Red Sox slugger downplays dustup with fan: ‘He was inviting me to dinner’
Willson Contreras has been the Red Sox’s best hitter throughout the season and has been a key driver of the club’s success, but earlier this month he drew boos from fans at Fenway Park after he didn’t hustle down the line on a routine groundout.
A similar scene played out again Wednesday.
With his team trailing in the bottom of the 10th inning, Contreras grounded out to third and was once again booed after jogging down the line. As he walked to the dugout Contreras appeared to put his hand to his ear and then spent the next minute arguing with a fan seated behind the dugout, a discussion that continued after the game’s final out was recorded.
Following the game, Contreras downplayed the incident.
“He was inviting me to dinner,” Contreras said. “And I’m like nah, I’m good with it.”
After the first time he was booed during the team’s Aug. 8 loss to the Athletics, Contreras explained that he’s dealing with a leg issue and has interim manager Chad Tracy’s permission to take care of his body in an effort to stay on the field. Tracy backed Contreras publicly as well, and following Wednesday’s game Contreras doubled down on his prior comments.
“It’s just part of the game. I’m not going to get hurt running out a ground ball and if you’re a real fan and you know baseball there’s no case for me to hustle out of the box,” Contreras said. “I’m not 100%, we never are, but I’m taking care of my leg. If I have to run I’ll push a little bit, if I don’t my manager has my back, I’ve talked to him and he gave me permission to do whatever it takes to take care of my legs and that’s it.”
Contreras added that given his prior explanation, he was surprised he got booed again.
“Yes, and if you’re a smart fan you know what’s going on. I’m not going to make any excuses because it’s not an excuse, it’s real, and I just want to play through it. I want to stay on the field as much as I can, especially this time a year where every game matters and it’s really important for me to stay in the game for my teammates,” Contreras said. “We’re all battling through something, we’re human, we’re not robots, I wish I was, to not feel any pain in my body, but it’s just baseball, we have to keep our head up and keep going.”
Despite his annoyance with a certain subset of fans, Contreras also made a point to emphasize that the incidents haven’t changed how he feels about Boston as a whole.
“I’m in the best place to play baseball,” Contreras said. “If I was 100% they wouldn’t boo me because I’d hustle down the line, but I was sharing my perspective about being a Red Sox, I get goosebumps every time I think about Boston and I’m in the right place.”
Contreras went 2 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored in Wednesday’s 7-6 loss.