A’s coach bummed Yankees didn’t even call him for Aaron Boone’s job

A’s coach Al Pedrique — the Yankees’ Triple-A coach in 2017 — hoped he would get an interview to take over for Joe Girardi or at least be on Aaron Boone’s staff.

NEW YORK — Al Pedrique wanted Aaron Boone‘s job. 

If he didn’t get it, he thought for sure he’d at least get a look to be on the staff of whoever would take over for the fired Joe Girardi.

Neither happened. Pedrique, now the A’s first base coach, is fine with it.

But was he disappointed at the time?

“Oh, definitely,” he said before the Yankees face Oakland at Yankee Stadium on Friday night.

“For a baseball guy, I spent five years with the organization. I knew a lot of these kids. I was hoping for at least a phone call. It didn’t work out that way. That happened for a reason.”

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The reason for now, it seems, was so Oakland could put him on the staff of longtime coach Bob Melvin.

Before that, Pedrique spent five years coaching with the Yankees.

He started at Low-A Charleston in 2013 before moving to High-A Tampa the next season. From 2015, he managed Double-A Trenton before spending two years at the helm of Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Of course, Pedrique’s resume extends beyond the minor leagues. He was the Diamondbacks’ third base coach and interim manager in 2004 and the Astro’s third base coach in 2009. He was Houston’s bench coach from 2010 and 2011.

So Pedrique — who has also scouted, been in a front office and played three seasons in the majors — wanted to get back to The Show. He thought it would happen in the offseason when the Yankees got rid of Girardi, their manager for 10 years.

He thought he could have been manager. He knew he could have helped the big-league staff with the development of stars Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Greg Bird and many others he guided in the minors.

“I was hoping to at least get a job — a chance to coach third base or first base, work with the infielders,” Pedrique said. “But like I was saying, you’ve got to stay positive. It happened for a reason. I’m happy where I am right now. But I always pay attention to what those kids are doing because, for me, they’re all like my kids. I had them since 2013 and now to see all those guys playing together up in the big leagues, it’s a great feeling.”

But just before Boone was named manager, Kevin Reese, the Yankees’ vice president of player development, called Pedrique, who hadn’t yet heard from the team about his future.

There was good news and bad news. The good news: The A’s had requested permission to interview him for a major-league job and the Yankees were going to grant it. The bad news was that the Yankees were obviously OK with him leaving.

“It worked out,” Pedrique said.

On Friday, Pedrique was like the mayor of Yankee Stadium. More than a dozen Yankees embraced him. Hitting coach P.J. Pilliettre, who coached with Pedrique for five seasons, took a picture with him.

“It’s always fun to see those kids,” Pedrique said. “They play so hard. They work so hard. They all deserve to be up here. And P.J., what he does is amazing — a great guy, a true professional. He does a great job. … (Infield coordinator) Carlos Mendoza), he does a great job.”

But Pedrique was excited for his own team, too.

“We’ve got a good core of young players, as well, with a lot of talent,” he said.

Maybe it’s not the same core the Yankees had. But Pedrique is fine with that.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.