Red Sox
“A quarter of the ball is on the line. It takes a lot of something … a lot of imagination to say that’s fair.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone stood his ground after getting ejected in the 10th inning of their 2-1 loss to the Red Sox on Friday.
Boone was ejected after MLB’s replay center upheld a foul ball call on a pitch DJ LeMahieu hit along the first base line, tossing his gum toward the field before getting tossed.
“I want the courage to overturn the call,” Boone told reporters. “A quarter of the ball is on the line. It takes a lot of something … a lot of imagination to say that’s fair. Whatever, it’s over with. Not saying we score there. In the end, they outlasted us tonight.”
The NESN broadcast only showed two angles of LeMahieu’s foul ball. The footage of the overhead view of the right field foul line was grainy, but it appeared that it might have grazed the line when it landed. However, it was determined that it wasn’t conclusive enough to overturn the foul ball call on the field.
When the call was announced as upheld, Boone initially left the dugout for a moment before being warned by the umpiring crew to return to the dugout and not argue the call. After he tossed his gum, Boone was ejected, but he had some more words for the umpiring crew before heading into the Yankees’ clubhouse.
“I just said that was a brutal call. He was like, ‘What did you say?’ I said that was brutal. And that was it,” Boone said of his ejection.
Boone wasn’t the only member of the Yankees who was tossed as a result of that call. LeMahieu was also thrown out after he grounded out to end the top of the 10th inning, getting ejected when he argued the call with first base umpire Jeremie Rehak.
“It looked to me the ball didn’t go foul until after it bounced,” LeMahieu said. “They reviewed it, but obviously frustrating. We’re fighting for baserunners right there.”
That wasn’t the only replay review the Yankees were on the wrong side of during the top of the 10th inning. Earlier in the frame, the Red Sox won a challenge when it was determined that catcher Carlos Narvaez’s throw to Marcelo Mayer at third base got there in time to throw out Anthony Volpe on a steal attempt.
Boone didn’t seem to disagree with that ruling.
“It looked like Anthony on the slide, the ground caught his arm, so he couldn’t extend like he normally would’ve otherwise, he’s safe easily,” Boone said. “And then fair ball down the line, and [they] don’t have the courage to overturn. That’s it.”
Volpe’s attempted steal came during the first at-bat of the 10th inning as the Yankees tried to get the ghostrunner to third base. Boone defended his decision to send Volpe, making it clear it was the team’s decision to try and steal a base.
“Oh hell yeah,” Boone said when asked if he was OK with Volpe attempting to steal third. “You’re not? You seen Anthony steal third. The only reason he was out was because he kind of gets caught on the slide where he doesn’t extend.”
Sign up for Red Sox updates⚾
Get breaking news and analysis delivered to your inbox during baseball season.