MLB umpire Hunter Wendelstedt explained his reasoning behind ejecting New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone on Monday.

"Apparently what he said was there was a fan right above the dugout," Wendelstedt said after the game, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. "This isn't my first ejection. In the entirety of my career, I have never ejected a player or a manager for something a fan has said. I understand that's going to be part of a story or something like that because that's what Aaron was portraying. I heard something come from the far end of the dugout, had nothing to do with his area but he's the manager of the Yankees. So he's the one that had to go."

Boone was thrown out in the first inning after he was warned about continuing to argue with a call. However, it appeared that the manager was silent after the warning was issued and a fan was the one who yelled at Wendelstedt and subsequently prompted the ejection.

After the game, Wendelstedt told the media that he heard something from the area of the dugout and ejected Boone rather than determining which player wasn't pleased with the call.

"I don't want to eject a ballplayer," he explained, via Hoch. "We need to keep them in the game. That's what the fans pay to see. Aaron Boone runs the Yankees. He got ejected."

The only issue is that it appeared as though a fan was the one yelling at Wendelstedt, not a player in the Yankees' dugout.

New York ended up suffering a 2-0 defeat to the Oakland Athletics after Boone was tossed. The Yankees mustered just three hits as a team, getting shutout for the fourth time in 23 games.

The situation leading up to the ejection started at the beginning of the game, as Athletics leadoff hitter Esteury Ruiz was hit by a pitch that New York believed he swung at (h/t ESPN's Jorge Castillo). Boone expressed his disapproval, leading to the original warning.

After the longtime Yankees manager was thrown out, he sprinted out of the dugout to explain the situation. Wendelstedt was not interested in it, though.

"I don't care who said it," Wendelstedt told Boone, via Castillo. "You're gone."

Following the loss, Boone told reporters that the situation was "embarrassing" and "not right."

His reputation may have preceded him, as the Yankees' skipper led all American League managers in ejections during the 2022 and 2023 seasons (via Baseball Reference). Still, it's shocking to Boone get tossed after staying silent once a warning was issued.