Brett Gardner gets ejected for saying nothing to the umpire, a breakdown
What Happened
On August 9, 2019, during a Yankees game against the Orioles, home plate umpire Cameron Maybin... actually Cameron-related confusion aside, the umpire rang up the Yankees on a questionable strike three call. Outfielder Brett Gardner, parked in the dugout, voiced his displeasure and got tossed almost immediately. The kicker is that Gardner insisted he hadn't said a single word this time, repeating 'I didn't say one word' over and over while manager Aaron Boone tried to figure out who actually got ejected. Boone himself had to ask the umpire whether he was thrown out too.
Why This Matters
Umpires can eject anyone in the dugout, and there's no requirement that the offending words be loud or even specific. Gardner had a history with the Yankees' dugout antics in 2019, most famously banging his bat on the dugout roof so often it became a running bit. So when an umpire is looking for a target, Gardner's reputation worked against him. The comedy here is the disconnect: Gardner genuinely seemed to believe he'd held his tongue, while the umpire claimed he'd called him 'terrible.' Boone, in classic 2019 form, ended up getting tossed himself for arguing balls and strikes from the bench, a fineable offense under MLB rules. The Yankees ran away with the AL East that year, so the ejection cost them nothing in the standings but added to a season full of dugout theater.
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Key Moments
Who / What Is Involved
Players: Brett Gardner. Teams: Red Sox.
Key Terms Mentioned
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentanother ejection in the Yankees game
this one's brought to you by stuffed
grass-fed burgers in Montclair that
pitch called strike three to Cameron
Maybin he didn't like it the coaches
don't like it [ __ ] are we doing come on
man
awful just terrible just a bad call huh
Gardner shaking his head Mike Ford the
rookie like yeah imma shake my head till
I thought that was bad - guys I'm on
your side
for real I'm on your side tockman takes
the next pitch strike kind of the same
thing cameron Aries is [ __ ] terrible
let's go timeout done throws him out
Boone's like me who's out do you know
who just well yeah his gardener what he
just told me I'm [ __ ] terrible I said
that okay you're gone - then I'll owe
you Oh mom says what do you want me to
do gardener so he's a [ __ ] it's like
goddamn you can't [ __ ] do that
sure I can says the UMP gardener doesn't
know he's been thrown out he just
realized it it's like wait what
I really didn't say anything this time
guys hey hey these throw me out I didn't
say anything I didn't say a word I
didn't say one word
no I didn't and then watch this he's
gonna escape Boone's grass grass right
there goes ducks in the head goes under
short guy move John sterling likes to
say he may be short but he's got muscles
on his muscles talk wounds like you need
help coach coach need help no you got a
coach you got it you're good you're good
gardeners just repetitively saying I
didn't say one word I didn't say one
word I didn't say one [ __ ] word I
didn't say anything
I didn't say one word not once not one
word it's [ __ ] [ __ ] I didn't say
one word not one word
not one word si yo si and say one word
and [ __ ] word now Boone asked the UMP
if he's thrown out because he said fine
you're gone two is are you out no I
didn't run you and Gardner says hey hey
if I out
hey sec laughs cuz that's funny
brought to you by stuffed grass burgers
in Montclair voted best burger in New
Jersey if you're there
john-boy you get free fries