Amid their own internal turmoil, the Chicago White Sox pounded the New York Yankees to the tune of a 5-1 win Monday night. This didn’t sit well with New York manager Aaron Boone, who put on an all-time tantrum over arguing balls and strikes. For his theatrics, Boone got himself ejected by an umpire in the eighth inning.
And, after the fact, it looks like Boone may have had a point in his argument. That’s because the umpire scorecard for Laz Diaz — the ump for Yankees-White Sox — legitimately did have an accuracy problem on balls and strikes.
In all actuality, that might even be an understatement, as 17 of his called 50 strikes were actually true balls. Woof.
Umpire: Laz Diaz
Final: Yankees 1, White Sox 5#RepBX // #WhiteSox#NYYvsCWS // #CWSvsNYYMore stats for this game 👇https://t.co/7VIQZpnDj3 pic.twitter.com/VVQPo0vHIs
— Umpire Scorecards (@UmpScorecards) August 8, 2023
Diaz’s strike zone was all over the place. Boone wasn’t just seeing things or advocating for his team for the heck of it. Sometimes, a manager’s gripe — no matter how dramatic they are in defending it — is wholly legitimate.