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Jorge Castillo, ESPN Staff Writer
NEW YORK — The New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics opened their four-game series with a Monday matinee at Yankee Stadium. Aaron Boone was in the dugout for all of one batter.
The Yankees manager was ejected five pitches into the game in an unusual sequence caught on the television broadcast. It began when Athletics leadoff hitter Esteury Ruiz was hit by a pitch on an 0-2 count; the pitch clearly plunked Ruiz on the foot, but the Yankees’ dugout thought Ruiz swung at it.
Boone, as a result, communicated his disapproval — until home plate Hunter Wendelstedt communicated his thoughts.
“You’re not yelling at me,” Wendelstedt yelled at Boone, clear as day on the broadcast. “I did what I was supposed to do and checked. I’m looking for him to get hit by the pitch. You got anything else to say, you’re gone.”
One pitch later, Boone was ejected.
“You’re done!” Wendelstedt shouted. “You’re gone!”
Wendelstedt gave Boone the hook after hearing someone’s objection from Boone’s direction. The television broadcast, however, had its camera on Boone, who was looking away, not saying anything. Boone then sprinted out to protest to Wendelstedt, insisting that a fan behind the dugout, not him or another Yankee, spoke up.
“I don’t care who said it,” Wendelstedt said. “You’re gone.”
“What do you mean you don’t care?” Boone said. “I did not say a word. It was up above our dugout. Bulls—! Bulls—! I didn’t say anything. I did not say anything, Hunter. I didn’t say a f—ing thing.”
The broadcast immediately hushed the audio on the broadcast as Boone continued to argue. His animated protest was for naught, however. Five minutes into the game, he was gone.
It was his second ejection of the season, and his 18 ejections since 2018 are the most in the majors among managers.