Aaron Boone says Yankees-Red Sox rivalry still has ‘juice’ despite how the AL East standings look

As the author of one of the more notable moments in Yankees-Red Sox history, Aaron Boone has some authority when speaking about the rivalry’s ferocity over the years. And if you ask the Yankees’ manager, games between the American League East enemies are still a “heavyweight match.”

“Any time Red Sox, Yankees get together, whether it’s [in the Bronx], whether it’s at Fenway, there’s something special about that,” Boone said Friday before his team’s series-opener against Boston at Yankee Stadium. “I’ve gotten to experience it quite a bit now as a player and manager. You feel fortunate to be a part of such a historic sports rivalry, and I have a lot of respect for them. We’ve been through our battles over the years.”

Boone, of course, famously won one of those battles for the pinstripers as a player in 2003 when he hit a walk-off home run off Boston’s Tim Wakefield in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series. The blast earned Boone a profane middle nickname in the state of Massachusetts — and a spot in Yankees history long before he became the team’s manager.

More recently, however, Alex Cora and the Sox bounced Boone’s Yankees from the 2021 playoffs. That Wild Card loss still stings Boone, even if the Yankees have fostered strong rivalries with other division foes, such as the Rays and Blue Jays, in recent years.

“I say the AL East is always good, which it is,” Boone said. “It’s really good now. We’re playing in the SEC right now. It’s pack a lunch. So I think we’ve developed really strong rivalries with every team, but the Red Sox are right in that mix. They knocked us out of the playoffs in ‘21, and I think you always get juice from that.”

Friday’s game marked the first matchup between the third-place Yankees and last-place Red Sox this season. Per the YES Network’s James Smyth, this is just the sixth time in 121 seasons that the Yankees didn’t play Boston in their first 64 games of the season.

“I guess so,” Boone said when asked if it’s weird that the adversaries haven’t played yet. “But we get that question every year with whoever team we play later in the season.

“You play the schedule. You kind of know what it is. I think the weirdness this year is that you’re playing everyone. That’s what’s weird. So I feel like I’ve been asked that question in previous years. ‘Isn’t it weird you’re not playing so and so until now?’ Isn’t it weird that we’re done playing the Blue Jays until the end of September?

“The schedule is always going to create some weirdness to it. But I think this year, the biggest thing is that you play everyone.”

The Yankees and Red Sox are making up for the delay, though, as they’ll play three games at Fenway Park next weekend after three games in New York this weekend.

And while the new schedule — which pits every team against one another — has led to some quirks, Boone said that he likes the format.

His biggest concern going into the season was over weather postponements causing issues with teams the Yankees only faced or visited for one series. But that hasn’t been a problem so far.

“What’s remarkable is we’ve gone to Cleveland, we’ve gone to Minnesota in the month of April. Obviously, we’ve played games here,” Boone noted. “We’ve had one — forget rain out. We’ve had one rain delay, and that was here a couple of weeks ago, which is remarkable.

“As long as you don’t get into a bad situation where you’ve got four teams you’re making up games with, that’s when it can get a little tricky and difficult.”

WHAT’S NEXT FOR BADER?

Boone said “I don’t know” when asked if Harrison Bader could return next week, or if he will need a rehab assignment.

Bader, who injured his hamstring on the Seattle portion of the Yankees’ recent west coast road trip, took batting practice on the field and did outfield work Friday.

ALLEN’S OUT A WHILE

Greg Allen is out for 6-8 weeks, according to Boone. The outfielder suffered a hip flexor injury in Los Angeles.