Yankees manager Aaron Boone admits embarrassment over his comedic impersonation of umpire Laz Diaz in White Sox loss: ‘I don’t like doing that’
- While arguing, Boone even went so far as to draw a line in the sand for the referee
- Boone currently again leads the American League in culls with six
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New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he was ashamed of his own theatrical display during an argument with plate umpire Laz Diaz after he was ejected Monday during New York’s 5-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
Boone also said he spoke with MLB Senior Vice President of On-Field Operations Mike Hill on Tuesday. He declined to give details of their conversation.
“I don’t like doing that,” Boone said. “But I also felt like I had to fight with what happened in that game.”
Boone was thrown by Diaz after Anthony Volpe was called out on a strikeout against reliever Bryan Shaw to start the eighth inning on Monday.
The manager bent down and drew a line in the dirt at the edge of the left-handed batter’s box with his finger to show where he thought the field was, then imitated Diaz by emphatically calling strike three, leading to his sixth in the American League. eject. He has also won back-to-back AL manager ejection titles.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone mocked home plate umpire Laz Diaz after he was ejected
Boone was vocally critical of Diaz’s inaccuracy in calling balls and strikes on Monday
Boone was seen on a replay yelling at the referee “Laz what the hell are you doing” during the ordeal.
After the game ended, Boone admitted that Diaz may have been right about calling a strike against Volpe.
“I actually heard that Anthony’s might have been a strike,” Boone admitted. “I just thought there were a lot of pitches all night and culminating I think with DJ (LeMahieu) – a few pitches and his at bat – where he struck out with the first and third there, I’m not going to get into that. We had our chances tonight and just couldn’t capitalize on them.’
After the pair argued for several minutes, Boone drew a line in the sand for Diaz
Boone also praised White Sox starting pitcher Dylan Cease, who walked seven while striking out six and holding the Yankees to one hit.
“His stuff was nasty…in the end, we did a good job setting the table, but we couldn’t punch through with one hit.
Part of that was his stuff was nasty and effectively wild, so it made him hard to hit. That said, we’ve had a lot of opportunities and we need to capitalize on them.”
Boone said he heard from “quite a few” of his fellow executives after his theatrical performances, adding that it was “mostly a lot of funny stuff.”