Aaron Judge failed to equal the home-run record of Roger Maris. But it was another Yankee who set a new record though unwanted. It was their manager Aaron Boone, who got his ninth ejection (second in seven days) this season on Friday. This was the most for a manager in a single season since former Braves manager Bobby Cox was thrown out 10 times in 2007.
The Yankees won the game 5-4 against the Red Sox. But the umpire ejected both Gerrit Cole and Aaron Boone in the sixth inning after the duo got into a heated argument with the home plate umpire Brian Knight.
For Cole, it was his first ejection since his MLB debut for the Pirates in June 2013.
The tense moment began at the bottom of the sixth inning when Cole struck out J.D. Martinez to end the inning. As the teams exited the field, Cole screamed at Knight asking him about a previous at-bat call that resulted in a three-run homer and tied the game.
The umpire had allowed Cole’s 1-2 pitch to Alex Verdugo. The Sox right fielder capitalized on it with a 396-foot homer on the next pitch to tie the game at 4-4.
The umpire sent off the pitcher and this brought Aaron Boone into the tussle. As soon as Knight kicked out Cole of the game, the Yankees manager come out of the dugout in anger. Aaron Boone had a short but hard burst with Knight before getting tossed as well, which made the crowd at Yankee Stadium mad.
Cole had a not-so-good performance before his ejection from Friday’s game. His confrontation with the umpire also brought an unwanted record for Aaron Boone. The five-time All-Star allowed his 30th and 31st home runs of the year against the Red Sox, which tied him at a career-high for most home runs allowed. With this, he also moved into second place in Major League Baseball for home runs allowed this season.
The Yankees (91–58) had a reason to celebrate on Thursday night despite Aaron Boone getting the ejection order. The team clinched a playoff spot for the sixth year in a row with a walk-off base hit in a 5–4 win over their most heated rival. However, the ejections slightly dampened what would have been an otherwise joyous night for the Yankees.
Was Aaron Boone right in confronting the umpire? Should he exercise more caution in the future?
