Aaron Boone added to his list of ejections earlier this week and his tirade quickly went viral after mocking home plate umpire Laz Diaz’s strikeout call during his tirade.
The New York Yankees manager has been dealt a tough hand this season with injuries and players underperforming, and Boone let out his frustrations in his AL-leading sixth ejection of the season on Monday.
Bret Boone, Aaron’s older brother, explained how the Yankees manager hasn’t changed since arguing over wiffle ball games in the front yard as a kid on Audacy’s original “The Bret Boone Podcast” this week.
“I actually enjoyed it because it takes me back to our childhood. That’s Aaron Boone right there. That’s my little brother.” Bret said (32:25 in player above). “That’s how my little brother was when he was six years old, when he was 10 years old, when he’d tag along with me and my friends and we’d be playing touch football on the side of the street. And if it was a first down and Aaron Boone didn’t think it was a first down, that’s how he responded.
“But back then he had a little squeaky pre-puberty voice and it was like ‘Bret, that was a first down!’ I’m like ‘You little squirt. Sit on the side. If you can’t play with the big boys you’re going to announce the game like you do.’ But that was him. He’s always been like that.”
Aaron certainly hasn’t lost any of that passion and he displayed that on Monday night in Chicago.
It brought Bret back to his childhood days growing up with his younger brother.
“I couldn’t help but smile and I thought ‘That’s Aaron Boone in a wiffle ball game in Medford, New Jersey, I’m 10, he’s six, and I just beat his butt,’” Bret continued. “He’s going to argue that wasn’t a homer and he’s going to fight to the death for it because that’s what his personality is.
“He’s no different at age 50 now. It’s that same passion. He’s like my dad in a lot of ways. He’s so passionate about what he does. He’s passionate about his beliefs and if he’s going to debate you, he’s going to be passionate about it.”
Aaron Boone has shown time and time again that he’ll go to bat for his players. At the same time, however, he has to balance knowing who he’s arguing with.
“He’s going out on the field and he’s thinking ‘I like Laz. I like Laz. I don’t want to make him look bad. I don’t want to be disrespectful. I don’t want to say anything I regret,’” Bret said. “But when he gets into the heat of the moment all his faculties are gone and it’s ‘go at it,’ and afterward it’s like ‘Man, I like him as a person.’”
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