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Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt Doubles Down on Aaron Boone Ejection Debacle
Wendelstedt refuses to admit he ejected Boone for something a fan said.
Hunter Wendelstedt refuses to admit he was wrong. After ejecting New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone by mistake on Monday, the veteran umpire made things worse by attempting to justify the decision after the game.
For those who missed it, Wendelstedt ejected Boone in the first inning of the Yankees home contest against the Oakland Athletics. He warned Boone after the New York skipper complained during the second at-bat of the game. A few seconds later, Wendelstedt ejected Boone, claiming he'd said something else. In reality, cameras caught a fan yelling at the umpire, and Wendelstedt clearly believed it had been Boone.
Video of the interaction is below, but be warned there is some strong language in the clip.
Boone yells that he didn't say anything and he's correct. We know because the camera was directly on him during the incident. That doesn't seem to matter to Wendelstedt who said, "I don't care who said it, you're gone."
After the game, reporters asked Wendelstedt about the ejection and rather than admit he was wrong, he decided to double down. He claimed he heard something from the Yankees' dugout and that was Boone's responsibility.
"Apparently what he said was there was a fan right above the dugout," Wendelstedt said. "This isn't my first ejection. In the entirety of my career, I have never ejected a player or a manager for something a fan has said. I understand that's going to be part of the story or something like that because that's what Aaron was portraying. I heard something come from the far end of the dugout, had nothing to do with his area, but he's the manager of the Yankees. So he's the one that had to go."
Wendelstedt is consistently ranked among the worst umpires in Major League Baseball. This is just more proof of why.
What Wendelstedt apparently doesn't know is that there is video of the entire interaction and nothing can be heard coming from the Yankees' dugout. It is a ridiculous explanation, but it's typical from major league umpires. They face never really face consequences for their bad decisions, so they have no incentive to humble themselves and admit mistakes.
The Yankees lost Monday's game 2-0.
