"I don't anticipate us doing that anymore" - Yankees manager Aaron Boone dismisses owner Hal Steinbrenner's 'bunting' claim

Last September, Yankees manager Aaron Boone quietly earned his 500th career managerial win. Although the achievement was one of magnitude, it was largely overshadowed by his team's poor performance.

At the time, the Yankees staring down the possibility of finishing the season with their first last-place divisional finish since the 1990 season. As such, Boone caught a lot of personal criticism on account of his team's performance.

The Yankees ended up finishing the season with a 82-80 season, narrowly edging out the Boston Red Sox, and avoiding the last spot in the AL East. However, the end of the season was just the beginning of some major talk of restructing.

One of the many voices weighing on the disastrous 2023 result was that of owner Hal Steinbrenner. In November, Steinbrenner made some rather unusual claims that the team needs to spend more time teaching young players to bunt. The comments were slammed as bizarre coming from a team who consistently ranks among the sides with the most home runs, as well as one of the most hitter-friendly parks in the game.

On a recent appearance on former MLB catcher AJ Pierzynski's podcast Foul Territory, Aaron Boone rebuked claims that bunting will be a major focus point this season. According to the 50-year old former player, "(he doesn't) anticipate us doing that anymore"

"Yankees manager @AaronBoone explains the "more bunting" quote from Hal Steinbrenner" - Foul Territory

Instead, Boone shifted his focus to the positives that the team is working on. Additionally, the fanbase can look forward to some exciting new players such as Juan Soto, the former San Diego Padres star who arrived on the team via a trade earlier in the season.

Aaron Boone must complete a delicate balancing act in 2024

Despite being widely respected across the league, New York Yankees fans are quickly growing impatient with the team's lack of tangible success, especially last season. Although bunting may be an important part of the team's playbook, mentioning in this way invites bad optics, and that is something that the team should strive to avoid like the plague.