Aaron Boone has built a reputation for going to bat for his team, and Wednesday night gave him another chance to do exactly that. The Yankees manager was tossed after a disputed check-swing call in the 10th inning against the Angels, and this one came with plenty of heat behind it.
By the time Boone was sent off, New York had already put itself in position to win. The Yankees eventually finished off a 6-3 victory in 10 innings, but Boone wasn’t interested in quietly moving on from the call that set him off.
The flashpoint came in the bottom of the 10th with Angels infielder Vaughn Grissom at the plate against Yankees reliever Michael Fulmer. Grissom seemed to check his swing on a 1-2 pitch, but first-base umpire Junior Valentine ruled that he did not go around. On replay, though, the bat looked like it had clearly traveled far enough to make the call a tough one to swallow.
That was all Boone needed. He came out of the dugout to argue with Valentine and was ejected shortly after.
Pitching coach Matt Blake was also tossed soon after. It was Boone’s fifth ejection of the season.
The replay only strengthened the case for Boone’s frustration. Check-swing decisions are among the trickiest calls in baseball, but this one looked especially shaky from the side angle. Had the ruling gone the other way, it would have ended the at-bat with a strikeout and the first out of the inning.
Instead, the plate appearance continued, and Boone was left fuming.
His reaction may have been forceful, but the Yankees manager had a real gripe here. This wasn’t just a borderline pitch or a close strike-zone call. The visual evidence made it look as if Grissom had gone around.
In the end, though, the Yankees made sure the ejection didn’t become the story of the night. New York scored five times in the top of the 10th to stretch the lead to 6-1, then held off a late Angels push to escape with the win.
Even so, Boone will have every reason to look back at the replay and feel justified in his outburst. Sometimes, getting tossed is the price of making your point.
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