Aaron Boone, Brett Gardner, and CC Sabathia get ejected, a breakdown
What Happened
During a 2019 Yankees game, plate umpire Phil Cuzzi triggered a chain reaction of ejections after a string of questionable strike calls. Catcher Cameron Rabin and the dugout were already steaming when manager Aaron Boone got tossed quickly for arguing balls and strikes. Brett Gardner went to his now-famous routine of banging his bat on the dugout roof, and even bench presence CC Sabathia, in his final season, got run for jawing at Cuzzi. Jomboy reads the lips and body language as the frustration boils over a zone that wasn't matching what hitters and pitchers saw.
Why This Matters
Arguing balls and strikes is an automatic ejection in MLB, which is why Boone went so fast. That makes this less about one bad call and more about a team venting at a strike zone they felt cost them runs. Gardner banging his bat on the dugout roof became a 2019 Yankees signature, a noise-making protest that drew warnings and fines as the season wore on. Sabathia getting tossed mattered too, because 2019 was his retirement year and he wasn't even on the mound. The Yankees were rolling toward a division title that summer, so the heat here was about respect and accountability with the umpires, not desperation. Cuzzi has a long history of run-ins, and this game added another entry to that file.
At 2.0M views it ranks #103 of 1583 Jomboy breakdowns, putting this ejection trifecta in the top 6.5% of the entire catalog.
Key Moments
Who / What Is Involved
Players: Aaron Boone, Brett Gardner, CC Sabathia, Phil Cuzzi. Teams: Yankees, Red Sox.
Key Terms Mentioned
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentlike without a second pinch Boone leans
in then the end the bad he rings them up
on that pitch 30 at the walk gets KT
serious absolutely you're crazy man
that's crazy
here's the pitch it's outside I think
the first one was a strike but that
one's definitely not strike I'm looking
in the dugout who's gonna say something
you guys saying something you said
something okay well you're out of here
BAM
why though so fast Boyd's got a point
there was pretty quick this this fans
gonna give him the business
Pam I understand pitches that are a
little bit off the plate but when wear
something on strikes and they score two
runs
we're gonna be pissed off I get it you
get it how do you miss that
where are you actually seeing that pitch
that's up up oh my gosh you're saying
you fall for that you called that up
you've got to be [ __ ] me tighten it
up tighten it up Voight likes it he's
banging Brett Gardner's thinking is
should I bang my back
am I gonna bang my bad again and that
last one was a ball too it was low Raven
says can't hit the ball off the plate
Gardi fixes the roof little mom says
points him out I don't know if he
ejected him that fan loved it though
what's that Oh more business that's
horseshit Tommy he didn't say a [ __ ]
word and now Phil Cuzzi runs over his if
you did this you did this you did this
well I just feel cause he's running over
this was definitely hitching for an
objection Phil Cuzzi wanted to throw him
out see see see sees give him the
business he's gonna get it ejected
Romines like god damn I'm out I'm out I
want to get a jacket I'm not even gonna
look at him but the [ __ ] do you do throw
me out then I did not do that I did not
do that as per the rules [ __ ]
is terrible [ __ ] terrible
so [ __ ] soft who threw me out then well
healed at you but I think he threw you
out there he's like wait what you know
what might as well get my bat banging in
I'm already ejected y'all fix this roof
this is gonna go really good just get
the dents out kleiber's looking Bret
turns glabrous ago I wasn't looking
wasn't looking Bret didn't say a [ __ ]
word judge comes is where
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