The idea that the New York Yankees’ lineup is made from others in the organization has continued to come up from fans, but they aren’t going with that. Manager Aaron Boone spoke about the comments that Yankees fans say, making it clear that he’s not taking outside noise seriously.
“I find it laughable,” Boone said.
According to The Athletic, longtime Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay said that the Yankees make multiple lineups and Boone gets to pick.
“So, The Athletic asked Boone to explain the process of how the lineup is actually made. The Yankees had 133 different lineup combinations in 2025, and many variables factor into how the manager arrives at his starting nine for each game, but there are several consistent guideposts he uses when crafting his lineups.
“One myth that broadcaster Michael Kay shared on his radio show last month was that the Yankees make three different lineups for each day’s game: Boone’s, Ausmus’, and the front office’s suggested one. Kay said Boone may then look at each lineup and combine them into one,” Chris Kirschner wrote.
However, as Kirschner wrote, that’s a myth.
“I’m just trying to net different guys that I know are probably going to stay in (the lineup), especially in the middle of the game,” Boone explained. “I want to keep them away from a lot of bad matchups or force (the opposing team) into it, if they’re going to take that shot. In a lefty scenario where they’re bringing in a guy aggressively, I have protection where you might have to face (Aaron) Judge or (Giancarlo) Stanton if you want to take that shot.”
Making a lineup is a lot more difficult than the typical fan would understand. Sure, we can go one by one and say Boone is making a wrong decision with certain guys playing and hitting in certain spots, but he has a lot more data readily available than most do.
The Yankees have also been a very good offensive team in recent years, so the idea of them not doing the right thing or Boone not making the lineup doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.