Aaron Boone and Brett Gardner were ejected from the New York Yankees’ Saturday matinee with the Indians, but for very different reasons.
The New York Yankees got some attention for the wrong reasons in Saturday’s game against the Cleveland Indians. In the bottom of the sixth inning, manager Aaron Boone was ejected for arguing balls and strikes.
Shortly after, outfielder Brett Gardner was tossed for banging his bat on the dugout roof.
It all started when Cameron Maybin was called out on strikes. The pitch looked low and outside, so Maybin had some words for home plate umpire Ben May. Boone then continued jawing at May, who quickly ejected Boone from the game.
Boone got his money’s worth and made his exit before another ruckus began. As Gardner banged his bat, which has become something of a signature move for him, first base umpire Phil Cuzzi ejected the beloved outfielder over it. Cuzzi then ejected CC Sabathia despite the veteran lefty still being on the injured list with a sore knee.
No #Yankees fan (especially on Twitter), will ever admit this, but this stuff is getting a little old.
It's not a good thing to have a constant target on your back via the umpires, whether it's justified or not. That reputation remains and could hurt you down the road. pic.twitter.com/veQlfgfT5R
— ESNY (@EliteSportsNY) August 17, 2019
The dust settled eventually, but this situation got out of hand quickly. The initial dispute was over the strike zone and was settled soon enough, but Cuzzi let his ego get in the way.
Infielder Thairo Estrada was moved to right field, while Maybin moved to left and Mike Tauchman to center. DJ LeMahieu, who had a home run earlier in the game, moved to second base and Mike Ford came in to handle first.
Gardner was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts prior to his ejection.
