MLB WORLD SERIES: YANKEES VS DODGERS

October 24, 2024

Aaron Boone

Dodger Stadium

New York Yankees

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. The World Series as we all know it is one of the greatest events in sports history. Would you agree? And why does it take on a little bit of even more excitement when it's these two teams?

AARON BOONE: Dodgers-Yankees, two pillar franchises in the sport, obviously with a lot of history, going back a long, long time. These two teams have met up a lot in the fall classic. Amazing that it's been 43 years.

It's certainly special, especially with having a few days to allow it to sink in and getting ready. I think this is something that will garner a lot of interest all over the country, all over the world, probably more so than usual.

I think everyone can identify with Dodgers, can identify with Yankees, and just what that means worldwide. Excited to be a part of it.

But for us now, that's all it is. We're getting ready for an opponent with a chance to win a world title, and that's what we're looking forward to.

Q. My question is more about going back to the old USC-UCLA days. What's your memory of your USC days, especially with Dave Roberts being on the other side of that rivalry?

AARON BOONE: Yeah, I can see Doc and that little slap swing he had where he hit the ball the other way. He was a good player, somebody that I got to know a little bit at that point, just playing against him because he's such a great guy. But I remember him well, kind of lead-off hitter, left fielder for the Bruins. Fun times, fun days.

I'm a Trojan. So as we all know in here, you're a Trojan for life, you're a Bruin for four years. That's probably the case with Doc. He's probably like indifferent. I get pissed off when the Trojans lose. They're like, eh, whatever.

No, but those were fun days. Going to USC was one of the great years of my life, and those roots run deep.

Q. A couple of years ago when Judge was going to free agency, you were pretty vociferous about wanting to keep him. What's your stance on Soto right now? Is it the same?

AARON BOONE: That's for another day. Look, Juan has obviously been a central figure for us all year. Hit an amazing home run that helped us clinch a ticket to the World Series. The biggest thing, just getting to be around Juan this year, he's proven to be an amazing teammate, great person to get to know, and obviously a great player.

I don't think he or any of us are thinking about that right now. We're getting ready for Game 1 of the World Series, and that's about as far forward as we're looking ahead right now.

Q. And going back, as we've talked about this all year, this has been pretty much your explanation about Soto's impact since day one?

AARON BOONE: You never know what it's going to be like when you bring players into organizations. They're getting to know you, you're getting to know them, you're trying to get them entrenched in the culture and the fabric of your team. He's been awesome.

Really like I can remember my first conversation with him outside my bedroom at night right after the Winter Meetings when I got home from Nashville, had a good conversation with him. And really from day one that he showed up, he's made it a priority to fit in and integrate with his teammates. He's a superstar that's incredibly easy to be around, he's easy to coach.

I can tell him things that aren't necessarily pleasant, and he takes it and applies it. He's just been -- he's one of the guys, he really is. That's always what you hope for when you bring somebody in. We always want guys to be who they are and allow guys to be themselves, of course fitting into the team as a whole.

But he's done that, and it's been a lot of fun to be around and to get to know him.

Q. Did Nestor come through the live okay?

AARON BOONE: He did. We'll see how he is today, but we'll see.

Q. And you anticipate taking 13 pitchers?

AARON BOONE: Probably, but I still want to get through today with Nestor and see where we're at.

Q. What did you notice about the tone and tenor of your group over the last couple of days since you won the pennant? Has there been any room for, I don't want to say, relaxing, but enjoying or savoring the fact that you've accomplished that at this point and gotten this far, or is it still just like it's been the whole month?

AARON BOONE: Yeah, it's a pretty focused group. We've talked about that a lot. I would say Sunday getting back from Cleveland, I got to my house at 5:15 in the morning. So that was the one day where you just kind of turned it off and sat in my basement and watched football, watched the Mets and Dodgers that night. And it was just kind of appreciate the day and everything.

Monday was kind of starting to get back to work and start to prepare for what's ahead of us. Obviously the opportunity to go up against a great opponent.

Q. When you came to the Yankees as a player, Hideki Matsui was a rookie, and that was a big deal 21 years ago. I'm curious, like looking back, could you have imagined the effect that Japanese baseball would have on American baseball sort of two decades later when you think about what it was like 20 years ago?

AARON BOONE: I think so, yeah. At that time, obviously Hideki was a huge presence and a star already in his own right in Japan before coming over. But you were starting to see those -- Hideo Nomo and things like that. I played with Kazuo Matsui too in Houston.

