You read that correctly. Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt tossed Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone just five pitches into Monday’s game against the A’s… for something a fan said.
Carlos Rodon started for the Yanks on Monday. On an 0-2 count to start the game, Rodon hit leadoff hitter Esteury Ruiz on his back foot. However, this wasn’t your typical hit-by-pitch. Ruiz checked his swing on the pitch, and the first base umpire signaled “no swing.” Aaron Boone took issue with this call.
Boone thought Ruiz went around, so he voiced his opinion. He shouted, “It was a full swing John,” directing his frustration toward the first base umpire. New York could not challenge the call, and it’s uncertain if they would have won the challenge had it been permitted. The replay showed that it could’ve been called either way, swing or no swing.
Boone then directed his ire at the home plate umpire, suggesting that Wendelstedt was capable of making the swing call too. Wendelstedt didn’t take kindly to this and castigated Boone for all to hear.
He said, “Hey! Guess what? You’re not yelling at me. I did what I was supposed to do and checked [with the first base umpire]. I’m looking for [the batter] to get hit by the pitch. You got anything else to say, you’re gone. Okay?”
Talk about laying down the law.
Unfortunately for Boone, who followed the initial request, Wendelstedt hadn’t cooled off from his fiery rebuke. Suddenly, Wendelstedt turned to the Yankee dugout and tossed Boone out of the nowhere. Boone was gobsmacked, as if he’d been accused of murder.
Boone immediately raised both hands, signaling his innocence to convey that he hadn’t uttered a word. Unbeknownst to Boone, a fan seated just above the dugout had yelled something at Wendelstedt.
Later, cameras revealed that the fan shouted, “Let’s go, home plate.”
At the time, neither Boone nor Wendlestedt understood what had really happened.
Boone said, “I did not say anything.”
Wendlestedt replied, “I don’t care who said it, you’re gone!”
In this case, Wendlestedt held Boone accountable for his entire dugout. Wendlestedt likely believed that someone in the Yankee dugout had shouted, “Let’s go home plate.” Given his prior warning to Boone, Wendlestedt’s immediate reaction was to toss the man in charge.
When you toss someone without confirmation, there’s no turning back.
Boone then rushed out of the dugout and shouted, “No! I’m down here,” pointing to the dugout’s height compared to the crowd. “That [shout] was from f-ing up there! I’m not leaving! I’m not leaving Hunter! You gotta overrule this!”
Boone even swore to God, with his hands raised and his guard down. Boone begged Wendlestedt to overrule the ejection, doing everything short of falling to his knees.
Lord Wedlestedt, oblivious to the entire situation, retorted, “I don’t care.”
Boone lost his composure. He questioned, “What do you mean you don’t care? I did not say a word! It was above our dugout… I did not say anything! I did not say anything Hunter!”
Boone repeated the fact that he “didn’t say an f-ing word” tenfold.
Wendlestedt then conceded, “You’re probably right Aaron.” This was my favorite part, because Boone completely lost it when Wendlestedt admitted he didn’t care who said it.
Boone replied, “I’m not probably right, I’m f-ing right Hunter!”
Wendlestedt just shrugged in response. He put his mask on and prepared to resume his umpiring duties. Even though Wendlestedt ejected Boone for all of the wrong reasons – mostly due to a misunderstanding – his response to Boone’s frustration was hilarious.
Boone began to head back to the dugout, as if he intended to proceed to the clubhouse, but abruptly turned 180 degrees to give it to Wendlestedt one last time. Why not, right? He might as well get his money’s worth, as they say.
Boone yelled, “That cannot happen… You guys are in trouble for this.” Boone also unloaded a few other not-so-kind expletives at the umpires. Eventually, he left the diamond for good.
Perhaps the funniest part of all was that on the very next pitch, Rodon picked off Ruiz at first base. So, in the end, the initial check-swing controversy was rectified. However, thanks to a random New Yorker in the front row, we were graced with an unforgettable exchange between Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone and soon-to-be legend Hunter Wedlestedt.
Just another day at the ballpark.
Here is a great breakdown of the debacle that shows the entire exchange: