New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone on Sunday tore into MLB.com reporter Bryan Hoch for asking if the team is "almost getting used to losing," after the team lost to the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.
Boone said, "no," when asked if the team was feeling fatigued or complacent with their recent record, and when Hoch asked, "why not?" Boone reacted angrily.
"I know them too well and I don’t think there’s any getting used to freakin’ losing. Hell no!" Boone said. "Get the hell out of here with that!"
Before this altercation, Boone had admitted that the team is "clearly in the midst of incredibly tough times," having a 33-32 record for the season so far, putting them in fourth place in the American League East.
"We're going to find out what character we're made of," Boone said. "We're clearly in the midst of incredibly tough times. We've faced it throughout this season. And we're going to find out what we're made of and if we're the team we think we are. It gets no easier as we have to go to Buffalo and play an outstanding offensive club in Toronto [on Tuesday]. And we need to step it up. Period."
He added, "It starts with me setting the tone and setting the culture here. Hopefully we’re putting them in a good position to go out and perform at the highest level. We have not done that well enough."
Before the game, Yankees player Brett Gardner told reporters that "I know it’s the middle of June already, but it’s not always how a team starts, it’s how it finishes. We’ve got quite a bit of season left. We do have a little bit of time left to figure that out. Every day that passes is another wasted opportunity."