Managers getting tossed from ball games is the stuff of blooper reels.
But this time, Major League Baseball is the one with egg on its face.
And an umpire ejected this manager in one scene you have to see to believe.
Umpire tosses New York Yankee manager Aaron Boone
The first game of a three game series between the Yankees and the Oakland A’s took all of five pitches to turn into a viral sensation.
Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodón hit A’s leadoff man Esteury Ruiz in the foot.
It wasn’t entirely clear if the ball made contact, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone protested but stopped after replays showed it was obvious Rodón hit Ruiz.
Home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt warned Boone to knock it off.
“You got anything else to say, you’re gone,” Wendelstedt stated.
Boone gave Wendelstedt a thumbs up to show he agreed and then turned his attention back to the field and began chewing his gum.
All of sudden Wendelstedt exploded.
“Aaron, you’re done.” Wendelstedt shouted at the Yankee dugout.
Boone flew out onto the field and began frantically trying to explain that he didn’t say anything and whatever Wendelstedt heard came from a fan in the stands.
Wendelstedt’s response was unbelievable.
“I don’t care who said it. You’re gone,” Wendelstedt barked back.
YES Network – the Yankees regional sports network – had cameras on Boone the entire time, and the footage showed Boone sat in silence when Wendelstedt threw him out.
"I don't care who said it. You're gone!"
Not usually how that works but at least we got an awesome hot mic situation out of this Aaron Boone ejection pic.twitter.com/EX2xUsjtKA
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 22, 2024
Wendelstedt speaks to the press
Apparently all it took to set Wendelstedt off was a fan mockingly saying, “Let’s go home plate.”
After the game, an unrepentant Wendelstedt doubled down and said he didn’t care if Boone didn’t say anything, and as manager of the Yankees, he was responsible for every comment made inside Yankee Stadium.
“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,” Wendelstedt began.
“Aaron Boone is the manager of the New York Yankees and is responsible for everything that happens in that dugout. … 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,” Wendelstedt added.
“Everything you said is exactly kind of what was communicated on the field. That’s what Aaron said. He said that ‘a fan said it, a fan said it.’’ I said, ‘I don’t care who said it.’ … It’s foolish to throw out a player if you don’t know who did it. The manager’s there, Aaron took the hit and he probably you know is not the one who made the comment but once again, he’s the manager of the Yankees and he’s responsible for the team,” Wendelstedt concluded.
