A totally unhinged moment between Major League umpire Hunter Wendelstedt and Yankees skipper Aaron Boone caught virtual fire on Monday, as both men could be heard shouting at one another in a heated exchange that led to Boone getting tossed in the first inning.
The incident stemmed from Oakland A’s lead-off batter Esteury Ruiz getting hit on the foot on an 0-2 count. The Yankees contend that Ruiz swung at the pitch and should have been called out on the play. Instead, he was rewarded first base.
Wendelstedt could be heard over the television microphones yelling back at Boone in the Yankees’ dugout.
“You’re not yelling at me. I did what I was 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.”
Moments after Boone went back into the dugout and was seen staring out at the field only to glance down at his own hands, Wendelstedt screamed “That’s it! You’re gone!” Hence the most viral moment of the day took life.
Tremendous TV & audio sequence on YES pic.twitter.com/YOSoY10KOQ
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) April 22, 2024
Thanks to the advancements in technology, we quickly find out that the man responsible for yelling back at Wendelstedt was actually a man sitting in the stands behind the Yankees dugout wearing a blue pullover.
So, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was just ejected because a fan in the front row yelled at the home plate umpire. 🫠 pic.twitter.com/O8XKMtAFOQ
— Patrick Lyons (@PatrickDLyons) April 22, 2024
When Boone tried to explain it was a fan, Wendelstedt could be heard saying he didn’t care.
What makes the situation even worse is Wendelstedt double-down on the incident after the game, and didn’t take any responsibility for mistakenly tossing out Boone.
Wendelstedt was quoted by Yankees beat reporter Bryan Hoch:
“In the entirety of my career, I have never ejected a player or a manager for something a fan has said. I understand that’s going to be part of a story or something like that because that’s what Aaron was portraying. I heard something come from the far end of the dugout, had nothing to do with his area but he’s the manager of the Yankees. So he’s the one that had to go.”
According to the New York Daily News, Major League Baseball is expected to look into the incident. So expect more fallout from this in the coming days!
