Aaron Boone managing Yankees in family hometown San Diego

SAN DIEGO (AP) — In a 2020 season that has had all sorts of odd twists, Aaron Boone will be managing the New York Yankees in an AL Division Series in an NL ballpark in the city where the Boone family dynasty has its roots.

While Boone is focused on what’s expected to be a tough series against the AL East rival Tampa Bay Rays, he said it’s always good to come back to the area that’s special to the first family to have three generations of big leaguers.

Boone’s grandfather, Ray, and father, Bob, went to San Diego high schools that aren’t far from Petco Park, which will host the Yankees-Rays ALDS and then the ALCS in one of MLB’s bubbles.

Due to COVID-19 protocols, this will be strictly a business swing for Boone, whose parents and brother Bret still live in the San Diego area.

“Unfortunately I don’t get to see them on the trip because of the bubble and things like that and so they won’t be coming to the games or having lunch or anything like that,” Aaron said Saturday, two days before the series starts. “But it is always special to come back to Southern California. Whether I come here, to Anaheim or to LA, it’s special to me.

“With me and my family now living on the East Coast, I don’t get out here that much. It’s definitely good to be here in this kind of weather, especially in October,” Boone said.

Family patriarch Ray Boone followed Ted Williams at San Diego’s Hoover High and was a major league infielder with six teams from 1948-60. He broke in with Cleveland late in the 1948 season and had one plate appearance in the Indians’ World Series victory against the Boston Braves. He was an All-Star third baseman for Detroit in 1954 and 1956. He died in 2004 at 81.

Ray’s son Bob attended Crawford High and played 19 seasons in the big...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Aaron-Boone-managing-Yankees-in-family-hometown-15619455.php