Aaron Boone Vindicated as MLB Sides With Yankees Over Blatant On-Field Injustice

So, the Yankees’ trip to Houston came to an end, and it was anything but quiet. The series saw the Yankees taking two of three from the Astros, but not without a few fireworks. For instance, in Wednesday’s game, Aaron Boone and reliever Devin Williams both got tossed for arguing balls and strikes, convinced that home-plate umpire Brian Walsh wasn’t giving them a fair zone. Eventually, the game ended in an 8–7 Astros win, and the Yankees found umpires as their bigger rival to battle.

The next day, Walsh moved over to third base and was back in the spotlight again. If you remember, this time ruling that Ryan McMahon didn’t make a clean catch at third. The result? Boone pushed back, insisting McMahon snagged it on the fly and only lost the ball on the transfer. But the call stayed, and the Yankees ultimately won the game and the series. And now Boone is served with yet another small win.

“MLB told Aaron Boone that the Ryan McMahon play should have been ruled a catch. Quite a series for that ump,” MLB insider Andy Martino said.

Well, in the third game, umpire Brian Walsh ruled that Ryan McMahon hadn’t made the catch at third, while Boone insisted McMahon snagged it cleanly and only dropped it on the transfer. Sure, the call stayed, but now Boone got the official acknowledgement that he was right in Ryan McMahon’s call. As per the reports, MLB admitted that McMahon’s catch was valid and shouldn’t have been called a miss. However, it’s too late now and might not fetch any more controversies considering the Yankees won the game.

For those who don’t know, this is just Walsh’s third year in the majors, but he already has a track record of questionable calls. Take July, for example, when the Orioles played the Blue Jays. Zach Eflin threw a sinker right down the middle in the fourth inning, and somehow Walsh called it a ball without even flinching. Now, fast forward to this Yankees-Astros series, and the numbers don’t look great either.

Inconsistent? Boone thinks so. “Yeah, I thought it was maybe a little inconsistent.”

According to Baseball Savant, Walsh missed 10 pitches inside the zone, and nine of those went against New York. Moreover, according to Umpire Scorecards, Walsh’s strike zone gave the Astros a +1.4 run edge, which is no small thing in a game New York lost 8–7. Then came the McMahon ruling, which only fueled the sense that the Yankees were getting the short end. But now the league has since admitted that Walsh got that one wrong, for Boone and the Yankees, that’s little consolation.

The Yankees are now facing the larger challenge ahead

Well, currently, the Yankees sit second in the AL East, just three games back of the Blue Jays, but the race is far from settled. After taking the series in Houston, they’re staring down a tough stretch with Toronto and Detroit up next. The good news? The Yankees are finally playing their best baseball since that brutal 2.5-month skid that knocked them out of the Wild Card picture after once leading the division by 7.5 games.

Right now, the Yankees are 8–2 in their last 10, holding the top AL Wild Card spot and steadily chipping away at Toronto’s lead. What’s satisfying is that the lineup is clicking. And Ryan McMahon and Austin Wells are finding their stride and adding some much-needed depth. However, while the rotation’s been solid, the bullpen still needs to tighten things up.

Still, as Jazz Chisholm Jr. put it, this team isn’t thinking about the Wild Card. They’re chasing the division crown and aiming for another shot at the World Series. So, it starts this weekend with a huge series against the Jays. The one thing they absolutely can’t afford? Getting swept and watching that three-game gap balloon to six. Let’s see how it goes.