Yankees manager Aaron Boone changed the narrative

Welcome to SB Nation FanPulse, a survey of fans across MLB. Each week, we send 30 polls to plugged in fans from each team. Yankees fans, sign up HERE to join FanPulse.

Remember the narrative surrounding Aaron Boone entering the season? He’s too boring, emotionless, too many PR-based answers. On the regular fans complained that Boone’s press conferences would put them asleep, or that the skipper himself must have dozed off during the game.

That reputation changed in a hurry, didn’t it? All summer—but especially since the “savages in the box episode”—we’ve seen Boone react with passion and animation. He’s outspoken in defense of his team, and the players regularly express their respect for him. It’s been a night-and-day transformation in terms of public perception around Boone.

As a result, fans have demonstrated continual approval in the manager. For the second consecutive week his approval rating sits at 84%, and that marks six straight weeks in the 80s. That’s the longest of such stretch since polling began.

When it comes to overall team confidence, that number has been on the rise as well. It jumped from 81% to 85% over the last week, which is impressive considering the series split with Cleveland. The Yankees’ magic number has been a topic of late, so maybe that has everyone feeling good.

This week’s national poll asked about the juiced ball, and if it’s good for the game.

As it turns out, many disapprove of the current ball. The league average HR/9 right now is 1.4, and that is a startling number. Many members of the media, fans, and former players have complained about the aesthetics of today’s game. I love home runs, so I don’t entirely mind it. I do see some points to criticism, though. What are your thoughts on the ball and how it shapes the current state of offense?

If you missed out on this poll but would like to join us for future ones, sign up at the link above. We’ll have more questions and answers next week!