Aaron Boone’s outburst and ejection Friday night were credited for helping spark the Yankees’ comeback against the Tigers but ended up costing the manager a game.
The rookie manager was hit with a one-game suspension Sunday and served it during the series finale in The Bronx, an 11-7 loss.
The announcement was made by Joe Torre, chief baseball officer for MLB, after he visited Boone on Saturday.
“I accept it,” Boone said before the game. “Joe was here to kind of deliver that news to me a little bit [Saturday] in person. I thought it was possibly coming. Obviously, I got a little too close for comfort there, so that’s part of the deal. I’ve just got to accept that.”
Boone was tossed in the bottom of the fifth Friday for arguing with home-plate umpire Nic Lentz about the strike zone.
Lentz ejected Boone while he was still in the dugout, but Boone raced onto the field and screamed at Lentz. He brushed Lentz’s hat with his own, which is what led to the one-game ban.
Boone finished his argument by squatting behind home plate like a catcher, while continuing to yell at Lentz.
He admitted he may have gone too far but didn’t necessarily second-guess his reaction.
“I don’t know,” Boone said of whether he regretted his actions. “Sometimes we draw correlations rightly, wrongly, you never know what effects. Look, I was arguing, I got kicked out of the game, and I reacted how I reacted. Unfortunately, I got a little too close. I do regret that. But you play. I always want to be in control and in control of my emotions to a degree, but sometimes you also have to state your claim and defend certain things that are important. But I definitely shouldn’t have nicked his cap.”
Bench coach Josh Bard took over managerial duties for the day as Boone said he would watch the game from a suite at the Stadium after preparing for the game with the team.
Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire was ejected in the eighth inning Friday for arguing with first-base umpire Paul Nauert after he ruled Luke Voit checked his swing on a pitch during what turned into the Yankees’ game-winning rally.
Boone joked about how he might handle the situation differently in the future.
“Just flip the cap around backwards and let it rip,” Boone said with a laugh. “I’ll be hopefully better at learning from this and commanding my emotions in a better way.”
