NEW YORK -- Aaron Boone wanted an explanation. Instead, the Yankees manager left the field with an ejection, his first of the season.
Boone was tossed by home-plate umpire Will Little after the eighth inning of Thursday’s 11-4 loss to the Angels at Yankee Stadium. He said he was inquiring about the reasoning behind a balk charged to Ryan Yarbrough.
“I still haven’t got good clarity," Boone said. “I just wanted to hear their explanation.”
With Mike Trout batting, Yarbrough was called for a balk on a two-out pickoff attempt. First baseman Ben Rice was playing behind the runner, Zach Neto, and came in to field the throw.
“I think it’s a fine play,” Boone said. “The throw was a little off, but we’re clearly going to the bag to try and pick off [Neto] in that situation.”
After the runners advanced to second and third, Trout received an intentional walk before Jo Adell hit a grand slam into the right-field seats.
It was Boone’s 47th career managerial ejection; he has tied or led the American League in each of the last five seasons (2021-25). Boone had seven ejections in 2025, which led the Majors.
“I wanted what I thought should have been more of an explanation,” Boone said. “So I went out to talk to [first-base umpire] Ryan [Additon] out at first. And [crew chief] Lance [Barksdale] cut me off.”