Yankees' Manager Aaron Boone Returns to Dugout Days After Surgery

BRADENTON, Fla. — Three days after undergoing surgery to receive a pacemaker, Yankees manager Aaron Boone is back in uniform. 

Boone began a brief medical leave of absence on Wednesday, undergoing the procedure on his heart that evening. The 47-year-old had open-heart surgery back in 2009 and had been feeling lightheaded, experiencing shortness of breath and a low heart rate leading up to the surgery.

The expectation was for the skipper to return in a few days, but Boone was a surprise guest early Saturday morning when Gerrit Cole threw live batting practice at New York's Player Development Complex.

"I feel great," Boone said. "Good to come watch Gerrit Cole pitch. That's always a good way to get back into it."

Cole was scheduled to start New York's road game in Bradenton against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but rain in the forecast caused the Yankees to shift their plans. Regardless, Boone made the trip with the rest of the club later in the afternoon. After sitting through a rain delay, Boone managed from the dugout for the first time in almost a week.

"It was a nice surprise," Cole said following his 50-pitch sim game. "I thought he wasn't going to be able to get in here until tomorrow, but he got in today early. It's good to see him back and feeling good."

New York fell short 3-2 on Saturday, but just being at the ballpark with his team was what turned a "wet day" into a good day for Boone.

"Felt good just to be at the ball field again, competing with the guys," he said following the loss. "I'm glad we were able to get it in and get guys the work they needed. But overall it just felt really good to be back out."

On Friday, Boone mentioned that he was ready to rejoin the team, but needed to be patient with COVID-19 intake protocols. It wasn't hard to tell that Boone came through the surgery well way before then, however, as the skipper called general manager Brian Cashman moments after his procedure on Wednesday night.

"At around 7:10, I get a FaceTime call and it's Aaron Boone," Cashman recalled. "I pick up and the energy, how good he looked, the personality was so high and he's like, 'hey, what are you doing?' And I'm like 'how you feeling?' and he's like, 'I feel great.'

"It was just, again, a real tip of the cap to the expertise in the medical field and what these exceptional doctors are able to do for people. It's just incredible."

Doctor Assures Aaron Boone Will Have 'No Problem' Returning to Yankees After Surgery

Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza, who had been filling in for Boone as New York's manager since Boone's departure, shared a similar story. He recalled speaking with Boone over the phone and having to field a plethora of questions regarding what the skipper was missing at the ballpark while in the hospital rather than Mendoza getting an update on how the manager was feeling.

While any surgery to address an issue in the heart is certainly a cause for concern, all parties involved don't expect this procedure to have any sort of impact on Boone for the rest of this season and beyond. Other than some residual soreness in his upper body, he's already feeling better and in good spirits. 

"I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike," Boone said, beaming. "I like to ride the Peloton and in the last couple months, I've been not as durable on the bike. So, I'm looking forward to getting back on there and see if I can do a normal ride and up my ranking on the peloton because it's taken a hit here lately."

New York has two more off days over the rest of the month of March before the regular season officially begins on April 1. All in all, there's nothing but good news for Boone and his pacemaker.

"I can say a couple days in now, me and my new buddy are doing quite well," he said.

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