Everyone has an opinion on who Aaron Boone should play in Wednesday’s Wild Card game — even his mother.
And Sue Boone doesn’t exactly agree with her son’s decision to start mercurial catcher Gary Sanchez in the do-or-die playoff against the Oakland A’s.
“I’d go with [Austin] Romine. It’s a mother’s intuition,” the 69-year-matriarch of the three-generation major-league family told The Post.
“In my heart, I’d like to go with Sanchez,” she added. “I just think [Romine’s] a good receiver. He’s gotten some clutch hits, he calls a good game and I just like him.”
Mamma Boone knows catchers. She’s married to retired All-Star backstop Bob Boone.
Sue Boone said she’d also start J.A. Happ on the mound (“he never seems to get flustered”); newcomer Andrew McCutcheon in left field (“he’s decisive, he walks, he watches for his pitch”), and rookie Luke Voit at first.
“Voit brings a kid’s enthusiasm to the game,” she said. “He takes your breath away when he runs around the bases and pounds his chest, throwing his hands in the air. I watch him and I think, ‘that’s baseball.’ Have fun and enjoy the game.”
The Boone family circa 1986, clockwise from bottom left: Matthew, Aaron, Brett, Susan and Bob.Mamma Boone thinks her son has done a “great” job in his first year of managing, and would give him an A-minus grade.
“They knew what they were getting when they hired Aaron. His demeanor, his solidness, his unwavering makeup,” she said. “He’s made a couple of stupid mistakes,” she teased, pointing to a March spring training game when her son “didn’t have the reliever (warmed) up…I think he’s learned along the way to be better.”
She said she’ll watch the game at her San Diego home and if she gets too nervous, start doing the dishes or other chores while she watches.
Does she think her son will take her sage advice?
“He doesn’t talk to me about the team ever,” she said. “He makes his own decisions. He’s not going to listen to me … I’m just his biggest fan.”
As for the Bombers’ chances, she said if this “hungry” Yankee team gets past the A’s, their youth will “step up” and knock off the Boston Red Sox.
“I’m confident that we can do it.”
