Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli expressed regret Wednesday for yelling “sit down, boy” at Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras during the Nats 8-1 victory Tuesday.
Cavalli could be heard yelling as he struck out Contreras in the bottom of the fourth of Tuesday’s game.
Moments later, as Contreras started walking back toward the dugout, he and Cavalli started jawing at one another and the benches cleared. Contreras, who had been ejected from the previous game as well, threw his helmet in Cavalli’s direction. Officials ejected the first baseman, Sox outfielder Nate Eaton and Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy, as well as Nats pitcher Miles Mikolas. Cavalli was not ejected.
After the game, Contreras was uncertain if the alleged comment had a racist connotation.
“I don’t know, I’m Venezuelan, I don’t know if it’s racist or not,” Contreras said in clubhouse remarks broadcast on NESN. “But I’ll let MLB handle that.”
Contreras added it was less what Cavalli said and more that he yelled it.
For his part, Cavalli said in a postgame interview on the Nats broadcast that Contreras brushing past him in the first inning was an instigating factor.
“It’s just something that you don’t do in baseball, I think he knows that,” Cavalli said. “I didn’t say anything, I just looked at him. And then, you know, a few words were said after the strikeout. It’s part of the game.”
On Wednesday, Cavalli said there was no ill intention behind the remark, according to the Associated Press. And that he understands the meaning of the word “boy.”
“It hurt my heart,” he said. “I truly didn’t sleep last night.
“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,” Cavalli added. “And then it gets perceived in a way that was not my intention, and then you learn from that. It’ll never happen again.”
Red Sox’ interim manager Tracy said Tuesday night during his postgame availability that the Nats pitcher should have been ejected. But Tracy wouldn’t directly comment on if he thought the use of the phrase had a racist connotation.
“I don’t know Cade Cavalli or anything like that, so it’s hard for me to say,” Tracy said. “But just felt like, when he said it, it was like, ‘Whoa.’ And then this starts. So, just frustrated with that.”
