Yankees manager Aaron Boone got a very quick exit from Monday’s game against the Athletics, but it wasn’t his fault — at least not entirely.
Home plate Hunter Wendelstedt ejected the New York skipper after just five pitches, a remarkably fast departure even by Boone’s standards. Cameras and microphones, however, paint Boone in a pretty sympathetic light.
The ejection itself came without Boone saying a word to Wendelstedt or any of the other umpires. In fact, YES cameras caught Boone staring off into space when getting the ejection.
That doesn’t exactly tell the whole story, of course. The broadcast picked up Wendelstedt warning Boone after the preceding pitch.
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Where things look bad for Wendelstedt, though, is after Boone insists he didn’t say anything — which he didn’t — Wendelstedt can be head saying “I don’t care who said it.” In some cases, you could say that makes sense. Ultimately, the manager is responsible for what comes out of his dugout, especially after a warning. And if Wendelstedt is that fed up, he might run the manager.
The other part of the problem for Wendelstedt, though? Not only did Boone not say anything, it doesn’t appear anyone inside the Yankees dugout did. One replay angle from YES instead shows a fan sitting a row behind the dugout giving Blue some lip, and that’s how Boone gets in trouble.
If we’re assessing blame, obviously the bulk of it goes to Wendelstedt. Ideally, you’d like him to have a slightly longer leash, especially in the first inning of the first game of a series. It’s not like this has been simmering for three straight days. Also, you’d like him to, you know, not eject someone for something said by a paying customer. The “I don’t care who said it!” ages especially poor in that light, too.
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However, Boone probably deserves the slightest sliver of blame. Wendelstedt was warning him for something, which means someone in the New York dugout was chirping — in the first inning of the first game of a series. That’s probably a little much. Boone also probably has a deserved, earned reputation among umpires. Monday’s heave-ho was the 35th ejection of his relatively young career.
Boone’s routinely at or near the top of the league in ejections every season, too. In 2022, he was ejected nine times, and he was sent packing early seven times last year. This was his second ejection of 2024, and we’re not even into the last week of April.
Featured image via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
