Umpire's explanation for ejecting Aaron Boone legitimately makes zero sense

It takes a rough day at the office to overshadow the continued umpiring incompetence of Angel Hernandez, but Hunter Wendelstedt has somehow managed to do what was once thought impossible.

For those that don't make a habit of watching Oakland A's games on Monday afternoons, you may have missed a truly bizarre sequence yesterday in which Wendelstedt ejected Yankees manager Aaron Boone in the first inning after mistakenly believing that Boone was screaming at him.

Boone had been warned for arguing with Wendelstedt already, so tempers were already running hot, but replays clearly show that the seventh-year Yankees manager didn't say a word after being warned and that it was actually a fan behind the dugout that was in the umpire's ear. That didn't matter to Wendelstedt, who tossed the incredulous Boone anyway.

Boone is no stranger to getting thrown out of games, as it's happened 35 times since he took over as Yankees skipper. Whereas the previous ones were probably deserved, this one was absurd, and the fact that Wendelstedt didn't ask his crew for any confirmation that it was Boone who shouted at him makes it even more egregious.

Aaron Boone's ejection only further proves that more accountability is needed for umpires

Not content with already digging a hole for himself with this baseless ejection, Wendelstedt shoveled more dirt on his own head after the game with this inane quote:

"Aaron Boone is the manager of the New York Yankees and is responsible for everything that happens in that dugout. ... 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."

Where to even begin with this word salad of a non-apology? Wendelstedt says that Boone is responsible for what happens in his dugout, but a) I've never seen a manager thrown out for something one of his players or coaches said, and b) video has shown that it was a fan, and not a member of the Yankees, that hurt Wendelstedt's precious feelings. And speaking of what "fans pay to see," what they don't pay to see is a near-sighted person with a God complex going on a power trip.

This has some real "Do you know who my father is" energy to it. Wendelstedt knows that umpires are virtually bulletproof, regardless of the mistakes they make (please refer back to the continued employment of Hernandez if you don't believe me), and rather than take responsibility for messing up hours later when cooler heads should prevail, he chose instead to gaslight us into believing that he was somehow justified in his decision.

Talk has only increased of late for the use of robot umpires, and stuff like this doesn't help. I've always been of the mind that human error is part of the game, but that's become a hill that it's hard to justify dying on. I think Aaron Boone would agree when I say that I, for one, welcome our robot overlords.