NEW YORK -- Aaron Boone's "savage" rant has netted him a one-game suspension, which came as no surprise to the Yankees manager.
"I figured I'd be getting a call at some point from Mr. Torre," he said. "And I did."
Boone aimed a memorable tirade at plate umpire Brennan Miller following his ejection during a doubleheader opener against Tampa Bay on Thursday. MLB executive Joe Torre announced Friday that Boone had been suspended one game and fined, neither of which surprised Boone, who acknowledged making contact with Miller with the bill of his cap.
Boone will serve his one-game ban against the Colorado Rockies on Friday night.
He was ejected in the second inning for arguing from the dugout with Miller, who had called a third strike on Brett Gardner. The rant was captured by television microphones, and Boone's repeated reference to his hitters as "f---ing savages" in the batter's box went viral and was being sold online on T-shirts before the game ended.
Tensions were running hot in New York's dugout, where Gardner left dents in the roof by repeatedly slamming his bat into it. Boone said he sensed someone was going to be ejected and decided to make sure it was him instead of one of his players.
"Sometimes you try to divert attention from you players, so that's going to happen," he said. "But also understanding that I don't want to just let it rip, especially language-wise. My kids look at me funny, and you do have a responsibility."
Boone added that "some of the foul language, I'm not real proud of."
The manager also lamented the fact that there are microphones strong enough and close enough to pick up everything he said -- foul language or not.
"The mics pick things up pretty well," Boone said, "which is something that we should probably try and contain a little bit. It was like I was mic'd up."
Boone probably wasn't helped by the fact that there were very few fans in the stands to help drown out his voice. Thursday's opening game was a makeup that was part of a single-admission doubleheader.
Boone said he believes he'll learn from this incident, and is hopeful that hot mics or not, it won't change his on-field demeanor.
"I try to live my life a certain way that hopefully people for the most part can look up to and respect," Boone said.
Yankees players praised Boone for stepping in, with slugger Luke Voit saying, "Not a lot of coaches I think would back it up and use that type of word, but I think we appreciate it -- and we are a bunch of savages." The outburst was also widely celebrated by Yankees fans.
Players were expecting a large order of T-shirts bearing the "savages" moniker to arrive at Yankee Stadium on Friday afternoon.
Miller was umpiring just his fifth big league game behind the plate. Boone said he was impressed by Miller's poise through the ordeal.
"Brennan yesterday I thought certainly handled the situation with a lot more class than I did, but also I thought turned in a really good game," Boone said. "I respect the job they have to do."
ESPN's Coley Harvey contributed to this report. Information from The Associated Press was also used.