Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli has apologized for his comment toward Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras on Tuesday that incited a benches-clearing scrum.
Cavalli shouted, “Sit down, boy,” at Contreras after striking him out looking in the fourth inning of the Nationals’ 8-1 win.
“I’m extremely torn up about the way things were perceived. Obviously, there was no ill intention behind that,” Cavalli told reporters Wednesday.
Cavalli is referring to the racist connotations of the term “boy” in the United States. Contreras, who is Venezuelan, said Tuesday he would “let MLB handle that” when asked postgame if he felt there were racist undertones to Cavalli’s comment.
“There’s a history behind that word, and that’s just something that as a competitor, like in football or basketball, playing whiffle ball with my brother, you don’t understand it. And then it gets perceived in a way that was not my intention, and then you learn from that,” Cavalli said.
“It’ll never happen again.”
Cavalli said he was unaware of the controversy he’d stirred until he returned to the team hotel.
“I looked at my phone, and I saw what people were saying about me,” the right-hander said. “Saw how torn up my wife was. It hurt my heart … because I know that people know me, and they know my character, and that’s not me. So it was hard. I truly didn’t sleep last night.”
Contreras yelled back, “Are you talking to me?” after Cavalli’s comment as he was walking back to the dugout. Contreras then charged the mound after words were exchanged and tried to throw his helmet at Cavalli over a group of players stopping him before he got to the pitcher.
The incident was brief, but resulted in the ejections of Contreras, Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy, Red Sox outfielder Nate Eaton and Nationals pitcher Miles Mikolas.
Cavalli said he hadn’t yet personally apologized to Contreras but hoped he would hear his message.
“I hope that he hears this and understands that was not what was intended at all. I think he knows that. But if I see him, I want to make sure that he knows that,” Cavalli added.
