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NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Boone didn't tie the record for fastest ejection. The New York Yankees manager did think it was among the most unjust dismissals.
Boone was thrown out of Monday's 2-0 loss to Oakland five pitches in by Hunter Wendelstedt over a remark the Yankees maintained was yelled by a fan behind the dugout, while the plate umpire said it was something shouted from the far end of New York's bench.
“It's embarrassing,” Boone said. “I couldn't believe it.”
Esteury Ruiz was hit on the back foot by Carlos Rodón's slider leading off the game.
Standing on the dugout steps, Boone raised his hands, questioning whether Ruiz swung at the pitch. First base umpire John Tumpane determined Ruiz did not swing and should go to first base.
After a called strike to Tyler Nevin, Wendelstedt removed his mask, took a few steps toward the Yankees' dugout and could be heard by a YES Network microphone yelling at Boone: “Hey, guess what? You're not yelling at me. I did what I'm supposed to do and checked! I'm looking for him to get hit by the pitch! You got anything else to say, you're gone! OK?”
Wendelstedt pointed at Boone as he finished. Boone, leaning on the dugout rail with his left arm, held up his left hand as if to signal OK, then gave the umpire a thumbs-up.
As the umpire put his mask back on and walked behind catcher Shea Langeliers, a fan behind the dugout in a blue shirt appeared to yell at Wendelstedt. The umpire pulled off his mask and demonstratively waved his right arm in an arc, thumb extended, screaming: “Aaron, you're done! I don't care who said it. You're gone!”
Boone ran onto the field and pointed to the fan.
“It was above our dugout!" Boone exclaimed. ”I didn't say anything! I did not say anything!”
Wendelstedt responded: “I don’t care who said it, you’re gone!”
Boone went on to declare several times, "I did not say a word,” along with several profanities. Crew chief Marvin Hudson joined them in an attempt to calm Boone.
“You warned me, and I shut up,” Boone told Wendelstedt.
“You're probably right, Aaron,” the umpire replied.
“I'm not probably right, I'm f---in right,” Boone responded.
After the game, Wendelstedt said that as manager of the Yankees, Boone is “responsible for everything that happens in that dugout.”
“In my opinion, the cheap shot came towards the far end, so instead of me being aggressive and walking down to the far end and trying to figure out who might have said it or who — 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.”
New York first baseman Anthony Rizzo looked at the ejection this way: “I feel like his ears are wide open, so anything coming from that direction, you’re on a very short fuse.”
It wasn't the earliest ejection.
Baltimore manager Earl Weaver was ejected by Ron Luciano while exchanging lineup cards before the second game of a doubleheader against Texas on Aug. 15, 1975, still upset over a call that led to his getting tossed in the fourth inning of the opener.
Los Angeles Angels pitcher John Lackey was ejected by plate umpire Bob Davidson on May 15, 2009, after his first pitch of the season sailed behind Ian Kinsler and the next hit the Rangers' leadoff hitter in the ribs.
Toronto hitting coach Guillermo Martínez was tossed by first base umpire Lance Barrett after exchanging the lineup card before a game against the Chicago White Sox on June 22, 2022, a carryover from action the previous night.
Boone was ejected for the second time this season and for the 35th time in seven seasons as Yankees manager. He intended to speak with Major League Baseball about the situation.
“I’m obviously a little more vocal and fiery than some, so I’m sure it gets some people perked up,” Boone said. “But overall, I feel like I’m treated fairly.”
Bench coach Brad Ausmus took over as acting manager. He was Oakland's bench coach in 2022.
“I think Ausmus just wanted to manage against his former team,” Rizzo joked.
Wendelstedt, 52, made his big league debut in 1998 and his father, Harry, was a National League umpire from 1966-98. Hunter, who has been around long enough to have ejected Boone as a player in 2001, maintained he doesn't hold grudges.
“If you look up my ejections, you’ll see Bobby Cox multiple times, Ron Gardenhire and I a lot," he said. ”People don’t realize that Ron Gardenhire is just a stubborn German like me and after we might have a situation, we like to have a cold beer and talk about it."
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