New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone is no stranger to ejections. While Yankees fans rightly get on Boone for his in-game management and lineup decisions, the skipper does wear his emotions on his sleeve.
However, home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt fell for a classic fan prank -- and an unintentional one at that. Just a few minutes into the Yankees afternoon tilt against the Oakland Athletics, Wendelstedt heard some heckling from the New York dugout and assumed it was Boone who was at fault. The Yankees manager was ejected in short order for a crime he didn't commit.
Aaron Boone was given a warning to not say anything by the umpire 5 pitches into the game, and a fan proceeded to yell at the umpire and got Aaron Boone ejected 😭😭😭pic.twitter.com/uZTGHPOEPD
— Baseball King (@BasebaIlKing) April 22, 2024
Angel Hernandez is typically the culprit in these matters. In this case, Wendelstedt told Hernandez to hold his beer and ejected Boone, who was merely hanging out in the dugout at the time the incident took place. Boone can be seen pointing to the stands above the dugout, but Wendelstedt would have none of it. The decision stands.
Aaron Boone listened to the umpire and was ejected anyway. You can hear the entire interaction here pic.twitter.com/12RTZvdwDl
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 22, 2024
Why was Aaron Boone ejected? Yankees manager did nothing wrong
Often when articles claim something is the 'worst in history' they are exaggerating, but Monday's decision by Wendelstedt has a legitimate claim to the throne of worst baseball ejections ever.
Boone was thrown out thanks to some rowdy Yankees fans behind the dugout, which Wendelstedt seemed to mistake as the Yankees manager himself. MLB provides umpires with a lot of power. They can singlehandedly change a game, and even with New York facing the lowly Oakland Athletics, there's no telling if this mistake will come back to haunt them in the AL East standings.
Fans have been calling for umpire reform for some time now, as it's tough for MLB to hold the boys in blue accountable thanks to their all-powerful umpires union. As is the case with Hernandez, until there is some form of verifiable system which places umps under the same microscope as players, managers and executives, these types of incidents are likely to continue.