Aaron Boone said he’s going about things “business as usual” despite a looming MLB lockout.
The Yankees manager knows the sport could come to a screeching halt if, as expected, the collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the Players Association expires on Dec. 2.
Boone said he dreaded a potential work stoppage.
“It would be awful,” Boone said. “You never want to see that.”
Boone used to have a front row seat to labor negotiations, when he was the union representative for the Reds when baseball nearly shut down in 2002.
These days, he hopes they come to a resolution before spring training could be impacted.
“Right now, we’re in the offseason, so I don’t think we’ll necessarily feel the effects [of a work stoppage] till we get past the New Year and start getting ready and planning for spring training,” Boone said. “I don’t think anyone wants to see that and hopefully when all is said and done, the sides can come together and make a deal everyone can live with.”
The manager, who signed a new three-year contract last month to remain with the Yankees, was at the Stadium Monday handing out groceries to Bronx residents as part of the Yankees’ partnership with the Food Bank For New York City to help families facing food shortages.
Boone said it was important for him to “be out here and be part of putting some food on people’s tables, especially this time of year. It means a lot.”