Aaron Boone was tossed just two batters into Monday’s game against the A’s — and the only thing that’s clear is that he wasn’t the person to utter whatever it was that got him ejected.
Following the Yankees’ 2-0 loss to Oakland in The Bronx, Boone called his ejection by home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt “embarrassing,’’ but the veteran umpire didn’t back down, saying Boone was “responsible” for the actions of the people in the Yankees’ dugout.
The drama started after a pitch from Carlos Rodon to Tyler Nevin in the top of the first, when Wendelstedt turned to the Yankee dugout and ejected an unsuspecting Boone.
Microphones on the field at Yankee Stadium picked up Wendelstedt telling Boone moments before the ejection, “You got anything else to say, you’re gone,” regarding Boone’s displeasure with a call to Oakland’s leadoff batter, Esteury Ruiz, who was ruled to have checked his swing when he was hit by a Rodon pitch on an 0-2 count.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone, right, argues with umpire Hunter Wendelstedt during the first inning of the baseball game against the Oakland Athletics at Yankee Stadium Monday, April 22, 2024. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POSTWARNING: EXPLETIVE LANGUAGE
Boone backed off and stayed quiet after Wendelstedt’s fiery command, but just seconds later, Wendelstedt turned again and said, “Aaron, you’re done.”
Once Boone realized what happened, he quickly jumped out of the dugout and pointed at the stands behind the dugout, indicating that whatever Wendelstedt had heard had come from the stands and not him.
Aaron Boone argues with the umpire after getting ejected Jason Szenes / New York Post
Video showed a fan was the one who was shouting at the umpire Jason Szenes / New York PostWendelstedt responded, “I don’t care who said it, you’re gone.”
Boone then raced to the plate and said “What do you mean you don’t care? I did not say a word. That’s bulls–t.”
Video seemed to support Boone’s claim that a fan was the one yelling and afterwards, the manager called Wendelstedt’s actions “embarrassing” before adding “it really is bad.”
Aaron Boone, left argues with the third base umpire during the first inning of the baseball game against the Oakland Athletics at Yankee Stadium Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
The umpire was Hunter Wendelstedt Jason Szenes / New York PostBut Wendelstedt added a twist to the situation following the game, telling a pool reporter that although he knew Boone hadn’t said anything else to him, it wasn’t a fan that made him pay the price.
Instead, it was an unknown person elsewhere in the Yankee dugout.
“The Yankees’ dugout started, obviously, arguing that situation, kind of, in my opinion, to extreme,’’ Wendelstedt said of the check swing on the hit by pitch to Diaz. “I confronted the dugout, had a little warning with them and then a few other comments after I’d given the warning were made and ultimately, Aaron got ejected.”
Wendelstedt added he made Boone the victim instead of selecting a player to eject.
Oakland Athletics at Yankee Stadium: Aaron Boone #17 of the New York Yankees argues after he has been ejected from the game during the first inning. Jason Szenes / New York Post“I know what Aaron was saying, that it was a fan above the dugout,’’ Wendelstedt said. “That’s fine and dandy. There were plenty of fans that were yelling at me before I called a pitch til the end of the game. What happened was, it wasn’t [the fan]. It wasn’t over where it was [bench coach Brad] Ausmus was. It 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.”
Wendelstedt said his intent was to keep all the players in the game.
“In my opinion, the cheap shot came towards the far end [of the dugout],’’ Wendelstedt said. “So instead of me being aggressive and walking down to the far end and trying to figure out who might have said it, 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.”
Boone said he would reach out to MLB about the incident and that he had no prior adverse history with Wendelstedt, whose father, Harry, was also a longtime MLB umpire, and both date back to Boone’s playing days.
Boone has made an effort to be less confrontational with umpires than earlier in his managerial career and said Monday he believes he’s “treated fairly.”






