Yankees’ Aaron Boone explains unpopular decision to walk Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera on verge of 3,000 hits

DETROIT — Go with your brain, not your gut.

That was essentially Yankees manager Aaron Boone’s message when he explained why he walked Tigers star Miguel Cabrera in his final at-bat while he was stuck on 2,999 hits on Thursday afternoon.

The move backfired when, in the next at-bat, Austin Meadows cracked a bases-loaded double to score two runs and cement the final score in the Yankees’ 3-0 loss to the Tigers.

“Look, it’s a baseball call all the way,” Boone told reporters. “But there’s no doubt a little more feeling to it, understanding the situation. But in the end, you’ve got to go with what you think is right within the context of the game.”

At the time, the Yankees were down, 1-0, with two outs. Left-handed reliever Lucas Luetge was on the mound and pitching coach Matt Blake came out to meet with him. Luetge said Blake’s message was to actually go after Cabrera, but Boone changed it up from the dugout and elected to face the lefty-hitting Meadows instead.

Cabrera was hitless in three at-bats with two strikes to that point. But the 39-year-old had three hits on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Yankees liked the platoon advantage against Meadows, who has a career .240 batting average vs. lefties. Southpaw hitters have a career .199 batting average vs. Luetge.

“That’s Boone’s decision,” Luetge said. “When Blake came out there, we were going with a game plan to face Cabrera. That was Boone’s decision and rightfully so. Lefty on deck. Trying to win a game where as great as it is to see 3,000, we’re not as concerned about it as much as they are.”

Said Boone, “It was close just being down in that spot. Felt like that was the matchup that we wanted there, obviously understanding the moment there. A little more gut-wrenching than usual.”

Cabrera didn’t seem to mind.

“No,” he told reporters, “my on-base percentage went up.”

Spectacular boos rained on the field after Cabrera walked. Tigers fans were so angry that Luetge had trouble hearing the PitchCom system in his hat. Luetge said he actually waited an extra beat to throw pitches to Meadows as a way to take the crowd out of it.

Did Boone understand why he had suddenly become the least popular man in Michigan?

“Of course,” Boone said. “Certainly understand that. You don’t necessarily like being in that position, but it’s part of it.”

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Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com.

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