It was a quiet moment during a loud weekend, taking place under the stands that produced all that noise.
On Friday evening, as the Mets and Yankees prepared for the first Subway Series game of the year, Aaron Boone walked the long hallway between the home and visiting clubhouses at Yankee Stadium. He carried three boxes.
Those boxes held 2024 American League Championship Series rings, which Boone presented to Juan Soto, Clay Holmes, and Desi Druschel, his former assistant pitching coach who departed for that same job across town.
“It meant a lot,” Boone told SNY on Tuesday in his first comments about the moment, which was first noted by Tyler Kepner in The Athletic. “I really hadn’t seen Clay. I didn’t see Clay when we went to Port St. Lucie [in spring training]. I saw Desi then.”
Soto came out last. His weekend would soon become a significant news event, from the time he doffed his helmet to booing fans on Friday to his decision to leave without granting interviews on Sunday night. For three days, Yankee Stadium nearly vibrated with strong emotions about Soto, much of it toxic. Boone’s feelings, while no less intense, were entirely warm.
“When Juan came out [to get his ring], it was another chance to have a really nice moment,” Boone said. Later, during the games, Soto glanced several times into the Yankee dugout during games and acknowledged the manager.
But while Soto grabbed most of the headlines during the Subway Series, Boone savored his interactions with Holmes and Druschel, too.
Of the latter, who served on the Yankees’ big league staff from 2022-24, Boone said, “Desi brought a lot to the table, and became more and more entrenched every year. It was tough losing him, with all that he did behind the scenes. A really talented coach, very tech-savvy. Desi is on the cutting edge of a lot of that stuff.”
As for Holmes, Boone summarized his contribution to the 2024 pennant as “enormous.”
Holmes, a two-time All-Star closer for the Yankees, struggled late last season and ceded his role to Luke Weaver. He served as a valuable setup man during the postseason.
“Consider being taken out of the closer’s role later in the year and not missing a beat,” Boone said. "Even though I’m sure he wasn’t happy about it. He performed. We probably don’t win the pennant without him pitching as well as he did down the stretch in a different role. Throughout the postseason he was borderline dominant.”
All three left for the Mets, leaving a perennial contender for an emerging one. None departed without leaving an indelible mark on Boone and a franchise that finally made it back to the World Series.
“It was great to see those guys together,” Boone said. And obviously to give them something that was meaningful -- something that we went through together.”