Aaron Boone hopes to be classier than Dodgers if Yankees win WS - ESPN

TAMPA, Fla. — New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday that he didn't like hearing the criticism of his team levied by Los Angeles Dodgers players after they beat the Yankees in last year's World Series and hopes to «handle things with a little more class» if New York can win its first championship since 2009.

Dodgers utility man Chris Taylor and former reliever Joe Kelly disparaged the Yankees — whose sloppy fifth inning ultimately led to a series-clinching Game 5 loss — with Kelly calling their shoddy defense and baserunning «well-known» on his podcast and Taylor saying the Yankees «s--- down their leg» on teammate Mookie Betts' podcast.

«The reality is we didn't play our best in the series and they won, so they had that right to say whatever,» Boone said. «Hopefully, we're in that position next year and handle things with a little more class. But the reality is it's a great team, it's a great organization with a lot of great people that I happen to know and respect, too. So a few people sounding off isn't necessarily how I would want to draw it up.»

Boone pointed out that the Dodgers' stars — Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Clayton Kershaw — did not publicly roast the Yankees and that «sometimes you're coming off… winning the world championship and some guys are more inclined to spout off and be a little more colorful than others — and that's their right. They won. And again, hopefully we're in that position and do things a little better.»

Yankees pitchers and catchers reported here Tuesday to begin the season after their first World Series appearance since beating Philadelphia in 2009. After losing star outfielder Juan Soto in free agency to the New York Mets, the Yankees guaranteed the third-most