Aaron Boone accuses the umpires of being too sensitive

Sébastien Berrouard
Aaron Boone accuses the umpires of being too sensitive
Credit: Yahoo Sports

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone is known for his tendency to leave games before they're over, having been ejected by officials more often than most—he's led the American League in ejections for the past five seasons.

With the implementation of the ABS system, however, it was expected that there would be fewer conflicts between the manager and the umpires this season. But not for Boonie, who suffered his first ejection of the season yesterday (Thursday), late in his team's 11–4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.

The 53-year-old came out of the dugout to seek clarification on a balk called against pitcher Ryan Yarbrough. That conversation didn't go very well, as home plate umpire Will Little sent him to the showers.

To add insult to injury, that call opened up the leadoff spot with Mike Trout at the plate, and the Yankees intentionally walked Trout. It immediately backfired on the Yankees, as Jo Adell blasted a grand slam to put the game out of reach for the New Yorkers.

And after the game, Boone spoke to reporters with some thoughts on how things unfolded.

I still haven't gotten a proper explanation, because obviously they got too sensitive even though I was as calm as possible. I wasn't there to argue; I just wanted to hear their explanation. I'll wait until I have more clarity.

Umpires have never been under such scrutiny in the history of Major League Baseball, since technology now allows us to assess just how incompetent some officials are.

Perhaps this is why some of them are so sensitive; many gray areas, such as balks, can spark new debates.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.

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