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New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone hopes his team does this year what the Dodgers did last season — win a championship.
If that happens, however, Boone doesn’t want his players to behave in the same manner as some Dodgers players have in the aftermath of beating the Yankees in the 2024 World Series.
Boone spoke with reporters Tuesday as pitchers and catchers arrived at spring training in Tampa, Fla., and was asked how he felt about some of the Dodgers “talking trash” about the Yankees during the offseason.
“Don’t like hearing that,” Boone said. “But the reality is we didn’t play our best in the series and they won, so they had that right to say whatever. Hopefully, we’re in that position next year and handle things with a little more class.”
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The Dodgers defeated the Yankees in Game 1 and 2 at Dodger Stadium, then won Game 3 and lost Game 4 at Yankee Stadium. In Game 5, also in the Bronx, the Dodgers trailed by five going into the fifth inning but capitalized on multiple New York miscues in the top of that inning — including center fielder Aaron Judge dropping a line drive, shortstop Anthony Volpe spiking a throw to third and ace Gerrit Cole failing to cover first on a routine ground ball — to tie the game.
Four and a half innings later, the Dodgers were celebrating a 7-6 win and their second World Series championship in five years.
“The reality is it’s a great team, it’s a great organization with a lot of great people that I happen to know and respect, too,” Boone said of the Dodgers this week. “So a few people sounding off isn’t necessarily how I would want to draw it up. But they’re the champs. They have that right.”
In the days following the World Series, some Dodgers players made comments that got under the skin of some Yankees fans. Relief pitcher Joe Kelly — who did not play in the postseason because of a right shoulder injury and is now a free agent — stated that the Dodgers had been looking to capitalize on “sloppy” play by the Yankees throughout the series.
“They can’t make a play,” Kelly said on the Nov. 4 episode of the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast.
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Kelly went on to say that the series “was just a mismatch from the get-go” and that the Yankees might be considered the “eighth- or ninth-best playoff team” from last fall.
Dodgers star Mookie Betts had a number of his teammates on an episode of his “On Base” podcast that was recorded Nov. 1 following the team’s victory parade and fan celebration at Dodger Stadium. In that festive setting, utility player Chris Taylor used a profane phrase to describe the Yankees’ Game 5 meltdown.
Taylor added: “They kind of s— down their leg. They were pressing. It was like one thing after the next, so I think our energy in the dugout was kind of feeding off that. It was like, ‘All we got to do is put the ball in play right now,’ you know?”
Boone was sure to point out that the Dodgers biggest stars — specifically naming Betts, Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw — have not disrespected his team. Instead, Boone suggested, it was guys who played a much smaller role in the Dodgers’ success.
“Some guys are more inclined to spout off and be a little more colorful than others,” Boone said. “And again, that’s their right. They won. And again, hopefully we’re in that position and do things a little better.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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