Yankees' Aaron Boone deserves flowers for clearly outfoxing Royals' Matt Quatraro

Kansas City Royals manager Matt Quatraro is the odds-on favorite to win Manager of the Year this season -- and deservedly so, after taking a 106-loss team to the postseason in just one year. But, once you reach October, there's something to be said for seasoning. And, in his first taste of the MLB Playoffs, Quatraro made a baffling move that ultimately led to his team's demise in all three ALDS losses.

Aaron Boone, on the other hand? He managed the bullpen to perfection, over and over again, like he's been here before. He pressed the correct button at first base four times in a row. He held off on a risky decision with Giancarlo Stanton in Game 3, and his patience paid off.

Some will argue that Boone's comfort with the speed of playoff baseball should be expected, not lauded, and that's fine. But given the scrutiny that was pre-planned by many supposed fans of this team, it's worth noting that he repeatedly used, but never overused Luke Weaver, Tommy Kahnle and Clay Holmes. While many wish that he'd moved Holmes out of the closer role sooner, it's clear he gave him enough time to get acclimated to the new role, and that the maneuver worked, making the bowling ball sinker enthusiast more comfortable. All that was lost, ultimately, was the opportunity to clinch the AL East even sooner. Hardly a big deal.

For all the talk about rah-rah Boone being unable to galvanize his players around rough moments, winning two road games after squandering home field advantage feels like a pretty strong rebuke to that sentiment. About a week before the postseason, his starting first baseman and defensive stalwart became a de facto coach; Oswaldo Cabrera and Jon Berti, his utilitymen replacements, went on to be defensive studs and offensive factors. He chose correctly which one to deploy all four times.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone dominated KC Royals darling Matt Quatraro in four-game ALDS

Quatraro? Armed with three of the top-10 starters in ERA in MLB this year, Quatraro somehow managed to turn to his bullpen early in all four contests. Sometimes, it was merited; Cole Ragans had given all he could give in four bend-don't-break innings in Game 2. But why was Michael Wacha removed after a leadoff walk in the fifth inning of Game 1, just 70 pitches into a semi-gem while nursing a 3-2 lead? Angel Zerpa entered and was immediately flummoxed by the moment, combining with John Schreiber to walk the world.

Why was left-hander Kris Bubic, a starter-turned-reliever, used for a lane in the eighth inning of Game 3 that included Giancarlo Stanton batting second? Stanton's OPS against left-handers in 2024 was 100 points lower than his mark against righties, but that's recency bias at work. Prior to this season, Stanton was so clearly superior against southpaws that Yankee fans begged management to consider platooning him as a lefty-mashing DH. Stanton posted a .942 OPS against lefties in 2023, and a .640 mark against righties. True to form, the soft-tossing lefty surrendered the game-untying mash.

And, in Game 4, with the season on the line, Quatraro turned to his de facto closer, Lucas Erceg, in the fifth inning to quiet a rally. He did, inducing a Juan Soto flyout to end the Yankees' threat at 2-0. But when you make a bold move like that, you'd better be right, and there are things you can do to ensure your correctness. Erceg began the sixth inning by surrendering a resounding double to Aaron Judge, who moved over to third on Austin Wells' groundout. The infield then crept in for Stanton, the singular force who'd crushed the Royals' hopes the day before. First base was open. A struggling Jazz Chisholm was on deck. Quatraro could've spared his infielders the fate of having to wade slowly towards the plate.

Nope. Instead, Erceg went after Stanton, and even got ahead in the count, getting him to brilliantly swing over an offspeed pitch. Instead of doubling up on the offering, Erceg went center-cut with a 100 MPH fastball, which Stanton laced to center. Pitch selection doesn't fall on Quatraro's shoulders, but it's the kind of gaffe that can happen when your hurler shouldn't be pitching at all.

The series loss wasn't all Quatraro's fault. His AL MVP runner-up failed to show. His offense was undermanned from the start. His ace closer failed him in a key spot. But, if all these things had led to the Yankees' demise, Boone would've been blamed for the dying heartbeat and evaporated energy, especially in the ninth inning, with a chance to come back at home against Weaver, working his fourth game of the series against the heart of the order. The standards should be the same. In a series with razor-thin margins, the supposed genius got outgunned by the man who Yankee fans didn't believe could make any tangible difference.