What Yankees’ Aaron Boone did to earn 1-game suspension from MLB

Yankees manager Aaron Boone won’t be in the dugout for Sunday’s game against the Detroit Tigers after being handed a one-game suspension by Major League Baseball.

NEW YORK — A couple weeks ago, Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre was at Yankee Stadium to take part in a 20-year reunion for the Yankees‘ 1998 World Series championship team.

Now working for MLB as Chief Baseball Officer, Torre returned Saturday on official capacity.

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Torre showed up to give Yankees skipper Aaron Boone a heads up that a suspension from Major League Baseball was forthcoming.

While arguing his way to an ejection for arguing balls and strikes during Friday night’s game, Boone’s cap nicked plate umpire Nic Lentz’s cap. Any physical contact with umpires is a no-no, and by Sunday morning Boone was handed a one-game suspension.

Boone opted against appealing the suspension – he had no chance of winning – and will sit out the Yankees’ series finale against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday afternoon.

“I accept it,” Boone said. “Obviously, I got a little too close for comfort there, so that’s part of the deal. I’ve just got to accept that.”

Bench coach Josh Bard will manage Sunday’s game for the Yankees with Boone watching from a suite.

During his pre-game news conference, YES Network play-by-play man Michael Kay extended an offer to Boone, a former ESPN Sunday Night Baseball broadcaster, to join the Yankees’ TV crew for Sunday’s game.

“The press box is off limits,” Boone said.

Kay responded with a question: What if Torre says the TV booth is not reconsidered the press box?

“No,” Boone said with a smile.

Boone lost his cool in the bottom of the fifth inning Friday night with Detroit leading 3-0, then came out of the dugout to argue after Yankees first baseman Luke Voit struck out swinging.

Boone was animated while disputing Lentz’s strike zone to the point that that he squatted like a catcher to point out how low pitches were that had been called strikes. Later, Boone and Wentz went at it nose to nose, and that’s when their caps bumped.

Boone’s ejected seemed to inspire the Yankees, as they hit three homers in the sixth inning to pull ahead. Detroit later scored runs in the seventh and eighth to regain the lead, but the Yankees counterattacked again with a three-run eighth that turned into a 7-5 victory.

Reminded how the Yankees responded to his antics, Boone was asked if he had any regrets.

“Sometimes we draw correlations rightly, wrongly,” he said. “You never know what affects (a manager ejection has on a club). Look, I was arguing. I got kicked out of the game and I reacted how I reacted. Unfortunately, I got a little too close. I do regret that.

“But you (manage the game). I always want to be in control of my emotions to a degree. Sometimes you also have to state your claim and defend certain things that are important. But I really shouldn’t have nicked his cap.”

Boone was asked if this ordeal was a lesson learned and if he’ll try harder to keep his cool the next time that he argues with an umpire.

“Yeah, or just flip the cap around backwards and let ‘er rip!” Boone responded with a smile. “No … I’ll be hopefully better learning from this and command my emotions in a better way.”

Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.