Major League Baseball came down hard on Willson Contreras, issuing the Red Sox catcher a harsh, multi-game punishment following Tuesday’s benches-clearing brawl against the Nationals at Fenway Park.
Contreras wasn’t alone in drawing league discipline, as MLB also punished Nationals right-hander Cade Cavalli and two other players after reviewing the incident that erupted following an inflammatory outburst from Cavalli.
Contreras, Cavalli Suspensions Detailed
Contreras and Cavalli were each hit with seven-game suspensions, according to ESPN. Nationals right-hander Miles Mikolas received a five-game suspension, and Red Sox outfielder Nate Eaton received a three-game suspension, with all four players also fined an undisclosed amount.
The discipline traces back to the fourth inning of Washington’s 8-1 win Tuesday. Cavalli froze Contreras with a full-count sweeper for the second out, and what should have been a routine strikeout turned into an alarming incident.
Broadcast microphones picked up Cavalli shouting “Sit down, boy!” toward the batter’s box. Contreras did not take the apparent insult lying down, speaking back at Cavalli and charging toward the mound before teammates and umpires cut him off.
Held back short of the mound, Contreras flung his batting helmet over a cluster of players in Cavalli’s direction, a sequence chronicled by MLB.com‘s Ian Browne and Jessica Camerato. The delay stretched close to 11 minutes before the field cleared.
Contreras, Eaton, Mikolas and Boston interim manager Chad Tracy were tossed. Cavalli was not ejected, finishing the night with 13 strikeouts in a start the Nationals will remember for more than just the box score.
The scuffle itself produced more shoving than actual violence.
“You go out there, you look for somebody you know from the other team, maybe, and you pretend to grab ’em around or whatever,” Mikolas said of his tangle with Eaton that got both players suspended, according to MLB.com. “No one’s punching anybody out there.”
Cavalli Expresses Regret Over ‘Boy’ Remark
It marked a rough stretch for Contreras, who was also ejected from Monday’s series opener against Washington for tapping his helmet after an Automated Ball-Strike challenge went against him, making it back-to-back tosses on successive nights.
The word “boy” has a loaded, well-documented racial history in the United States, a backdrop impossible to separate from a taunt aimed at a Venezuelan-born hitter. Contreras kept his own feelings on that issue under wraps after the Tuesday game.
“We’ll see. I let MLB handle that,” he said, according to MLB.com.
Cavalli addressed the fallout Wednesday, a day ahead of the league’s ruling.
“I’m extremely torn up about the way that things were perceived,” he said, adding there was “no ill intention behind that,” referring to his “boy” remark, as quoted by ESPN. He said picturing a “13-year-old Black kid” hearing the remark and losing respect for him “hurt my heart.”
Cavalli also pointed to an earlier moment in the game as context, claiming Contreras brushed past him closely following the first inning, a gesture he interpreted as intentional, according to Yahoo Sports. The Nationals have not announced any additional internal discipline for Cavalli.
Tracy pushed back on Cavalli avoiding an ejection.
“I felt as though the comment made … was part of what caused that to happen,” the interim manager said. “Why is he still in the game? That was my take on it.”
Barring appeals, the suspensions are set to begin Friday, sidelining both central figures as their teams play through the holiday weekend. Neither club has said publicly whether an appeal of the MLB discipline is pending.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post MLB Slaps Willson Contreras With Harsh Punishment Over Red Sox-Nationals Brawl appeared first on HEAVY.