If you’ve ever watched Aaron Boone’s post-game press conferences, you may have noticed — or maybe you can’t help but notice — that he has an interesting speaking style, at least after the New York Yankees lose a game.
Perhaps subconsciously, the Yankees manager heavily relies on distracting and/or equivocating filler or buffer words/phrases that, among other things, generally constitute a holding pattern or gap-filler before someone utters the next sentence.
Maybe Aaron Boone just needs a bit of time to process deep thoughts.
As an “awesome” public speaker, his favorites include You Know (a.k.a. Ya Know) and I Mean, with Obviously incrementally moving up the leader board.
Just about everyone uses filler words in conversation, but Boone’s perpetual Ya Know yammering is particularly remarkable (see stats below).
Admittedly, apart from delaying tactics like filler words, platitudes and cliches are pretty commonplace in the sports industry, so the standard is low.
Boone, who had a solid 13 -year career as an Major League Baseball player, became an ESPN broadcaster for approximately seven years before becoming a field manager.
With that public speaking background, it seems surprising that he is so dependent on all that Ya Knowing and whatnot.
Just for fun, this blog began tracking Boone’s repetitive use of filler words this season. See below for the April tally.
Check back for updates on Aaron Boone filler words as the season moves forward.
As a footnote, these totals are somewhat of an approximation.
This is because they are compiled from the portion of the press conference aired in real time on the YES network or subsequently posted on YouTube by YES or another source.
YES frequently cuts away from the Aaron Boone presser, however, and sends it back to the studio before Boone finishes answering questions from the media. So there might be more Ya Knows and I Means out there that have escaped the aggregation.
Plus, this is not necessarily meant to be a complete list of every game the Yankees lose in 2025, either.
It’s worth mentioning, too, that the Boone fillers can be deployed in the stealth mode, so it’s necessary to listen very closely during the pressers.
The rule, though, is that if he commits at least to the second syllable, it counts!
Further on the subject of language, as if the big-spending Yankees, which acquired the Evil Empire nickname along the way, aren’t insufferable enough to everyone outside their fan base, Boone (a.k.a. Boonie) constantly panders to the players during his interactions with the sports media.
For example (and paraphrasing here), if a pitcher has a bad outing, it’s because he had good stuff but threw one or two bad pitches and/or left a few over the zone, etc. If Yankees batters fail to drive in runs, they nonetheless hit the ball hard but directly at an opposing fielder. If the Yankees defense makes an error, it’s because the ball took a bad hop. Rinse and repeat.
It’s pure speculation as to whether this kind of rhetoric actually originates from corporate or the analytics nerds.
If the 2025 Yankees go on to win the World Series (and making the playoffs is practically a given), Boone will, however, have the last laugh.
Although the Yankees organization ended its traditional no facial hair policy, Boone has yet to further ingratiate himself with the players by growing a beard — so far.
Credit where credit is due, Boonie’s oratorical skills avoid the annoying use of right or right? to punctuate a sentence, the latter which unfortunately has become commonplace in media discourse.
As an aside, Boone in his playing career is perhaps best known during his Yankees tenure, for the walk-off home run in the 11th inning against the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
That was the game that Sox manager Grady Little completely mismanaged the late innings and blew a lead.
Even as interviewed in the 2024 Red Sox documentary currently steaming on NetFlix called The Comeback, Little still appeared unable to articulate a coherent reason for certain pitching decisions, i.e., leaving starter Pedro Martinez in the game too long when the bullpen was ready to go.
Had the Red Sox held their lead, they very likely would have gone on to win the 2003 World Series rather than having to wait until 2004.
In 2004, the Red Sox won the the title (their first championship since 1918), which was supercharged by their stunning comeback (hence the the above-referenced documentary) against the Yankees in the ALCS after being down 0-3.
Hey brother, I’m so glad you are writing something else that I love. I have so many things to say, agreeing with you on everything.
First,isn’t it hysterical that no matter what the players name is, he’ll find a way to end it with the Y or the EE (Judgie,Goldy,Jazzy,Wellsie,) or just shorten a guys last name (Volp,Weav)
The Yankees are a conundrum to me. They cross the luxury tax by not being able to trade Stroman (Stro.🤣) so if you’re there already,why not just spend a little more so you know you have a complete team? I want to know how the hell they rationalize not signing Bregman by saying “his swing isn’t compatible with Yankee Stadium” as if he’ll come here and be Joey Gallo! The man is a professional hitter, I’m sure he would’ve made adjustments. They knew Stanton. always gets hurt and needed a right handed power bat. If Boston wins the East (and with the pitching and dynamic offense they have I honestly think they will) Bregman will have played a big role in it. How will Cashman rationalize that??
The truth is even though they claim the philosophy of the organization is “World Series or Bust” they seem damn well content to lose in the late rounds of the playoffs and say “Well,the playoffs are a crapshoot” Ok,so if that’s true,how many times can you roll snake eyes before you walk away from the table??? I believe you use the analytics as a tool,but don’t pass on guys that your eyes and instincts know will be the right player.
It’s easy to see why they haven’t won the trophy in 16 years. They can’t hit top level starting pitching,they can’t run bases,and make too many errors. Last,but most importantly,they always seem to start every season one or two key players short. Cashman rather shop at Dollar general and “remake” castoffs to patch holes that require star power. Without Cole,Gil,Stanton,etc. they are going to have a difficult time even getting to the playoffs. Detroit doesn’t suck anymore, Cleveland is always there,Seattle is always there,and oh by the way,The A’s aren’t pushovers anymore. Also,Houston won’t go away,and the Orioles and Blue Jays could turn it around easily.
Unless something changes in a significant way,by the time Judge retires there won’t be a ring on his finger,and that would be a shame.
Thanks Brian. Not a Yankees fan, so appreciate the thorough analysis that you have provided here. And yes, it is so cringe that Boone refers to the players by their nicknames!