The New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics opened their four-game series with a rare Monday matinee at Yankee Stadium, and manager Aaron Boone was in the dugout for all of one batter during a 2-0 loss.
The Yankees manager was ejected five pitches into the game by home-plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt when Athletics leadoff hitter Esteury Ruiz was hit by a pitch on an 0-2 count; the pitch clearly plunked Ruiz on the foot, but the Yankees’ dugout thought Ruiz swung at it. As a result, Boone communicated his disapproval.
Boone said he was more upset with first-base umpire John Tumpane’s ruling on appeal that Ruiz didn’t swing at the pitch. The manager said his only issue with Wendelstedt was that he believed Wendelstedt could’ve ruled that Ruiz swung. When Wendelstedt responded with his reasoning, which concluded with warning of an ejection, Boone said he backed off.
One pitch later, Boone was ejected. Wendelstedt ejected Boone after hearing someone’s objection from the direction of the Yankees dugout. Boone protested that he hadn’t said anything, but Wendelstedt continued, saying “I don’t care who said it. You’re gone!”
It was Boone’s second ejection of the season. His 35 ejections since 2018 are the most in the majors among managers. He acknowledges that he can be more “vocal and fiery” than some but claims to have a good relationship with a lot of umpires, saying “overall, I feel like I’m treated fairly.”
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