Yankees' Aaron Boone ready to put controversial ejection behind him
Aaron Boone of the New York Yankees argues with third base umpire Marvin Hudson after home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt ejected him in the first inning against Oakland on Monday. Credit: Getty Images/Mike Stobe
Aaron Boone said he was pleased by the conversations he had with the league regarding his erroneous ejection Monday and added that he was ready to put the incident behind him.
Boone said Tuesday that he had had repeated discussions with Michael Hill – MLB’s senior vice president of on-field operations and on-field discipline czar – but would keep those conversations private. Though managers are often fined after ejections, Boone said he would receive no such censure after umpire Hunter Wendelstedt ejected him five pitches into Monday’s loss to the A’s for something that was apparently yelled by a fan behind the dugout. Boone said he had not spoken to the umpire.
Wendelstedt Monday previously warned Boone to keep quiet after the Yankees manager disputed a check swing call. Seconds later, a silent Boone was ejected from the game; video of the incident showed that there was, indeed, something yelled from the manager’s direction – except it was coming from a few feet up, from a fan.
It’s standard practice for MLB to review all ejections and unusual on-field incidents, and umpires have been suspended and otherwise disciplined for poor behavior in the past. It’s unclear if Wendelstedt will face any sort of punishment, as this particular incident is unprecedented, a source said. As of Tuesday afternoon, MLB had made no announcement to that effect.
Wendelstedt told a pool reporter Monday that the heckling came from the dugout “but Aaron Boone is the manager of the New York Yankees and he’s responsible for everything that happens in that dugout. In my opinion, the cheap shot came from the far end [of the dugout].”
An on-field mic caught Wendelstedt telling a protesting Boone that he didn’t “care who said it, you’re gone!”
Gerrit Cole, who was in the dugout at the time, said Tuesday he thought the comment came from behind him – that is to say, the stands.
Added Boone Tuesday: “I saw [Wendelstedt's] comments after the game. Look, I think everyone has seen the video of what happened. You saw my comments. You saw his comments. I’m beyond it now. Let’s move on. We’ve got an important game tonight.”
And though clearly displeased by the ejection, Boone said the incident isn’t an indictment on the umpire class as a whole – this, despite having been ejected 35 times in just 893 games in his managerial career. The only active managers with more are Bud Black, Bob Melvin and Bruce Bochy – all of whom have a couple thousand games on Boone.
“I think they’re scrutinized, frankly, as much as ever, and I think sometimes, we...see an event happen or a situation happen or a bad call here or there because it’s right in front of you and we can all see it,” Boone said. “That said – and I know I’m the poster child for arguing these things and getting into it – but I really do feel like we have so many good umpires now and these young umpires that come up from the minor leagues now are as good as ever. I think there are those pitches, moments, situations that happen sometimes with an occasional umpire that spoil it for a lot of the guys that I think are really good with the craft.”
Cole progressing
Cole (elbow inflammation) threw 50 times from 120 feet in the outfield Tuesday and felt good, he said.
“It’s kind of a similar ramp up to what an offseason would be like,” Cole said. “It’s kind of what we’re working off of. We’re just trying to nail it – not going too fast or too slow, either.”
Though he doesn’t have a strict timetable, Cole's current trajectory has him primed for a mid-June return.
“I think he’s pretty far along on that and pretty aggressive on where he’s throwing,” Boone added. “I don’t necessarily think it means he’s getting on the mound immediately. It may be some time next week, but I know, at least so far, the process and how he’s done and how it’s going has been encouraging.”
Rehab for DJ
DJ LeMahieu (broken foot) was pulled after the first inning of his first rehab game with soreness in his right foot, the Yankees announced. LeMahieu, who’s yet to play this year, had one at-bat and manned third for Double-A Somerset before being pulled. He’ll travel back to New York to be re-examined Wednesday.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
