NEW YORK (WFAN) -- Aaron Boone was taken aback this week by the headlines after he admitted he entertained the idea of batting Aaron Judge in the leadoff spot.
"Someone asked if I thought about it, and I said, 'Yeah, I've thought about it, but I wouldn't say it's likely,'" the Yankees manager told WFAN's "The Afternoon Drive" on Thursday. "It's amazing the traction that that has received."
Some reports left the impression that the scenario is more likely than it really appears to be. The Daily News' back page on Wednesday screamed "LEADING MAN" with photos of Judge and an Academy Award.
Boone said he was just giving an honest answer about his thought process.
"I think of all kinds of combinations," Boone explained. "I think there's always an interesting case in certain situations maybe against a left-handed pitcher where you can consider something like that. But it's honestly not something that I'd expect us to do."
A more relevant lineup decision for Boone is where he plans to bat sluggers Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez in the order. Does he prefer to bat them one behind the other or separate them?
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"In a perfect world, I would like to split them up," he said. "I would like to have a Greg Bird or whether it's a Didi Gregorius somewhere in there to kind of break it up, but I'm not married to that, either."
Boone added that he expects to bat Judge, Stanton, Sanchez, in that order, against left-handed pitching.
To listen the interview, in which Boone also discusses the Yankees' rotation, the competition in the infield and injuries, click on the audio player above.
