A bizarre ejection in the Yankees-Athletics game has had the MLB world talking all afternoon. The umpire’s explanation sparked even more discussion.
Home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt decided to toss Boone five pitches into the game. Wendelstedt heard heckling coming from the Yankee dugout area and made the quick decision to eject the Yankees manager.
Boone ripped the “embarrassing” decision to eject him after the game. The Yankee manager also appeared to indicate that he would contact MLB about the situation. Umpire accountability has been a persistent issue that the sport has dealt with.
Wendelstedt was ready to explain himself after the game.
Home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt said he heard something from the area of the dugout, and rather than determine who said it: "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…
— Bryan Hoch
(@BryanHoch) April 22, 2024
“This isn’t my first ejection,” the umpire explained. “In the entirety of my career, I have never ejected a player or a manager for something a fan has said,” Wendelstedt said despite clearly doing exactly that.
The umpire acknowledged that a fan wormed his way into the discussion but he dismissed the idea he had anything to do with it.
“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 had to go.”
With all that said, cameras clearly showed that a fan’s heckling is what led to the dismissal. Wendelstedt may think he was in the right, and may be saying he’s in the right… but that opinion is not consensus at all.
The umpire union must be the most powerful labor force on the planet https://t.co/c42QSUFmfQ
— lukezim (@lukezim) April 22, 2024
It gets thrown around a lot, but Hunter Wendelstedt is truly the Billy Madison quote in real life today. https://t.co/Ogpni7yqzb pic.twitter.com/6qBZPMDEpP
— John Lund (@lundinbridge) April 22, 2024
https://t.co/tjkkyPP1nD pic.twitter.com/1qx6jVXF5d
— Pinstripe Alley (@pinstripealley) April 22, 2024
One pesky problem that MLB umpires keep running into is that MLB games are filmed with cameras and broadcast to the public https://t.co/6fV1PBTaUn
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) April 22, 2024
Stand-up umps like Jim Joyce take responsibility for their mistakes. Hunter Wendelstedt is . . . not that. https://t.co/zXxnoq9V7s
— Craig Calcaterra (@craigcalcaterra) April 22, 2024
If he had admitted the mistake after watching the video, people would have moved on. The double down is not a good look at all… https://t.co/HDxuCYyoe3
— Russell Dorsey (@Russ_Dorsey1) April 22, 2024
What do you mean the way it's portrayed? It's what happened you doofus https://t.co/Vq1FmmJdLL
— Brenden Schaeffer
(@bschaeffer12) April 22, 2024
The ump show needs to end in baseball. They aren’t that important in this day and age of the game. https://t.co/SeC2SaMYbY
— Yankeesource (@YankeeSource) April 22, 2024