Aaron Boone has been in the major leagues since 1997. His first full season was 1999 when he appeared in 139 games for Cincinnati and batted .280 with 14 home runs and 72 RBIs. Boone has a lifetime batting average of .270 and hits about 18 home runs a season. While that is good, stars do better. Boone is good defensively but that is all. He is a good third baseman, nothing more, nothing less. His loss for the season is not good, but it should not be the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful season.
Looking at recent Yankees’ history, in 1998 Scott Brosius spent his first season with the Yankees. He batted ninth, hit .300 with 19 home runs and 98 RBIs and was outstanding defensively. But in 1999 Brosius hit only .247 with 17 home runs and 71 RBIs. It didn’t make much difference with respect to the final results.
The 1998 Yankees team was one of the greatest of all and some argue that the 1999 team was just as good. Few people realize that the 1998 team had a post season record of 11-2 while the 1999 team was 11-1. Both teams swept the World Series. The point is that Brosius’ lesser season in 1999 was not catastrophic.
The Yankees went from 1979 to 1995 without winning the World Series. The 1978 team is a fine example of a team that didn’t have a star at every position. The shortstop on that team was Bucky Dent, who batted .243 with 5 home runs and 40 RBIs. Dent was a steady defensive player with decent range but he was far from a star. Of course, Bucky Dent acquired his “colorful” middle name from the Red Sox faithful after he hit a three run home run in the playoff game against their heroes.
That same season the Yankees lost star second baseman Willie Randolph for the playoffs and World Series. Brian Doyle, a little left handed hitting second baseman replaced Randolph and batted .286 in the American League playoffs against Kansas City and then had a great World Series, batting .438 against the Dodgers. The Yankees were an excellent team that needed adequacy, not stardom, at second base. The fact that they got more was an added bonus, but they would have beaten Kansas City and Los Angeles even if Doyle had been a less productive batter.
