Yankees' Aaron Boone: It Was 'Embarrassing' for Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt to Eject Me | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected in the first inning of Monday's matchup with the Oakland Athletics after umpire Hunter Wendelstedt had warned him against continuing to argue over a call.
The only issue with the decision? Video replays showed that Boone didn't actually say anything after Wendelstedt's warning:
YES Network @YESNetworkTake another look at Aaron Boone's ejection... <a href="">
After the game, a visibly annoyed Boone called the situation "embarrassing."
YES Network @YESNetwork"It was not right."<br><br>- Aaron Boone on his ejection <a href="">
Here's the full context from the confrontation.
On the first at-bat of the game, Athletics leadoff hitter Esteury Ruiz was hit in the foot by a pitch, though the Yankees thought he swung and it should have been a strike. Boone wasn't happy with the call and expressed as much.
"You're not yelling at me," Wendelstedt responded, which could be heard on the broadcast (h/t ESPN's Jorge Castillo). "I did what I was supposed to do and checked. I'm looking for him to get hit by the pitch. You got anything else to say, you're gone."
Video showed that Boone, in fact, didn't say anything afterward and the comments Wendelstedt heard seemed to come from a fan in the stands.
"Hard to," Boone told reporters after the game when asked how he wrapped his head around the ejection. "I didn't even really go after [Wendelstedt], I was more upset that on the appeal, I said, 'Hunter, you can call it too," and he came back at me pretty hard, to which I didn't respond."
Boone added that he would reach out to Major League Baseball regarding the situation.
Wendelstedt told reporters after the game he believed the comments had come from the dugout.
"Aaron Boone is the manager of the New York Yankees and is responsible for everything that happens in that dugout," he said. "... I don't want to eject a ballplayer. We need to keep them in the game. That's what the fans pay to see. Aaron Boone runs the Yankees. He got ejected."
He then doubled down on the angle that the ejection was based on a dugout remark, not something from the stands:
"Apparently what he said was there was a fan right above the dugout. This isn't my first ejection. In the entirety of my career, I have never ejected a player or a manager for something a fan has said. I understand that's going to be part of a story or something like that because that's what Aaron was portraying. I heard something come from the far end of the dugout, had nothing to do with his area but he's the manager of the Yankees. So he's the one that had to go."
The response to the situation on social media, as you might imagine, was a blending of bewilderment, bemusement and disdain over Wendelstedt's actions:
Ben Verlander @BenVerlanderUnbelievable. <br><br>Aaron Boone was just ejected from the game after a fan in the front row heckled the umpire. <br><br>"I don't care who said it. You're gone"<br><br>Is this the worst ejection of all time?<br><br> <a href="">
Randy Scott @RandyScottESPNWe're heading to a breaking point with umpires in MLB.<br>Rabbit ears and thin skin aren't a good mix, and they got Aaron Boone an ejection he didn't deserve. <a href="">
Mike Greenberg @EspngreenyIf you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and check out what happened at Yankee Stadium with Aaron Boone just now. <br><br>It's worth the three minute investment you will make to understand it. It's both the funniest and most pathetic thing we've seen in baseball this year. <a href="">#Yankees</a>
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBAAaron Boone got ejected after 5 pitches because someone in the stands yelled at Hunter Wendelstedt.<br><br>That was the dumbest ejection I've ever seen.
Per Castillo, Boone has now been ejected 45 times since 2018, the most among managers. His ejection Monday was the second of the 2024 season. It was also assuredly the least deserved of his career.
