Yankees' Aaron Boone Opens Up About Decision to Intentionally Walk Miguel Cabrera
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Boos rained down from a crowd hungry to witness history at Comerica Park on Thursday afternoon in Detroit as Yankees manager Aaron Boone elected to intentionally walk Tigers designated hitter Miguel Cabrera in the eighth inning.
With an open base at first and a left-handed hitter on deck, the free pass gave lefty Lucas Luetge a better opportunity to get out of a jam, keeping the deficit at one run entering the ninth frame.
That didn't make it any easier for fans in Detroit who wanted to see Cabrera record his 3,000th hit. After going 0-for-3 to start the game, Cabrera jogged to first in his fourth and final plate appearance, forced to wait until Friday for another opportunity to reach the historic milestone.
The decision to walk Cabrera didn't work out for New York. Outfielder Austin Meadows drove in two runs moments later on a bloop single, valuable insurance runs in a 3-0 victory.
Boone explained the thought process behind the move after the game.
"We got a lot of respect for Meadows behind [Cabrera]," Boone told reporters. "The left-on-left, I felt like I just liked the matchup a little bit better in that situation and it came down to a baseball call for me there. Tough decision and I thought Lucas executed a pitch which got the soft contact, but he dumped it in there. Tough call, but one I had to make."
Luetge added in a postgame presser that he assumed Cabrera was going to be intentionally walked. As much as everyone in the ballpark wanted to see Cabrera make history, New York was also trying to win a ballgame.
"That's Boone's decision and rightfully so," the reliever said. "We had a lefty on deck, trying to win a game where as great as it is to see 3,000 [hits], we're not concerned with that as much as they are."
It didn't seem like Cabrera was too worked up about it either. As he got back to the dugout after the inning, he motioned to the crowd, pointing out that the score was 3-0. The future Hall of Famer has made it clear this week that his biggest priority is to win games and that baseball isn't about individual achievements.
Boone and the Yankees were booed mercilessly for the rest of the game. The skipper admitted that throwing up four fingers in that moment was "more gut-wrenching" than usual because of the implications of Cabrera getting one more crack at a base hit.
"It's a baseball call all the way, but there's no doubt that there's a little more feeling to it when you're understanding the situation," he told reporters. "In the end, you got to go with what you think is right within the context of the game."
This entire situation could've been avoided if the Yankees pulled their weight on offense. New York was held scoreless for the third time in 13 games this season as they continue to struggle with runners in scoring position.
Left-hander Jordan Montgomery, who threw six sparkling innings of one-run ball, was handed the loss despite putting his team in a position to win. Montgomery retired Cabrera each of his first three at-bats, striking the slugger out twice.
"I wouldn't say it's fun facing Miggy because he's so good but it's definitely exciting and it makes you up your game," Montgomery said.
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