There's been a lot of guys come over with varying degrees of success, so I can't necessarily say I'm surprised. I think everyone to some degree knew obviously what a great talent Shohei was before he came over here, and obviously he's proven that.

And with Yamamoto, we got to know him a little bit last winter. I think there's more players over there that will be knocking on the door with a chance for stardom over here, I'm sure, over the next couple years.

I don't think it's that surprising, frankly. There's great players all over the world, as we're seeing, and obviously we know what baseball means in Japan.

Q. Gleyber Torres has been really locked in this postseason and really for two months since you put him in that leadoff spot. What makes him make sense in that role up there, and what have you seen him do so well in October?

AARON BOONE: He's a really good hitter, has been throughout his career. We broke camp, and I was leading him off. When we went to Houston for Game 1 of the season, Gleyber was my lead-off hitter. Had a really good spring.

Just for whatever reason, I think -- I chalk it up to baseball. It's one of those things, like hitting's difficult and it's hard to really sometimes get on that really good roll.

So the first couple months of the season where he struggled, one thing he was doing well from jump was his swing decisions. He wasn't chasing a lot. He was swinging at pitches he should be swinging at. He just never got it rolling, like he typically has year in and year out, especially coming off of last year. '23 was a very consistent offensive season for him. Front to back, day in and day out, was really good. He just never got it rolling, couldn't get that hot streak going.

I always felt like this is a guy in the prime of his career that's always hit. Like water's going to find its level. He'll get there in the long 162 season. And really probably before I put him back in the leadoff spot, I felt like the at-bats were starting to get more and more consistent, more and more Gleyber like.

Then put him in there, and he has absolutely been a catalyst for us and one of the big reasons why we're sitting here right now.

Q. This is going to be a knife fight that hasn't been seen in World Series level since 1981. Two teams that have superstars. Two teams that have history. Two teams that have what it takes to be world champions. What do you think will be the difference?

And 48 hours ago, Mexico lost its greatest baseball player, a man that contributed life and sweat to the sport. Since you're a baseball man as well, what is your thoughts about Fernando Valenzuela?

AARON BOONE: Certainly my thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Valenzuela family and Dodger Nation. I kind of lived here through -- I moved here in 1983, so kind of right after Fernando mania began in '81. But certainly lived through and knew what he meant to the Dodgers, to Southern California, to Mexico, and just how popular and how impactful that he was on the field, but certainly what he meant to so many people around the world.

The difference -- you know, I don't know. We think we have a really good team. We know how good the Dodgers are. Both teams obviously have the ability to be really potent on offense. In the end it comes down to execution. Certainly both pitching staffs being able to slow down the other offenses will be critical, and ultimately that comes down to execution.

Should be a great series. We'll be ready to roll tomorrow.

Q. First of all, I have to say go Bruins. Second of all, what is it about this group of guys? When you look at the different teams you've coached throughout the past years, whatever, what got you guys to this point?

AARON BOONE: This group is like family. They really are. I feel like year in and year out we've had togetherness in that room, guys that have come together very well. I feel like our culture has been good. This year the love these guys have for one another. The play for the guy next to me, as trite as that is, that exists in spade with these guys.

It's been fun to witness just how much they trust each other, how much they lean on each other, and how much they care about one another and want to do it for the guy next to them. So that's been something that's really stood out, along with the confidence they've carried with them every single day.

We've had our shares of ups and downs this year. It hasn't been a perfect season by any means. We've had some tough moments, some low moments, and these guys have never flinched. Remarkably just an ability to shake off a tough loss and come back and go get it tomorrow.

Even when you're flying high, the ability to just like, okay, the next one's the most important. They've had that trait all year, and it's served us well.

Q. Dave Roberts was saying the other day that both you guys have a lot of mutual friends that kind of understand what you guys go through. Have you and Dave ever had a talk as far as just the pressure and expectations of managing in New York and managing in L.A.?

AARON BOONE: Yeah, we talk a little bit. We actually played golf a couple winters ago together with a couple of those mutual friends too and kind of got to sit around afterwards for a while and just talk shop. Again, I feel like I go way back with Doc. I sent him a Yankee emoji when we landed yesterday.

He's just someone I have a lot of respect for, and certainly somebody that you know can certainly probably relate to what you go through in this job. In a lot of ways, our jobs and our markets are similar. So I think we have that appreciation and respect for one another.