At ESPN, Mark Teixeira, Aaron Boone keep close tabs on Yankees
Mark Teixeira and Aaron Boone were scheduled to work at the American League wild-card game for ESPN regardless of where it was played and which teams it involved.
But Yankee Stadium? That is a bonus for two former Yankees who understand the added postseason juice that that can provide.
Boone spent less than half a season in pinstripes, but you might recall a certain important postseason home run he hit in the Bronx to win the 2003 ALCS over the Red Sox. Teixeira spent eight years as a Yankee, winning a World Series in 2009.
On Tuesday, Boone will be in ESPN’s game booth when the Yankees host the Twins, while Teixeira provides pregame and postgame analysis.
Teixeira knows many current players, having played with them as recently as last season, and said their success is unexpected, but only to a point.
“It surprised me a little bit, but I’m not surprised the young players have stepped up,” he said. “I’m just surprised at how well they’re doing. I mean, if anyone would have told you before the season Aaron Judge would be an MVP candidate and Luis Severino would be a Cy Young candidate, you’d say, well, if that happens, the Yankees will be pretty good.
“I think the big X factor was there were some holes on the team before the trade deadline and Brian Cashman filled them with a couple of big trades and brought in a lot of great players.”
Net result: a team that many believe will be as formidable as any in the postseason — if it can survive one game against the Twins.
“I think this is a team that enters the postseason as a scary team,” Boone said. “If they get through [Tuesday] with the Indians waiting for them, which I think is the best team in the playoffs, the Yankees may be that one team, especially in a five-game series, that could probably give them the most trouble and potentially pull off an upset.”
ESPN has and will continue to focus its marketing of Tuesday’s game on rookie rightfielder Judge, and why not? If the Yankees go far, his national profile figures to rise even further.
Teixeira played with Judge late last season, during which he struggled in the big leagues. What changed?
“I think Aaron made a few small adjustments to his swing and is really taking advantage of his power,” Teixeira said. “When you’re as big and strong as he is, you don’t have to generate any more power. You don’t have to have a long swing. You don’t have to swing for the fences.
“And what he did was cut down his swing a little bit and understand that if you shorten your swing and be direct to the ball, as long as you hit it, it’s going to go, because he’s twice as strong as anybody in baseball.”
Teixeira believes Judge’s midsummer slump likely resulted from a shoulder injury that was worse than he let on.
“There’s such a big drop-off after an incredible first half of the season, chances are it’s physical,” Teixeira said. “I think we’re seeing him healthy and a little more rested and doing his thing again.”
Teixeira said he stays in touch with some players, mostly via text, but tries to give them their space during the season and pick his spots.
Being objective about them has not been a challenge, though, he said.
“I’ve talked about their potential, about when they’re going good that this is a team that’s as good as anybody in baseball,” he said. “But the team does have its faults. It’s not perfect. We have seen a few of their shortcomings crop up during the season, so I’ve just tried to shoot straight and be objective.”
The neck problems that bothered Teixeira as a player still affect him, but doctors expect that to heal over time. He otherwise feels fine and has no regrets about retiring at age 36.
“It’s actually been everything that I thought it would be,” he said. “I get to make my own schedule. I get to stay close enough to the game with ESPN but at the same time live a normal life and enjoy things that I wasn’t able to enjoy during my career. So it’s been a nice balance.”
Boone joined ESPN upon retiring as a player after the 2009 season, and last year joined Dan Shulman and Jessica Mendoza as its No. 1 announcing team. It will break up after this season. Shulman has decided to leave “Sunday Night Baseball” in search of a better work-life balance.
“I’ll miss him, but he’s one of my best friends in the world,” Boone said. “Our friendship will remain, and I’ll miss his brilliance.”
Boone and Shulman will continue to work together calling the postseason for ESPN Radio.
As for Boone, 44, he said he is enjoying his second career as an announcer but at times he feels “that pull to be a part of an organization in the front office or even getting back on the field.”
He will not be on the field during the game Tuesday night, but he will be close enough to feel the pulse.
“Obviously, nothing compares to being a player,” he said, “but walking in there [Tuesday] and knowing how big a game it is and how much is on the line, you get those butterflies and that excitement.
“Just waking up tomorrow morning and heading into the production meeting, there’s that anticipation and that little jolt, that kick, knowing we get to call a big game.”