Yankees’ Aaron Boone already ‘changing his tune’ about one thing in 2026

MLB‘s era of automated balls and strikes (ABS) is upon us. So is a new era for New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone.

The skipper who led the league in ejections for five consecutive seasons hasn’t gotten kicked out of a game once in 2026 — a fact that was not lost on Jayson Stark and Doug Glanville when they interviewed Boone on the most recent episode of their “Starkville” podcast.

Boone’s ability to keep his cool is not coincidental to the ABS challenge system that has allowed teams to overturn incorrect ball and strike calls. Apparently Boone hasn’t felt the need to argue with umpires when his catcher, pitcher or hitter can appeal to a computerized ball-tracking system on his behalf.

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“I thought (the ABS challenge system) was going to make me another layer of something to be upset about,” Boone told Stark and Glanville, “but I’m changing my tune on that a little bit.”

Through Tuesday, the Yankees had won 57 percent of their ABS challenges, per Codify Baseball, which ranks 12th in MLB.

The Yankees have also been relatively aggressive challenging calls. Some of that might be a function of the accuracy of the umpire calling balls and strikes. Some of that might be a function of the game situations they’ve found themselves in, and whether it justifies challenging a borderline call.

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The Yankees’ quick helmet taps might also be a function of their manager, who could use occasional help from a computer controlling his own impulse to argue.

“I don’t want to get kicked out of games, contrary to some opinions,” Boone . “There was one game in where I was probably close, where I was chirping a little bit. (The umpire) gave it right back to me pretty aggressively. But most of these games, I have not. The ABS is there.