Aaron Boone gets real about Aaron Judge's impressive character, reveals only regret about World Series Game 1 decision

The New York Yankees had a heartbreaking World Series defeat against the Los Angeles Dodgers in October last year, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone is still not over it.

The Yankees manager got real about his feelings on the World Series loss in a conversation with Brandon Tierney & Sal Licata on WFAN. When asked if he was over the loss against the Dodgers, Boone said (1:50 onwards):

"I don't think you ever get over it. It's like it's gonna hurt forever. I mean, when you're close in a lot of different ways, the ending sticks with you forever."

Talking about Aaron Judge's glaring drop in Game 5, Boone shared insights on the Yankees captain's character:

"The one thing Aaron Judge does so well day in and day out, year in and year out is that he's just this perfect teammate and really perfect competitor. When you play in the game, and when you live in the game, you understand, you know, we talk about the grind a lot, and you understand that, and you understand the ups and downs of it all. I've never seen somebody handle the day-to-day as well as he does. He just gets the life and the grind of it all."

One of the most talked-about moments of the World Series was Freddie Freeman's walk-off grandslam against Nestor Cortes Jr. in the 10th inning of Game 1.

While Aaron Boone was called out for moving Cortes Jr., a starter, to the bullpen in a tense finale, the Yankees manager does not regret choosing Cortes over veteran reliever Tim Hill. He has a different regret - not continuing with Luke Weaver.

"The one thing was, do I keep Luke Weaver in the game? Obviously, you would lose him for a Game 2 scenario, but then you got the off day, so there's a case to be made there, and that's probably the one I wrestle with the most. He'd come off; I think he was at 19 or 20 pitches. So, that was the biggest thing. That I still to this day, 'Like man, I could have gone Weaver.'"

---

Yankees planning an extension for Aaron Boone to him beyond 2025

Aaron Boone is entering his eighth season as the manager of the Yankees. It's the final year of his current three-year deal with the team he signed in 2021, with an option of an additional year.

Although Aaron Boone failed to guide the Yankees to a World Series win last year, the front office is planning to extend his stay with New York, according to owner Hal Steinbrenner.

"I've always thought Aaron Boone was a very good manager and that's his reputation in the industry," Steinbrenner said. "We will be talking with him in the days and weeks to come. We're trying to hit the priorities right now, which is the roster itself. But there will be conversations had with him about potentially staying longer than that."

The Yankees have added several pieces in the offseason despite losing out to the New York Mets in Juan Soto's sweepstakes, but Steinbrenner feels they have a better roster heading into the 2025 season than they did last year