Yankees' Brett Gardner charges at umpire after being mistakenly ejected
Was it a case of mistaken identity that got New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner ejected from Friday’s 8-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
According to Yankees manager Aaron Boone, that’s exactly what it was.
On the same day Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was confronted by police after being confused with a car thief, Boone says home plate umpire Chris Segal was incorrectly convinced Gardner shouted an expletive in his direction during the fourth inning.
The incident resulted in Gardner charging out of the visitor’s dugout and right at Segal, before being restrained by Boone.
If not Brett Gardner, who?
As several video breakdowns seem to indicate, it was actually Cameron Maybin who yelled “f------ terrible at Segal. Gardner was visibly silent, though he wasn’t completely innocent, either. After Maybin’s strikeout on a questionable low strike call, Gardner was seen jamming his bat into the dugout roof. We’re sure that helped bring the umpire’s attention in his direction.
Segal signaled for the ejection after a first pitch strike to the next batter, Mike Tauchman. Boone initially ran on the field to question whether he’d been ejected. He wasn’t, but he wasn’t thrilled with the response he got from Segal when informed that Gardner was out.
When Aaron Boone asked ump Chris Segal how he surmised Brett Gardner was chirping at him, what did he say?
“He just knew,” Boone said.— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) August 10, 2019
Yeah, that wouldn’t fly in a court of law. And it’s really not a good look for an umpire to just guess who may or may not have been chirping at him.
Gardner charges the field
Once Gardner got wind of his ejection, he charged out of the dugout and relayed a similar message. Just with more colorful words.
Brett Gardner has been ejected and he is HOT. Like George Brett in the Pine Tar Game hot.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) August 10, 2019
That’s an apt description.
After the game, Boone was in a little better mood when discussing the incident. He even joked that Gardner was stronger than he thought.
Aaron Boone on Brett Gardner's ejection: "I found out how strong he was." #YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/gSHu0ljh3z
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 10, 2019
The league probably won’t share his sense of humor.
Another heated confrontation
The confrontation comes three weeks after Boone was involved in the infamous ““f------ savages in the box” run-in with umpire Brennan Miller at Yankee Stadium on July 18. Boone was suspended one game for his actions that day.
The July 18 confrontation also centered around a beef involving Gardner. The Yankees veteran even put a few dents in the Yankee Stadium dugout doing the same routine of jamming his bat into the roof.
There were no microphones close enough to pick up Friday’s exchange, and there was no evidence of damage to the dugout... yet. But one can imagine Major League Baseball will be examining all angles of the Yankees latest heated confrontation with an umpire.
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