The New York Yankees Are A Lousy Organization That Treats Former Players Like Shit

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SOURCE - Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he hadn’t spoken to Brett Gardner since before the lockout last offseason. 

“That’s one of my regrets this year because I owe that to him,’’ Boone said before Game 4 of the ALDS.

He blamed the unusual schedule, since Boone — even though Gardner was a free agent at the time — was prohibited from talking to the outfielder.

Boone later also blamed the rushed free agent market in March after the lockout for why he he hasn't picked up the phone and spoken to a guy he worked with for years and just simply thanked him for 14 years to the team. Gardner had a nice career with the Yankees. He led the league in stolen bases one year, made an All-Star team, won a Gold Glove and was on the 2009 World Series winners. 

Yankee fans often react poorly to the fact that the 2009 team was the last Yankee team to even make a World Series. Should they lose tonight, you wonder if it might be the end of the road for Aaron Boone. They did win 99 games this season but Yankee fans seemed tired of what has become annual playoff failures under Boone:

They may be the underdogs but having the best manager in baseball put the Guardians in a great spot considering this Game 5 is likely to be a bullpen game where strategy is going to be much more important than a typical game. When your ace Gerrit Cole throws seven strong innings, managing can look a lot easier than needing your relief pitchers to mix and match to get 20 outs.

It's easy to also blame the Yankees as a whole. Treating former players badly is a Yankee tradition that goes back to Babe Ruth. Poor Ruth ended up taking a job as first base coach of the Brooklyn Dodgers after the Yankees never gave him any consideration for coaching after he retired. Yogi Berra didn't speak to George Steinbrenner or have anything to do with the Yankees after The Boss fired him as manager after only 16 games in 1985 when he had earlier promised not to fire him for the entire season. At least Gardner knows he is in Hall of Fame company with Ruth and Berra. 

Aaron Boone may have a lot more time after tonight, but if I was Brett Gardner I don't think I'd even want the phone call at this point. 

Let's all root for more of this tonight.