This is not how 2023 was supposed to go for the Yankees.
New York entered the season with high hopes, riding the positive vibes of center fielder Aaron Judge’s record-breaking 2022 and subsequent return in free agency. However, an injury to Judge and a historically difficult division have conspired to land the Yankees in last place in the AL East at 60–62.
Despite this, manager Aaron Boone remained adamant Friday night that New York believes it can right the ship.
“I talked with the team last night,” Boone said. “But try and keep consistent in what we do and how we prepare, and look forward to (Saturday) being the day you start turning things around. That’s how you got to kind of look at it.”
The Yankees have dropped six straight and 14 of their last 20 games, including Friday’s series opener against the Red Sox.
Boone indicated he took a firm yet optimistic tone with his team, telling his players, “don’t lose sight of the fact why you started playing this game.”
New York, seeking to avoid its first losing season in 31 years, is now 15 games behind the first-place Orioles in the AL East and seven games behind the third-place Mariners in the wild-card race.
“Not fun going through this, right? But I feel like we’re OK,” Boone said. "And I do feel like the turnaround is coming.”
