Aaron Boone New York Yankees
Former New York Yankees Bucky Dent and Aaron Boone walk onto the field to throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the Yankees playing against the Texas Rangers in Game Five of the ALCS during the 2010 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 20, 2010 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Al Bello/Getty Images

The New York Yankees will officially announce Aaron Boone as their next manager at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. The former ESPN analyst replaces Joe Girardi, becoming the 35th manager in team history.

The press conference begins at 12 p.m, EST and will be broadcast on TV on the YES Network. Viewers can also watch the press conference online at yankees.com or with a live stream on the team’s Facebook page.

Despite having no managerial, or even coaching experience, Boone beat out five other candidates. New York interviewed former outfielder Carlos Beltran and San Francisco Giants bench coach Hensley Meulens. Rob Thomson, who had been Girardi’s bench coach, was also under consideration for the position, as was former infielder Chris Woodward and ex-Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge.

Most of the candidates had a connection to the Yankees, though Boone only played with the team for a few months in 2003. Of course, he’s responsible for one of the most iconic moments in the team’s history with his series-clinching home run against the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 of the ALCS.

An injury Boone suffered in the following offseason forced the Yankees to trade for Alex Rodriguez in 2004. Boone joined ESPN when he retired in 2010.

“I firmly believe that Aaron possesses the attributes needed to follow in the tradition of great Yankees managers,” managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said in a statement. “From all accounts, he is a polished communicator who possesses the ability to cultivate and grow relationships. Aaron has also spent a lifetime immersed in baseball, affording him a unique and intimate understanding of what fosters team success.”

Boone has big shoes to fill replacing the manager that had the best record in baseball over the last decade. New York went 910-710 during Girardi’s tenure from 2008-2107, winning one World Series and never having a losing record.

New York might have been the biggest surprise of the 2017 MLB season, coming within one game of reaching the World Series. Expectations will be different in Boone’s first season on the bench, and the Yankees are among the favorites to win the 2018 World Series.

“Words cannot express how humbled I am to wear the pinstripes again as the manager of the Yankees,” Boone said in a statement. “I want to thank the Steinbrenner family and Brian Cashman for entrusting me with this tremendous honor and responsibility. I believe we are entering into a special time in New York Yankees history, and I am so excited to be a part of it. I can’t wait to get to work — and that work starts now.”

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