rasmussen held New York to one hit, a first in franchise postseason history.
Now longtime New York baseball columnist Bob Klapisch has laid that pattern at the feet of manager Aaron Boone. In an offseason roundtable with Yankees beat writer Randy Miller, Klapisch described a team whose effort level has settled well short of full speed, and a manager who lets it happen.
Spring training sets the tone for 75-percent engine
Klapisch said the problem does not begin in October. He traced it to February, when he believes the club’s relaxed approach takes root with the manager’s blessing.
“The Yankees’ attitude manifests itself even during spring training. They are so casual, and they’re given such a wide berth by Aaron Boone. That permissiveness translates into the way they play every night, every week, every month. Their engine runs at about 75 percent,” Klapisch said.
He also challenged the idea of treating 162 games as one long project. In his view, that mindset produces strong regular seasons but does not build a championship edge.
Miller pointed to drills he said the Yankees have let slide. He wants infield practice before every game and real bunting work, not two token bunts against soft batting-practice tosses.
Two scouts, two warning signs
Klapisch supported his case with what he heard from talent evaluators after the season. One scout framed the issue as a question about intensity.
“When was the last time you saw the Yankees play like their hair was on fire?” the scout asked, according to Klapisch.
A second scout pointed him toward the transitions between innings, when no pitch is thrown and no stat is recorded.
“Watch between innings and see how many Yankees run out to their position and how many walk,” the scout told Klapisch.
Klapisch said the scout was shocked by what he saw. He tied the habit directly to the dugout’s top step.
He was careful not to dismiss Boone. He called the manager intelligent and underrated by critics on social media, but said Boone avoids pushing players hard or making them uncomfortable. He added that Boone caters to his stars and does not stress the small details.
“Character, demeanor and intensity matter just as much as any set of numbers, if not more. If you’re going to fix the Yankees, you’ve got to start with what’s in a player’s heart and not what’s on a spreadsheet,” Klapisch said.
Boone’s October ledger tells the same story
The numbers behind the critique show a manager who wins steadily from April to September and stalls once the postseason begins.
Boone is 790-565 in nine regular seasons, a .583 winning percentage that trails only Dave Roberts’ Los Angeles Dodgers since 2018, according to CBS Sports. The Yankees reached the postseason eight times in that span.
October has been a different story. Boone is 27-30 in postseason games, making him the only manager in Yankees history with a losing playoff record. He has managed 57 postseason games without a World Series title, passing Mike Hargrove’s 52 with Cleveland for the most by a manager with one team without a title, according to Sports Illustrated’s tally.
Each of those eight postseason runs ended in elimination. The Yankees fell in the Division Series four times, the AL Championship Series twice, the Wild Card round once and the 2024 World Series once.
Miller tied the pattern to the roster. The Yankees had only 10 sacrifice bunts in 2026, tied for second fewest in the majors, while the Rays led baseball. New York ranked second in homers and sixth in strikeouts.
Klapisch said the Yankees chase launch angles at the expense of grounders and opposite-field contact, the habits he credited for success in Milwaukee and Tampa Bay. The Brewers beat the Rays in the World Series.
Pressure builds as Boone returns for 2027
The criticism adds to a difficult Yankees offseason. Former club icons CC Sabathia, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Paul O’Neill, Joe Girardi and Jorge Posada have questioned the club’s culture and fundamentals. Brewers manager Pat Murphy was caught on camera after the World Series saying the 2023 Yankees played for themselves.
Klapisch argued the fix requires more than a new voice. He wants versatile, contact-first players who accept supporting roles, naming Max Schuemann, who spent part of the season with the Yankees after a call-up from Triple-A, as the type.
Boone is expected back for a 10th season in 2027, the final year of his contract, The Record of Bergen County reported in October. The Yankees have not fired a manager under contract since Stump Merrill after the 1991 season.
With the collective bargaining agreement expiring Dec. 1 and a lockout possible, Boone may not get much time with his players before spring training opens. That is where his critics say the change has to start.
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