The 2025 New York Yankees‘ season is swiftly approaching a point of no return. On Sunday, struggling manager Aaron Boone lost his cool and then his team lost the game.
In the bottom of the third inning, already down 2-0 to the Houston Astros, recently acquired Yankees third-baseman Ryan McMahon was facing Houston starter Jason Alexander with no outs in a 1-1 count.
The pitch from Alexander clipped the lower part of the zone, but was mostly a ball. Home plate umpire Derek Thomas called it a strike, which incensed Boone.
Instantly, Boone began yelling at the umpire from the Yankees dugout – prompting Thomas to retort, ‘I’ve heard you enough, Aaron.’
Boone held up the number 4 on his hands – likely to indicate the number of blown decisions – and Thomas instantly ejected the manager from the game.
Out of the dugout came Boone, who screamed to Thomas about his strike zone: ‘You need to fix it. You f***ing need to fix it.’
Struggling Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected on Sunday for arguing balls and strikes
Boone was tossed in the third inning against the Houston Astros after a low strike call
The slumping Yankees have won only nine of their last 21 games since the All-Star Break
While the broadcast muted the microphones, any amount of lip-reading could see Boone continue to curse at Thomas for his low zone.
The manager continued to berate Thomas, but third base umpire Jordan Baker stepped in and tried blocking Boone from Thomas.
Eventually, Boone walked off to the dugout and down the tunnel. He leads the league in ejections, with five.
Once again, the Yankees failed to win a series. After losing 5-3 on Friday night and then bouncing back for a 5-4 win on Saturday afternoon, New York died off with a whimper in a 7-1 loss on Sunday.
Max Fried – the Yankees’ big-money free agent acquisition in the offseason – was credited with the loss after giving up four earned runs on eight hits over five innings pitched.
It’s been an absolute nightmare for the Yankees since the All-Star Break.
Their trade deadline acquisitions – especially their bullpen additions – have aggressively underperformed, injuries have hampered the production of Aaron Judge and the starting rotation, and the team has two players in the top-ten in errors committed (including league leader Anthony Volpe).
All this culminates in a team that has a record of 9-13 since the All-Star Break. In that time, the team has only won two series – one against the Atlanta Braves and one against the Tampa Bay Rays. Both those teams sit fourth in their respective divisions.
This cold streak has meant the Yankees are just barely clinging to life in the Wild Card race – sitting in the final spot and just two games ahead of a Texas Rangers team that beat them twice last week.
The Yankees will try to rebound with a three game homestand against the Minnesota Twins.
