Major League Baseball internally considered the ejection of Yankees manager by umpire Hunter Wendelstedt on Monday Aaron Boone a “bad ejection,” a source briefed on the situation tells SNY.
That corroborates Boone’s comment: “I think the league is upset about it” with Jomboy Media’s Talking Yanks podcast. The skipper also said he had “no recourse” and “no idea” how the injustice could be righted.
While bad ejection manager discipline is manifested publicly through suspensions issued by MLB senior vice president of on-field operations Michael Hill, the process for umpires is less clear.
So we tried to find out. Here’s the answer:
Referees are assessed in every match on balls, strokes and other calls, as well as ‘game management’. Poor ejection falls into the latter category.
If a referee has a bad evaluation before a game, it will affect his body of work for the season (similar to how an F on a test affects someone’s grade for the entire semester – it’s not insurmountable, but it won’t be) . staff).
Season evaluations determine whether referees receive desired assignments for the All-Star Game and postseason. All these assignments entail extra pay. Evaluations also play a role in promotions to crew chief.
Wendelstedt is not a crew chief and did not receive postseason assignments in 2023.
Wendelstedt’s hook of Boone in the first inning on Monday was ill-advised on several levels. After Boone briefly argued over a called check swing, Wendelstedt warned Boone to stop. Boone responded with a thumbs up and closed his mouth.
A fan sitting behind the dugout shouted, “Let’s go, home plate!” and Wendelstedt threw Boone.
“Aaron, you’re done,” Wendelstedt said during the ensuing confrontation. “I don’t care who said it. You are gone.’
“[Boone] said that ‘a fan said it, a fan said it,’” Wendelstedt told a pool reporter after the game. “I said, ‘I don’t care who said it.’ …It’s foolish to throw away a player when you don’t know who did it. The manager is there, Aaron took the hit and you probably know he’s not the one who made the comment, but again, he’s the manager of the Yankees and he’s responsible for the team.”
Wendelstedt also said: “This is not my first expulsion… in my entire career I have never sent off a player or manager because of something a fan has said. I understand this will be part of a story or something .so, because that’s what Aaron was portraying.
Even if a Yankee had yelled at an umpire — and there is no evidence to suggest that was the case — Boone’s ejection would still have been considered bad. It was early in the game and the argument wasn’t intense enough to throw out a manager at that point.
Presumably this unwise conflict would have been reflected in Wendelstedt’s evaluation.
