Major League Baseball came down hard on two players Thursday for their roles in a bench-clearing blowup at Fenway Park this week, suspending Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli and Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras for seven games apiece.
The incident erupted in the fourth inning Tuesday after Cavalli struck out Contreras. Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy reported hearing the 27-year-old pitcher yell "Sit down, boy" at the batter. Contreras was restrained as both benches emptied, and during the melee he hurled his batting helmet toward the mound before being ejected.
Three other players drew discipline for their involvement. Miles Mikolas of the Nationals received a five-game suspension, while Red Sox outfielder Nate Eaton got three games. All four were also fined an undisclosed amount. Manager Tracy and crew chief Vic Carapazza ejected a total of four players from the game, which Washington won 8-1.
The word "boy" carries a fraught racial history in the United States, and Contreras immediately called attention to that context. The Venezuelan-born catcher said after the game he wasn't sure if Cavalli's comment carried racial intent but made clear he wanted MLB to investigate.
Cavalli spent the night struggling with the comment. On Wednesday, the pitcher issued an apology and addressed the language head-on. He said he didn't intend the remark to be disparaging and acknowledged learning the historical weight of the word he'd used.
"There's a history behind that word, and that's just something that as a competitor, you don't understand it," Cavalli said. "And then it gets perceived in a way that was not my intention, and then you learn from that. It'll never happen again."
The pitcher also expressed concern about younger fans who might have witnessed the moment. "If there's a 13-year-old Black kid in DC that sees that, that looked up to me and thinks that he perceived it in a way that wasn't intended the way that it came out, and then he's not looking up to me any more, that hurts my heart," he said.
Contreras, 34, has had a rocky few days off the field as well. He was ejected for a second consecutive game Monday after mimicking an appeal call on a checked swing. The Red Sox catcher also acknowledged stress related to devastating earthquakes that recently struck his native Venezuela.
The suspensions begin Friday, with the Red Sox visiting Los Angeles and the Nationals hosting Pittsburgh. Both players retain the right to appeal the discipline, which will remain on hold during that process.
Author James Rodriguez: "Cavalli's apology rang more genuine than typical damage control, but the initial comment and its context show why players need to think before they compete."
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