It may take him a few days (or months) to find the humor in it, but New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected from today’s game in what was a clear case of mistaken identity.
Boone is well-known to be quite combative with umpires. Despite being universally-respected and well-liked around the league, Boone doesn’t receive too many cards from umpires come Christmas time.
This latest incident came in the very first inning of the Yankees day game against the Oakland Athletics.
Just two batters into the game, Boone had a few words for home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt after a pitch from starter Carlos Rodon to Tyler Nevin.
Wendelstedt made it clear he was in no mood for any back-and-forth with Boone and issued a stern warning to the Yankees manager…
“You got anything else to say, you’re gone!” Wendelstedt shouted to Boone … Broadcast cameras showed Boone standing silent, not saying a single word following the warning.
Seconds later, a fan apparently yelled something from the crowd – but Wendelstedt thought it came from Boone and he then made good on his promise, shouting: “Aaron, you’re done!”
Boone, clearly and rightfully shocked by the ejection, ran out to Wendelstedt and tried telling him that he didn’t say a single word … However, Wendelstedt wasn’t having any of that.
“I don’t care who said it, you’re gone!” he said.
“What do you mean you don’t care?! I did not say a word. That’s bullsh*t!” Boone responded.
The confrontation escalated as Boone engaged in a heated exchange with Wendelstedt and crew chief Marvin Hudson at home plate.
Despite attempts to resolve the situation, Boone eventually left the field, only to engage in further argument with Hudson from the dugout before departing in evident frustration.
Following Boone’s ejection, bench coach Brad Ausmus assumed managerial duties for the Yankees.
This marks Boone’s second ejection of the season, which is relatively low for him.
The fact that he clearly didn’t deserve the hook in this incident surely made the whole situation extra frustrating for him.
Thanks to some pretty damn good on-field microphones, we were able to hear the vulgar exchange in crystal clear fashion.
As Ryan Ruocco of the YES Network said, we won’t be needing Jomboy’s lip-reading expertise this time around.
What are your thoughts on the ejection?
On a side note, what is the single-greatest ejection in MLB history???