New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone has never been shy to voice his frustrations with umpires. He was ejected after doing so in Monday’s game against the Chicago White Sox, but he certainly got his money’s worth.
Boone took exception to the strike zone of home-plate umpire Laz Díaz all night, as the Yankees were called out on strikes looking numerous times throughout the game on calls that Boone saw as questionable.
The Yankees manager finally reached his breaking point in the top of the eighth inning when rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe was called out on strikes to lead off the inning.
Volpe didn’t like the call, shaking his head as he walked to the dugout. And Boone went out to home plate and got in Díaz’s face immediately.
With Laz Díaz behind the plate and the Yankees struggling offensively, an Aaron Boone ejection felt inevitable.
And he sure made it theatrical. pic.twitter.com/vJhNITUfjn
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) August 8, 2023
The two began to scream at each other while standing a couple of inches away from each other, and it was clear that this wasn’t going to end well.
Things only got worse, as Boone proceeded to lose it, getting on his knees and drawing a line in the batter’s box of where he thought the pitch was, and imitating Diaz’s strike three call.
It was about as theatrical of an ejection as you’ll see nowadays, and fans offered their opinion on the wild spectacle on social media.
Aaron Boone drew a line in the dirt and showed Laz Diaz how bad his strike zone was tonight
All time ejection @StoolBaseball https://t.co/mI1VXT8bEB
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) August 8, 2023
Might be the funniest moment of the season
Thank You Aaron Boone pic.twitter.com/rKwB0H18rt
— Barstool Baseball (@StoolBaseball) August 8, 2023
Aaron Boone with an ALL TIME ejection 😂 https://t.co/xeq5KuPXMj
— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) August 8, 2023
Aaron Boone was not messing around pic.twitter.com/6zp6FI5V6G
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 8, 2023
Aaron Boone went WILD after this strike three call pic.twitter.com/gnjUo96RTD
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 8, 2023
https://twitter.com/BarnHasSpoken2/status/1688737304595095552
Perhaps the funniest part of this situation is that the strike call on Volpe was actually in the strike zone, so Laz Díaz was actually correct on this call.
However, Boone’s epic rant was clearly more about the rest of the calls throughout the game that he felt were wrong, and the frustration that was building due to the Yankees’ struggles on offense.
Critics of Aaron Boone can certainly say a lot of negative things about how this season has gone for the Yankees, but at the very least he can not be criticized for not sticking up for his players.
[The Comeback on Twitter, Photo Credit: YES Network]
