Umpire ejects Yankees' Boone over fan's heckle

Warning: Story/video contains coarse language

Aaron Boone's ejection looks to be a case of mistaken identity.

After a batter was hit during the New York Yankees' game against the Oakland Athletics, umpire Hunter Wendelstedt warned Boone that he would be tossed if he made any more comments. Although the skipper remained silent, he was surprisingly ejected just seconds later.

Boone then erupted in anger, arguing that a spectator was responsible for the remarks, which were caught on the broadcast:

The 51-year-old skipper called the ejection "embarrassing" and plans to discuss it with MLB, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.

Meanwhile, Wendelstedt said he determined it was Boone because he heard something from that area of the dugout.

"Aaron Boone is the manager of the New York Yankees and is responsible for everything that happens in that dugout. ... I don't want to eject a ballplayer. We need to keep them in the game," Wendelstedt said. "That's what the fans pay to see. Aaron Boone runs the Yankees. He got ejected."

Wendelstedt added: "Apparently, what he said was there was a fan right above the dugout. This isn't my first ejection. In the entirety of my career, I have never ejected a player or a manager for something a fan has said. I understand that's going to be part of a story or something like that because that's what Aaron was portraying. I heard something come from the far end of the dugout, had nothing to do with his area, but he's the manager of the Yankees. So, he's the one that had to go."

The 52-year-old veteran ump admitted he hadn't seen a replay when he spoke to a pool reporter postgame.

"Everything you said is exactly kind of what was communicated on the field," Wendelstedt said. "That's what Aaron said. He said that 'a fan said it, a fan said it.' I said, 'I don't care who said it.' ... It's foolish to throw out a player if you don't know who did it. The manager's there, Aaron took the hit and he probably, you know, is not the one who made the comment, but once again, he's the manager of the Yankees and he's responsible for the team."

This is Boone's second ejection of the season. He was thrown out seven times in 2023 - joint-most in the MLB - and a league-leading nine times in 2022.