Farewell to Aaron Boone

On Thursday, October 16, 2003, Aaron Boone forever endeared himself to Yankees fans with a majestic shot into a cold October night in one of the last great memories from the old Yankee Stadium during Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series. That homerun was my top sports memory from the past decade and one of those highlights that will never get old seeing over and over again. The Yankees wouldn't win the World Series and Boone would blow out his knee in the off-season (ushering in A-Rod), but it wouldn't matter much; Boone had permanently etched out a place in the hearts of Yankees fans everywhere. Today, after 12 major league seasons, Boone formally announced his retirement and will become an analyst for ESPN.

Boone debuted in 1997 for the Cincinnati Reds but really started to come on in 2000 and 2001 with slashes of .285/.356/.471 and .294/.351/.483, respectively. In 2003, he was enjoying probably his best year in baseball when he was traded to the Yankees at the trading deadline for pitching prospects Brandon Claussen, Charlie Manning, and cash. Boone would struggle throughout the rest of the regular season, hitting only .254/.302/.418 down the stretch though he went 8 for 8 in stolen base attempts.

Boone would struggle through the first two rounds of the playoffs and would hit the pine for the beginning of Game 7 of the ALCS in favor of Enrique Wilson (partly because Wilson was believed to hit Pedro Martinez very well). After Ruben Sierra pinch hit for Wilson in the 8th and was walked, Boone went in to pinch run for Sierra and play 3rd. The next 8 Yankee batters were retired in order leaving Aaron Boone as the lead-off man in the bottom of the 11th against Tim Wakefield. And on the first pitch he saw, Boone lifted one into the October night.

Boone would suffer an injury playing pickup basketball in the off-season and the Yankees took that opportunity to void his contract. According to Cot's Baseball Contracts, the Yankees had actually resigned Boone to a 1-year, $5.75 M deal in December of 2003 but released him in February, paying him less than $1 M of his salary. To replace Boone, the Yankees traded for Alex Rodriguez as Boone sat out the entire 2004 season. Boone would bounce around the majors after that, playing with Cleveland, Florida, Washington and Houston. His 2007 season was a comeback season for Boone as a Marlin, but he regressed again in 2008 with Washington. Boone's defense, according to FanGraphs, was quite poor, especially at third where he had a -15.7 UZR in 7,957.2 innings at the hot corner. Also according to FanGraphs, Boone posted WARs of 2.8 in 2002 and 2.7 in 2003 but his high point after that was 0.4 in 2005. Boone underwent open heart surgery last season only to come back and somehow play for the Houston Astros, earning him great admiration in my book.

According to Baseball-Reference, Aaron Boone's most comparable player is Scott Brosius (and, to be honest, their stats are remarkably similar) and in the hearts and minds of Yankees fans, both third basemen hold the distinction of hitting clutch playoff home runs for the Bronx Bombers. For New York Yankees fans, the 2003 ALCS is even sweeter looking back at what happened a year later and Boone will always be remembered for what he did. And for Red Sox fans, he will be forever known as Aaron f*#@ing Boone. Enjoy your retirement, Aaron--you are always welcome in Yankee Stadium.