What A Boone-head!

Third baseman’s basketball blunder lands him in hot water with Yankees




By: Russ Rose
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
January 29, 2004


I’ve got some questions for Aaron Boone. Does the name Jeff Kent ring a bell? Can you read? Do you understand what you read? Do you sign your name on the dotted lines of contracts containing prohibitive clauses without understanding their ramifications? Do your agents/lawyers/representatives let you sign things that contain items they don’t agree with? If the answers are yes, yes, yes, no and no, then my last question is what the hell were you thinking?

In a classic case of Murphy’s Law on January 16th Aaron Boone allegedly broke one of the rules of his contract. He participated in a pick up basketball game, which is one of the activities expressly forbidden in his new, $5 million, one-year deal with the Yankees. Then, as predicted by Murphy, if something can go wrong it will, Boone injured his left knee. It swelled up so badly that no one yet knows the extent of the injury. As we all know, he was examined by Los Angeles Dodgers physician Lewis Locum, who surmised Boone may have torn the ACL or anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. How much damage Boone did to his knee will be determined after the swelling goes down and an MRI can be completed. Needless to say, Boone will be out of action for a lengthy period of time, possibly the entire 2004 season.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg in this little scenario. Now the Yankees are poring over Boone’s contract to see if they can release him for breach of contract. If they can the Yankees stand only to lose a little over $900,000.00 vs. paying Boone over $5 million to sit on his wallet all season long. Not only that, now the Player’s Association says that it will do everything in its power to make sure Boone gets every nickel of his one-year deal. Yeah, okay.

To me the MLBPA is made up of mostly overpaid, prima donna, athletics who only know the word “integrity” is between idiot and intelligence. Their union is a joke. Ballplayers, by and large, are the biggest whiners in sports. They always want a pay raise when they have a big year, but they never want to give any back when they stink up the diamond. In the age of blown up bodies, thanks to steroids, and egos to match the MLBPA has made a mockery out of baseball. Guys like Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire who blew up to Herculean proportions over their careers are going to the Hall of Fame for hitting home runs, while guys like Roger Maris, who did it with a natural build, still waits in the wings. Where’s the justice? It’s nowhere to be found.

My advice to the MLBPA is stay out of it. If the language in Boone’s contract was so egregious at the time he signed it where was the union to protest it? Not looking over Boone’s shoulder. As long as everything is hunky dory the MLBPA won’t squawk, but when the pooh hits the fan, boy they are all over a team’s back. Aaron Boone and his representatives signed a contract containing the prohibitive language Boone went out and violated. He left his team in the breach by doing a very selfish act. Now the Yankees are left scrambling to find a replacement. It amazes that Boone has yet to stand up like a man and say, “I signed a contract. I violated terms in that contract and I will accept whatever decision the Yankees deem necessary and fair. The situation I now find myself in is entirely my fault.” That’ll happen……never. Maybe it’s just me, but I was brought up to accept the responsibilities of my actions. If I messed up I took the heat for it. Today, that doesn’t happen. Boone is waiting for the other shoe to drop on him, then expect the MLBPA to jump in and save his skin.

Like many fans, I was willing to forgive and forget Boone’s dismal play after his trade to the Yankees from Cincinnati and his woeful batting in the playoffs. After the winter off I was hoping he would go into spring training, fired up and raring to go. Now he’ll be spending the spring on crutches. It will be a painful reminder of his lapse in good judgment. I commend Aaron Boone on being honest about how he injured his knee and didn’t try to cover it up. Something Jeff Kent failed to do for the San Francisco Giants. It shows that Boone has a few scruples. That being said, I hope the Yankees void his contract and bid him adieu. Let the MLBPA strut and beat its chest. In the end, I have confidence that Major League Baseball, the courts or whoever is going to rule on this matter rules on the side of the Yankees and shoves the MLBPA’s protest straight up their……


PLAY BALL!


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