Brett Gardner has been getting in trouble with umpires in recent weeks, and perhaps its due largely to a form of subtle but not-so-quiet insubordination. The New York Yankees outfielder has made a habit of banging his bat against the roof of the dugout. While that sounds harmless — and, according to Gardner, within the rules of the game — Gardner has done a ton of damage to the the home dugout at Yankees Stadium.
Over the past week, he has been ejected twice under strange circumstances. In both cases, he seemed to be sitting in the dugout — not uttering a word. But he was busy with his bat, hammering away at the roof. Here’s proof, via MLB.com and Bryan Hoch.
How is he doing that? Like this…
He was doing that in the game on Aug. 10 against the Toronto Blue Jays when an umpire ejected him in the fourth inning. And he was doing it again on Aug. 17 in the Yankees’ 6-5 win over the Cleveland Indians. We now know that the most recent incident was for banging his bat.
Following the game, Gardner explained that he did not know that making noise in the dugout — whether by hammering his bat or otherwise — was against the rules. Manager Aaron Boone said the Yankees have seen no memos nor heard any warnings about Gardner’s bat-banging habit.
Gardner’s destruction in the dugout may have to take a pause.
