Bret Boone responds to viral ejection of Yankees' Aaron Boone

Former MLB All-Star Bret Boone wasn't surprised to see how younger brother and New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone got himself thrown out of Monday's 5-1 loss at the Chicago White Sox.

"I actually enjoyed it because it takes me back to our childhood. That’s Aaron Boone right there. That’s my little brother," Bret Boone explained during the latest edition of "The Bret Boone Podcast," as shared by Ryan Gilbert of Audacy. "That’s how my little brother was when he was six years old, when he was 10 years old, when he’d tag along with me and my friends and we’d be playing touch football on the side of the street. And if it was a first down and Aaron Boone didn’t think it was a first down, that’s how he responded." 

Aaron Boone was tossed from Monday's defeat for arguing balls and strikes and then went viral when he imitated the strike-three punchout used by home-plate umpire Laz Diaz. Heading into the weekend, the younger Boone leads the American League with six ejections on the campaign. 

"I couldn’t help but smile and I thought, 'That’s Aaron Boone in a wiffle ball game in Medford, New Jersey. I’m 10, he’s six, and I just beat his butt,'" Bret Boone continued. "He’s going to argue that wasn’t a homer and he’s going to fight to the death for it because that’s what his personality is." 

Family members likely aren't laughing about the fact that Aaron Boone reportedly could find himself out of a job if the Yankees miss the playoffs for the first time since he became the club's manager following the 2017 season. As of the start of Friday's MLB action, the 59-56 Yankees were five games back in the race for a wild-card postseason berth. 

Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said this past spring he loved that his players "want to play for [Aaron Boone] and they want to win for him." Bret Boone doesn't expect his brother to lose his willingness to fight for those players into September regardless of New York's record. 

"He’s no different at age 50 now," Bret Boone added about Aaron. "It’s that same passion...He’s so passionate about what he does. He’s passionate about his beliefs and if he’s going to debate you, he’s going to be passionate about it."