Getty Image / Mike Stobe
Monday was another terrible day for Major Leauge Baseball umpires, a group that is off to a terrible start in the 2024 season. This time, it was longtime MLB umpire Hunter Wendelstedt who made the league look bad.
Just two batters into the New York Yankees’ eventual 2-0 loss to the Oakland Athletics, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected for heckling Wendelstedt. The problem is, Boone didn’t heckle him.
In fact, it was a fan seated directly behind the Yankees dugout that was responsible for the heckling. These videos will show that clear as day.
Aaron Boone got ejected 2 batters in to the game for something a fan in the stands said pic.twitter.com/pHSZaJe10b
— Bad Sports Refs (@BadSportsRefs) April 22, 2024
OH MY GOD that fan in blue got boone in trouble this is the funniest thing i ever seen pic.twitter.com/o4W0VAUo46
— chris kreider respecter (@jonmoxIeys) April 22, 2024
https://twitter.com/jonmoxIeys/status/1782459212003512406/photo/1
Clearly, this was a huge mistake by Hunter Wendelstedt. Everyone can clearly see that, and he could’ve just come out after the game and apologized for a clear mistake.
That’s not what he did. In classic umpire fashion, he somehow found a way to absolve himself of blame in his own mind.
After the game, but before he saw a replay, Wendelstedt said this.
“Everything you said is exactly kind of what was communicated on the field. That’s what Aaron said. He said that ‘a fan said it, a fan said it.’ I said, ‘I don’t care who said it.’ … It’s foolish to throw out a player if you don’t know who did it. The manager’s there, Aaron took the hit and he probably you know is not the one who made the comment but once again, he’s the manager of the Yankees and he’s responsible for the team.
Apparently, what he said was there was a fan right above the dugout. 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 a 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.”
Come on, man. Just own it and say that you made a mistake. I find it hard to believe that, even if he hadn’t seen a replay yet, no one had informed him of what actually happened. It makes him look ridiculous and it will lose him credibility with players, managers, fans, and the media. It’s bad for baseball overall.
I’m sure nothing will happen to Wendelstedt, though. Umpires appear to be untouchable.