Manager Aaron Boone always defends his players, despite errors or misplays. So, when a respected voice questions their identity, we can only expect a response with the same intensity. Blue Jays announcer Buck Martinez faced just that when he said, “The Yankees, they’re not a good team. I don’t care what their record is. They have a lot of wild pitches, they make a lot of mistakes in the field, and they don’t run the bases very well. If they don’t hit home runs, they don’t have a chance to win.”

The comment appeared and disappeared, but it didn’t miss Boone’s eye. And before Game 1 of the ALDS in Toronto, Boone decided to see if he could give it CPR, exclaiming, “Contrary to some thoughts up here, we’re a really good team.” But what happened behind the scenes was the real story.

The real story came out on “The Show” podcast when Martinez joined hosts Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman to discuss the incident. He shared his experience of the first face-to-face meeting with Boone after that comment. “And Aaron Boone, when I first saw him in Toronto in our meeting with him before the Game 1, he said, ‘I don’t like your hair either.'”

Even after that, Martinez stood by his original analysis of the Bronx Bombers.

“Well, you guys know the Yankees went through a tough stretch in the summer, there’s no question about it,” Martinez pointed to the team’s difficult summer, where they lost a seven-game lead in the AL East and posted a 6-14 record between June 13 and July 5.

And he kept adding some more fire!

Buck Martinez mentioned that despite their star power, the team’s fundamental flaws were too big to ignore. And for him, a winning record didn’t tell the whole story.

He even reminded everyone about the previous year’s World Series disaster and the Yankees’ 4-1 series loss to the Dodgers.

The final game was a historic defensive meltdown where New York blew a 5-0 lead in a single inning after two errors, a balk, and a pitcher failing to cover first base. And this season? Without naming Anthony Volpe, Martinez mentioned, “You know, the shortstop made 19 errors.”

Finally, he pointed to the Red Sox team New York just beat.

Boston’s defense was so bad in the series, and even a crucial dropped ball and an error at first base led to all four Yankee runs in the deciding last game. “If Boston catches the ball. The Blue Jays are playing the Red Sox.” In contrast, the Blue Jays’ defense is quite the opposite.

“You saw it in the first two games with the Blue Jays; the defense for Toronto has been exceptional all season long,” Martinez noted.

This battle between the dugout and the broadcast booth adds another layer of spice to the already intense ALDS, where the Yankees will play their do-or-die Game 3 at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday.

What’s next for the division rivals?

The New York Yankees are now trailing the Blue Jays 2-0 in the best-of-five series. History is not on their side either because the teams that go up 2-0 in a five-game series win it over 88.9% of the time. Now, they must win three straight games to survive. If they pull off the miracle, they will face either the Seattle Mariners or the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS.

On the other hand, the Toronto Blue Jays are flying high and are just one win away from their first ALCS trip since 2016. Their offense has been explosive, hitting eight home runs in the first two games. And if they close out the series winning, they have had a winning record against both the Mariners and the Tigers this season.

Plus, if they advance, the Jays will get some extra time and are expected to get significant reinforcements back from injury before the ALCS, as shortstop Bo Bichette and starting pitcher Chris Bassitt might be available.

The Blue Jays finished last in the AL East with a 74-88 record last year. But in 2025, they improved by 20 wins and earned the division title, and are now heavy favorites for the ALCS after outdueling the Yankees 23-8 in two games. This leap shows how quickly things can change in baseball with the right moves.