Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli apologized after shouting “sit down, boy” at Boston’s Willson Contreras during the fourth inning of a game the Nationals won 8-1, saying he couldn’t sleep and that he wants it to “never happen again.” The confrontation
Cade Cavalli’s voice wasn’t steady when he talked about what happened the night before. He described the moment as something he couldn’t shake—an exchange that turned into a benches’ clearing scrum and then spilled onto social media.
“It’ll never happen again.”
Cavalli, the Washington Nationals right-hander, apologized Wednesday for shouting “sit down, boy” at Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras during the fourth inning of a Nationals’ 8-1 victory over the Red Sox.
“I’m extremely torn up about the way that things were perceived,” Cavalli said. “Obviously, there was no ill intention behind that.”
The comment came after Cavalli struck out Contreras looking with a full-count pitch in that fourth inning. What followed was more than a heated moment. Contreras. walking back toward the dugout after the strikeout. yelled back at Cavalli: “Are you talking to me?” A few words were exchanged. and he charged the mound. He was stopped before he got to the pitcher. and he tried to throw his helmet over a group of players at the righty.
Things settled down quickly, but the brief dustup ended with Contreras, Boston interim manager Chad Tracy, Red Sox outfielder Nate Eaton and Washington pitcher Miles Mikolas being ejected.
Cavalli said he hadn’t yet reached out directly to Contreras, but hoped he would eventually hear his explanation.
“I have not reached out to him. I know that we’re both competitors, I hope that he hears this and he understands that was not what was intended at all,” Cavalli said. “I think he knows that. But if I see him, I want to make sure that he knows that.”
When asked about the word choice, Cavalli acknowledged the impact the term can carry. The phrase “boy” has a racist history in the U.S., and Contreras, who is Venezuelan, demurred when asked after the game if he felt there was a racial component to Cavalli’s word choice.
Cavalli said he understands the meaning behind the word used. “There’s a history behind that word,” he said. “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. It’ll never happen again.”.
He also talked about the personal toll after the game.
“My teammates know me, my family knows me, this organization knows me,” Cavalli said. “I couldn’t sleep because of it. It hurt my heart, knowing that, if there’s a 13-year-old Black kid in D.C. 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 anymore — that hurts my heart.”.
He said he didn’t realize the public outcry on social media until he returned to his hotel room.
“I looked at my phone, and I saw what people were saying about me. Saw how torn up my wife was. It hurt my heart,” Cavalli said. “I couldn’t believe it. I really couldn’t. 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.”.
There was an easy certainty in Cavalli’s insistence that the exchange wasn’t meant to be cruel—paired with a harder recognition that it landed differently than he expected. By the time he spoke Wednesday, the apology wasn’t just about the argument on the field. It was about what those words might do once they left the ballpark.
Cade Cavalli Willson Contreras Nationals Red Sox “sit down boy ” MLB benches-clearing scrum Chad Tracy Nate Eaton Miles Mikolas racism apology
Wait, he apologized? Good I guess.
That “sit down, boy” thing is just nasty, like come on. But also I feel like the MLB lets too much slide until it goes viral. Braves did worse last year and it was like nothing.
Not saying it’s okay, but wasn’t Contreras the one yelling first like “Are you talking to me?” so maybe it was just in the moment aggression? Then why is everyone acting like it’s only on him. Also he said he couldn’t sleep so like… he knew right away it was bad.
Apologies are cheap. Like if you really didn’t mean ill intent then don’t say that phrase. “Never happen again” meanwhile he probably says it to somebody else in his head. Also the benches clearing scrum?? I swear these teams just look for an excuse to fight every game, especially with pitchers and first basemen always beefing. Contreras charging the mound is wild though, helmet throwing??