New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone (17) blows a bubble with his gum during the ninth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field.
© Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports
(Bronx, NY) – In a bizarre sequence at Yankee Stadium on Monday afternoon, manager Aaron Boone was ejected just five pitches into an eventual loss at the hands of the Oakland A’s. While losing to the lowly A’s and watching their offense go cold was tough to swallow, Boone’s ejection remained notable — and bizarre — after the game was concluded.
TV cameras captured the initial back-and-forth between Boone and longtime MLB umpire Hunter Wendelstedt. After some jawing and open disagreement about one of the ump’s calls, Wendelstedt admonished Boone and warned he’d be ejected if it didn’t stop. Not long after, Wendelstedt yanked off his mask and told Boone he was “gone.”
Boone immediately sprung from the dugout and pleaded his case, insisting he didn’t say anything. Later a theory emerged that a fan sitting behind the dugout was actually the offending party who didn’t “stop” after Wendelstedt’s warning. Boone called the situation “embarassing” afterward. But the umpire insisted it wasn’t a fan that got Boone tossed, but rather a comment made from somewhere further down the bench. Because Boone is the Yankees’ skipper, Wendelstedt maintained he deserved to be tossed because he runs the club.
