What Sean Casey has long known about Aaron Boone shows how they can help the Yankees now

When Aaron Boone was hired to be the Yankees’ manager in December 2017, he hadn’t coached or managed at any professional level.

Having grown up around the game and having played it for a dozen years in the majors, his baseball acumen was unquestioned, but it was fair to wonder what else he brought to the job.

At the time, The Post reached out to several people close to Boone, and as it turned out, they highlighted the main attribute the Yankees saw in their new manager.

One of those people was Boone’s father, Bob, the second-generation major leaguer who also spent time as a big league manager.

“He never says anything bad about anybody,’’ Bob said at the time. “He’s far better at that than I am. And he always sought out the underdog. No matter what was going on, he made sure no one was left out.”

Yankees fans have learned much of what the elder Boone said is true.

Aaron Boone’s consistently positive demeanor is a quality Sean Casey appreciated when he became Boone’s teammate in Cincinnati.AFP via Getty Images

Aaron Boone can infuriate the fanbase with his almost relentlessly positive takes on just about anything — a far cry from his predecessor, Joe Girardi.

That’s why it stood out when, shortly before Dillon Lawson’s midseason firing as hitting coach, Boone was critical of the struggling lineup.

“I hope on the other side, they get a little hot together,’’ Boone said of the offense prior to Saturday’s game. “We’re in July, the middle of the season. We have to get it right. We have to figure it out.”

Just over 24 hours later, Lawson was gone, and soon after, Sean Casey was hired.

We’ll see whether Casey — who has never coached — helps the Yankees hitters “figure it out.”

Whether Boone’s encouraging persona has gotten the best out of the Yankees is a matter of debate, but the organization values it in a market where negativity abounds.

Sean Casey sports a mustache at his Yankees introduction Wednesday as he prepares to take on the daunting task of reviving an offense hitting a collective .231.Twitter/@GJoyce9

It’s an attribute he showed as a player, as well, something Casey mentioned when he was asked about Boone shortly after Boone was named manager.

Casey, who first got to know Boone while playing in the minors and in the Arizona Fall League, talked about having been traded from Cleveland to Cincinnati shortly before the start of the 1998 season and “scrambling” to figure out how to settle into his new surroundings.

Among his thoughts when preparing for the sudden move: “At least I know Aaron Boone is gonna be there.”

“I was running late for [stretching] on my first day, and I was kind of in a panic,” Casey remembered of his introduction to the Reds. “[Boone] was the first guy I saw. He put his arm around my shoulder, and that put me at ease.”

The respected and well-liked Casey will bring another positive voice to the Yankees clubhouse, and unlike his predecessor, Lawson, it will come from a person who was an All-Star in the majors.

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All-Star futures

As The Post’s Joel Sherman noted, there was a lack of star power from the Yankees at Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Seattle.

So how are things looking for the local teams for next year, when the game will be played in Arlington, Texas?

On the Yankees’ side, this year’s representatives, Gerrit Cole and the injured Aaron Judge, still will be in the prime of their careers — provided Judge fully recovers from the sprained right toe that has sidelined him since June 3.

Anthony Volpe would be a long shot to become an All-Star in his second season in 2024.Getty Images

Carlos Rodon, the Yankees hope, will be in the middle of his first fully healthy season since signing a six-year, $162 million deal.

Boone attempted to make a case this year for Gleyber Torres, who made back-to-back All-Star appearances in 2018 and ’19, but Torres’ inconsistency has become an annual issue. Torres would be in his final season before free agency in 2024.

Anthony Rizzo is a three-time All-Star, but his last appearance came in 2016.

The American League has had six different starting shortstops in the past six years, and though Anthony Volpe has hit better of late, a jump to the All-Star Game next season seems far-fetched.

In Queens, Pete Alonso and Kodai Senga were the lone Mets representatives — due in part to disappointing first halves from Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander and the loss of Edwin Diaz to a knee injury at the World Baseball Classic.

So long as Pete Alonso keeps hitting home runs at a prodigious rate, he should be a regular candidate to reach the All-Star Game.MLB Photos via Getty Images

Alonso shows no signs of slowing down, and Senga should only get more comfortable as he grows accustomed to pitching in the majors.

Jeff McNeil is only a year removed from an All-Star appearance before his struggles this season.

And Francisco Lindor has a higher WAR, according to Fangraphs, than the National League starting shortstop, the Braves’ Orlando Arcia, or his backup, Dansby Swanson of the Cubs. Lindor hasn’t made the Midsummer Classic since 2019.

Brandon Nimmo has yet to make an All-Star team, but is having another standout — and healthy — season. He’s currently seventh among NL outfielders in WAR, according to Fangraphs, and is in the first season of an eight-year, $162 million contract.

Of the Mets’ rookies who might make the leap to All-Star in 2024, the most intriguing is Francisco Alvarez, who is tied for the lead among NL catchers with 17 home runs.

First-half report cards Post photo composite

Yankees: Big-names’ grades range from A’s to F’s

Post photo illustration

Mets: Big arms not delivering fueling disappointment

The old college try

After signing Donte DiVincenzo, the Knicks have three players from the same NCAA Championship-winning team — the 2015-16 Villanova Wildcats — on their roster.

Rick Pitino, now at St. John’s, coached a previous example of an NBA team with three former members of an NCAA title team.

Pitino was head coach of the Celtics when the team had Antoine Walker, Ron Mercer and Walter McCarty, who won a championship — with Pitino — at the University of Kentucky in 1996.

The Knicks’ Villanova contingent echoes the late 1990s Celtics, under Rick Pitino, featuring a group of former Kentucky national champions including Ron Mercer.Getty Images

Their reunion in Boston did not go well: The 1997-98 Celtics (36-46) and 1998-99 Celtics (19-31) struggled with all three ex-Wildcats.

The following year, Pitino unleashed his epic rant about Boston sports fans, saying, “Larry Bird is not walking through that door, fans. Kevin McHale is not walking through that door, and Robert Parish is not walking through that door. And if you expect them to walk through that door, they’re going to be gray and old.”

Less than a year later, Pitino was gone, but the Celtics tried carrying three former Kentucky players again in 2001-02 and ’02-’03 with Tony Delk replacing Ron Mercer under Jim O’Brien. Those two teams made the playoffs at least.

Starr treatment The Yankees will add a new sponsorship patch to their uniforms for the rest of the season.Courtesy of Yankees

The Yankees didn’t just introduce a new hitting coach on Wednesday. They also announced a partnership with Starr Insurance that will include the addition of a patch bearing the company’s name on the team’s iconic jersey.

While the news infuriated some traditionalists, the sponsorship comes with a reported $20 million-plus annual price tag.

To be conservative, let’s call it $20 million and see what the Yankees could get this season with that kind of extra cash (we know, we know: it doesn’t work that way).

Here’s a look at some of the players making $20 million this year, according to Spotrac: starting pitchers Hyun Jin Ryu, Clayton Kershaw, Joe Musgrove and Charlie Morton; shortstop Trevor Story, outfielders Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber; catcher Sal Perez.