Boone tossed, but ‘not advocating’ for robot umps
NEW YORK — Ejected for the fourth time this season and second time in a four-game span, Yankees manager Aaron Boone didn’t think there was a need for robot umpires.
“I don’t want that,” Boone said after Thursday night’s 3-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
Boone was tossed in the middle of the third inning by Edwin Moscoso over the umpire’s strike zone. Boone held up four fingers while arguing, signaling Boone thought the plate umpire missed four calls on pitches by Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt.
A graphic posted by the Yankees’ YES Network indicated at least six of Schmidt’s pitches that caught the edge of the strike zone were called balls.
“Clearly he shouldn’t have had to throw almost 30 pitches in that first inning,” Boone said. “But, no, I’m not advocating for the robo. I think these guys do for the most part a great job and work really hard at it. When you’re playing for a lot, there’s going to be some issues from time to time, as simple as that.”
Boone also was angry Moscoco walked away during the argument and first base umpire Chris Guccione, the crew chief, stood between the two when Boone tried to re-engage Moscoso.
“I should not have been thrown out of that game.” Boone said. “I was very calm, didn’t do much at all. And then Gucc was holding me back and just telling me – so I didn’t need to be restrained. The dismissive attitude in walking away, I took exception to.”
Boone may have gotten spit on an umpire while arguing, which could lead to a suspension from Major League Baseball.
“I hope not,” Boone said.
Boone was ejected moments after Gunnar Henderson lined out to first to end the top of the third. Henderson worked a six-pitch walk against Schmidt in the first in which Moscoso called balls on three borderline pitches.
Facing Schmidt again, Henderson laid off two pitches on the outside corner called balls in his third-inning at-bat.
“It’s going to happen. There’s going to be some missed calls, obviously, throughout the game,” said Schmidt, who threw 29 pitches in the first and 97 pitches over five innings. “It seemed like there was some crucial ones early on. It kind of ran up the pitch count a little bit early on.”
Boone was ejected against Cleveland on April 12, against Toronto on May 15 and against Cincinnati on Sunday. He has been ejected 30 times in five-plus seasons as Yankees manager.
“We’re fighting tooth and nail out there, and so to see your manager out there fighting tooth and nail for you, as well, is a good feeling,” Schmidt said. “I know he’s always going to have our backs.”:
-
Max Olson
San Jose State wide receiver Danny Scudero, the leading receiver in FBS this season, will enter the NCAA transfer portal when it opens in January, he announced Friday.
The 5-foot-9, 174-pound redshirt sophomore caught 88 passes for 1,291 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first season with the Spartans, becoming a semifinal for the Biletnikoff Award and earning first-team All-Mountain West honors.
Scudero is expected to be one of the more coveted wide receivers available when the transfer portal officially opens on Jan. 2 and has two more seasons of eligibility remaining.
Scudero spent two years at Sacramento State before transferring to San Jose State after the 2024 season. He broke out with 189 receiving yards to open the season against Central Michigan and surpassed 100 yards in five more games, including a career-high 215 and two touchdowns against Hawaii.
Scudero’s 88 receptions ranked fourth-most in FBS, and he leads all receivers this season with 16 catches of 30 or more yards.
The Spartans produced the No. 14 passing offense in FBS this season but went 3-9 in their second year under coach Ken Niumatalolo.
North Carolina offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens and special teams coordinator Mike Priefer will not return next season, with the school announcing the departure of both assistants after a 4-8 season in Bill Belichick’s college coaching debut.
“We want to thank Coach Kitchens and Coach Priefer for their commitment and many contributions to our program and student-athletes,” Belichick said in a statement. “We wish them both nothing but the best in their future endeavors.”
North Carolina’s offense was one of the worst in the country, ranking 119th in the FBS in scoring (19.3 PPG) and 129th in total offense (288.8 YPG).
The Tar Heels had special teams issues coming down the stretch too, notably with Duke running a fake field goal to set up a late winning touchdown and NC State successfully running a fake punt for a first down the following week.
Kitchens, who served as Cleveland Browns coach in 2019, had been with the Tar Heels since 2023 and was the interim coach for their Fenway Bowl loss at the end of the 2024 season. Belichick was hired as the new head coach earlier that month.
Priefer was a longtime NFL special teams coach who followed Belichick to Chapel Hill but lasted just one season on the job.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment3 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024