Yankees Aaron Boone ejected in ultimate ump show: A breakdown

In what can only be described as the ultimate ump show, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected for 100-percent correct.

In case you haven’t seen it, allow me to set the scene. In a game against the Cleveland Guardians, the New York Yankees allowed two of the first three batters to reach base, and starter Clarke Schmidt was pitching to Josh Naylor.

Naylor sent a shallow pop fly into center field and as Aaron Hicks came charging in, it appeared as though the Yankees outfielder made a tremendous sliding catch. Hicks then threw the ball to second base after Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez failed to retreat, thus ending the inning with a double-play. Or, so they thought.

Between innings, the umpires conferenced and the scoreboard read ” play under review” despite the fact that Guardians manager Terry Francona never actually challenged the play.

Yankees: What went wrong on Aaron Hicks catch and Aaron Boone ejection

Upon review it was determined that the ball actually hit the ground and Hicks did not maintain control, thus Steven Kwan, who actually crossed home plate during the controversial play, was awarded a run and Ramirez was given third base. Ramirez would later on a Josh Bell RBI single.

Now, you may be saying to yourself, “if they got the call right, what’s everyone so upset about?” Major League Baseball has been strictly enforcing the 15-second time limit in which manager’s are allowed to challenge. Francona never engaged with the umpires during that timeframe, meaning that the challenge should have never occurred.

This was an egregious assertion of authority by the umpiring crew for the Yankees-Guardians game on Wednesday afternoon in Cleveland. The replay was never even initiated until the Guardians fans began to boo following the replay on the big screen.

Missing balls and strikes is one thing. But completely throwing the rules out the window is something all together different. Major League Baseball should be ashamed of the charade that took place at Progressive Field on Wednesday afternoon. Aaron Boone certainly got his money’s worth before he was ejected during the bottom of the first inning.