Yankees manager Aaron Boone suspended for one game after latest run-in with umpires

Fresh off the 30th ejection of his career Thursday, his major league-leading fourth ejection of the season and his third in 11 days, Aaron Boone said he hopes to “start a long streak of not getting ejected.”

He started that streak on Friday. Mostly because he was suspended.

Major League Baseball announced Friday that Boone, who’s put together a prodigious collection of ejections in five-plus seasons as the Yankees' manager, would be suspended one game for “recent conduct toward Major League Umpires.” He also was fined an undisclosed amount.

Bench coach Carlos Mendoza managed the Yankees in his stead.

Boone was ejected on May 15 for arguing balls and strikes, on Sunday when he asked for an explanation after a replay review went in the Reds’ favor, and on Thursday for again arguing balls and strikes in the third inning of the Yankees’ 3-1 loss to the Orioles.

In that instance, Boone appealed to both crew chief Chris Guccione and plate umpire Edwin Moscoso, emphatically saying that Moscoso had missed four calls. Some spittle ended up on Moscoso, and though spitting on an umpire is grounds for suspension, it was clear the offending saliva was incidental.

Boone’s career ejections place him sixth among current managers, even though his total of 720 games entering Friday was far fewer than those who have more ejections: Bruce Bochy (78 in 4,081 games), Bob Melvin (55 in 2,830), Terry Francona (47 in 3,509), Bud Black (35 in 2,283) and Buck Showalter (34 in 3,282). He’s been ejected in about 4% of games he’s managed and has the sixth-smallest games-to-ejections ratio among managers with a minimum of 200 games. Bobby Cox is the all-time leader in ejections — 162 in 4,508 games.

Before news of his suspension broke, Boone said he didn’t think he was being targeted.

“I credit the umpires as a whole for this — but I think they come in, for the most part, with a blank slate,” he said before Friday night's game. “I do think there’s probably the occasional bias that exists. We’re human beings. I’m sure certain people don’t like hearing from me or whatever. I’m sure that does exist but probably, in my opinion, less than” some would believe.

Boone, though, maintained that Thursday’s ejection was unfair.

“I think I’ve earned that reputation” as someone who will fight for his players, he said. “Do I think it’s leading to a quicker hook? Not necessarily. I think last night [it did]. But that could just be a one-off. Maybe I’m delusional and I did more than I think. I don’t think that’s the case. I don’t think I’m being targeted by umpires. They’re not going to tolerate certain things. I think I’m being treated fairly.”

In its news release, baseball made clear that Boone’s suspension was the result of cumulative action — the result of “recent conduct toward Major League Umpires, including the actions following his ejection from Thursday night’s game against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium.” MLB did not respond to an email asking for further clarification.

Boone tied Melvin for the American League lead in ejections in 2021 (six) and all of baseball in 2022 (nine). It’s not an accomplishment he is happy about, he said, but it won’t stop him from fighting when he thinks it’s necessary.

“I don’t like that it’s happened a few times this week,” he said. “I’d like to not get ejected. Hopefully I could start a long streak of not getting ejected. I’m not necessarily afraid to but no, it’s not my intent to get ejected. I don’t want to and hopefully I won’t for a while.”

Well, he’s got one game without an ejection under his belt now — though probably not in the way he was hoping.

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.