New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected during the second inning of the first game in the team’s double-header against the Tampa Bay Rays for having a really animated argument over balls and strikes with umpire Brennan Miller. The entire NSFW argument was caught on a hot mic, giving baseball fans a surprisingly clear look at what went down.
Here is the full sequence of the Boone ejection. Hot mics galore. pic.twitter.com/R6Vw0qw0qn
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) July 18, 2019
Miller tossed Boone from the game during the second inning after Brett Gardner struck out on a called third strike. Boone disagreed with the call, yelling at Miller to “tighten” up his strike zone.
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— Sid Kau (@SidKau808) July 18, 2019
“My guys are f—ing savages in that f— box right? And you’re having a real piece-of-s— start to this game,” Boone yelled at Miller. “I feel bad for you, but f– get better. That guy is a good pitcher, but our guys are f—ing savages in that box. Our guys are savages in that f—ing box. Tighten it up right now, okay? Tighten this s— up.”
I love: “ you’re having a bad game and I feel bad for ya”
— rori shapiro (@rorishapiro1) July 18, 2019
There are about 6,090,039,002 awesome things about this video. #yankees #boone #brettgardnerinyhrbackground
— vinsanity56 (@Vsange22) July 18, 2019
Is Aaron Boone now our favorite manager in the majors? Yep!!!! #Yankees #PinstripePride pic.twitter.com/W51WumAGRq
— Sports It’s What We Do (@SportsWhatWeDo) July 18, 2019
During the first half of the second inning, Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez shook his head and stood up to tell Miller he was wrong about a pitch, notes Deadspin.
Despite the issues with Miller, the Yankees cruised to a 6-2 victory in the first game. Third baseman Gio Urshela helped break it open with another home run and three RBIs.
After the game, pitcher Domingo German praised his manager for getting out there and defending his players.
“I loved it. He went out there, and he had a good reason to go out there and fight for us,” German said, reports MLB.com. “Personally, I fed off that energy. It gave me a boost to concentrate and go out there and do my job, and try to get this victory for him because he went out there and fought for us. I felt that it was my responsibility to go back out there and return the favor.”
“Sometimes in the heat of the battle you just say some things,” Boone said of his outburst, reports ESPN.
The Yankees have a seven-game lead over the Rays for first place in the AL East, more than halfway through Boone’s second season as manager.
Photo credit: Sarah Stier/Getty Images
