The umpire responsible for Aaron Boone’s controversial first-inning ejection is not buying Yankees manager’s explanation from fans.
Home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt allowed Boone to throw just two batters in the Yankees’ 2-0 loss to the Athletics on Monday in the Bronx.
Boone and the Yankees’ dugout after the umpire ruled that American leadoff batter Esteely Ruiz checked his swing when he was allowed to advance to first base after being hit by a pitch from Carlos Rodon with the count 0-2. was voicing dissatisfaction.
“There was a pitch down. I thought it hit him, the batter. I sent him to first base,” Wendelstedt told pool reporters after the game. “We were asked by the Yankees to appeal to first base, which we did. The batter went down. In my opinion, the Yankees dugout clearly started arguing that the situation was too extreme.”
Wendelstedt gave the Yankees a final warning before ejecting an unsuspecting Boone after hearing a disturbing noise coming from the direction of the Yankees’ dugout.
Boone rushed out of the dugout, pointed to the bleachers, and told Wendelstedt that it was the fans, not the Yankees, who were shouting.
Wendelstedt replied, “I don’t care who said it, you’re gone.”
After the game, the referee pushed back against the idea of ejecting a manager over the fan’s comments and explained what happened from his own perspective.
Warning: Explicit language
“I know Aaron was referring to the fans above the dugout. That’s great and nice,” Wendelstedt said. “A lot of fans were yelling at me until the end of the game, even before I called the pitch. What happened was, it wasn’t him, it was where (bench coach Brad) Ausmus was. It wasn’t finished. That wasn’t where the coaching staff and Aaron were, but Aaron Boone is the manager of the New York Yankees and is responsible for everything that happens in that dugout.
“In my opinion, the cheap shot went towards the far end (of the dugout). So instead of me being aggressive and walking to the far end and trying to figure out who said it, I… We don’t want to eject Ball players. We need to keep them in the game. That’s what the fans are paying to see. He was ejected. .
“Apparently what he said was that there were fans directly above the dugout. This is not my first ejection. Throughout my career, I have ejected players and managers for fan comments. I understand that that’s going to be part of the story because that’s what Aaron was portraying. He heard something from the other side of the dugout. is the Yankees manager. So he had to go.”
Video of the incident clearly showed a fan sitting behind Boone screaming just before he was ejected.
Boone once again made excuses to Wendelstedt, saying he “didn’t say anything” and told the referee that his decision was “strong”.
Wendelstedt hasn’t seen the replay yet, but agreed with Boone that he was “probably right” about the fans screaming, but stood by what he heard.
“After I had heard enough of their expressions, I gave them a final warning. And it just so happened that I thought I could see that there was probably a fan in addition to that one screaming at me. He wasn’t the only one, he was probably in line behind Boone too, and maybe what Booney heard was, hey, this guy is behind me (screaming). No,” Wendelstedt said.
“The reason I approached Aaron Boone was because something happened in the back of the dugout. As the Yankees manager, he’s responsible for not just his surroundings, but the entire dugout. That’s how I took it. Ta.”
The priest acknowledged that the situation could have been handled differently a few years ago.
“In the old days, when Marvin (Hudson) first got here, we would have gone to the dugout and picked someone, but through experience and learning, we’ve learned that fans are coming out to see players stay in the game. “I know,” Wendelstedt said. “It’s stupid to kick a player out when you don’t know who did it. The manager was there, Aaron hit it, and he probably wasn’t the one who made the comment, but again, he’s the Yankees manager, He’s in charge of the team.”
Boone remained dissatisfied with his ejection after the game and never understood what had happened.
“It’s embarrassing,” Boone said when asked about the ejection. “It’s really bad…it’s embarrassing. It’s just not good.”
Wendelstedt dismissed the idea that Boone’s history of ejections was a factor, but he was ready to walk away from it all.
“If you look at my exit record, Bobby Cox comes up a lot, Ron Gardenhire and I come up a lot,” he said. “People don’t realize that Ron Gardenhire is a die-hard German guy like me, but after something goes wrong we want to talk about it over a cold beer. has work to do and tomorrow is a new day.
“When I see Aaron leave, I’ll ask him where we’re going to dinner. I hope he has a good time with his family tonight. And tomorrow he’s going to play baseball. It’s a whole new day.” ”
