WATCH: Aaron Boone and Juan Soto protest overturned safe call against Guardians

Owing to his intense passion, Yankees manager Aaron Boone has led the American League in ejections for three straight seasons. Although the skipper only has one to his name so far in 2023, Boone came dangerously close to a second on Saturday.

During the third inning of play of the Yankees' contest against the Cleveland Guaredians, Aaron Judge popped up to center field. Although Cleveland center fielder Tyler Freeman caught the fly, Juan Soto took a very liberal lead from first base. As the ball was thrown back, Soto barely managed to get back in time, knocking over first baseman Josh Naylor in the process.

Although Juan Soto was initially called safe on the play, video review confirmed that Josh Naylor had caught the ball in time. This caused Aaron Boone to fly out of the dugout to argue with first base umpire Tom Hanahan and crew chief Jordan Baker.

"The umpires overturned this safe call and Soto and Boone were not happy" - Talkin' Yanks

According to the New York Yankees, Josh Naylor was obstructing Soto's access to first base. By virtue of new rule changes ahead of the 2024 season, a fielder must be in possession of the ball before they can block any base. Otherwise, the play is typically deemed obstruction and the runner is safe.

Both Juan Soto and Aaron Boone were visibly upset, and took to arguing for a solid amount of time, before they were calmed down by a member of the coaching staff. The call was deemed a double play, leading to the Guardians escaping the inning unscathed.

At the time of the play, the Yankees were bringing up the middle of their order to face the Cleveland Guardians. Although up by one run, the call curtailed the potential for an offensive inning from the Yankees.

Juan Soto to play central role in battle for AL supremacy

Heading into this weekend series in the Bronx, the Yankees and Guardians were first and second respectively in the entire MLB. Viewed as somewhat of a David and Goliath matchup, the home crowd is surely expecting Soto's magic to continue.

At the time of writing, the Yankees still lead the Guardians in the fifth inning. The sole run of the affair came by virtue of a bases loaded RBI groundout by Trent Grisham, who arrived in New York alongside Juan Soto via a deal in December with the San Diego Padres.