Prior to being activated by the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, star first baseman Willson Contreras was with the Portland Sea Dogs for a rehab assignment. There, he ran into some issues with an umpire that led to a strange incident, which ultimately went viral.
During his second at-bat of the game on Saturday, Contreras wanted to get more pine tar for his bat. The umpire wouldn’t let him. So, instead of not getting pine tar, he gave up the at-bat and took a strikeout.
This led to some pretty big emotions from fans. There were those who defended Contreras. There were also those who felt it was a poor showing from Contreras to act that way. Regardless, he was asked for his side of the story after he returned to the Red Sox.
“I don’t know, you can go ask the umpire,” Contreras said. “His name is Gary. Thank you.”
It doesn’t seem like Red Sox fans are going to get much more from Contreras about what he was thinking about. More importantly, he was playing well with his return to Boston, going 2 for 4 with a walk and a run on Sunday.
Boston Red Sox 1B Willson Contreras is an Emotional Player
One thing that Red Sox fans have learned over the season is that Willson Contreras can be an emotional player. There’s good and bad to that.
There are times when Contreras has been an emotional sparkplug for the Red Sox. He’s energized the team and helped make them competitive, particularly when the season was going sideways in the early months. On top of that, he’s been trying to play through pain, again setting the tone for younger players.
It can lead to issues, too, though. Perhaps the most notable incident came against the Washington Nationals, when he was ejected for seemingly nothing but tapping his helmet. The very next day, he and Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli ended up in a benches-clearing brawl, which saw Contreras ejected and suspended for throwing his helmet.
The incident in Portland is somewhere in between those two extremes. It’s probably not the example you want set for Double-A players, but it also didn’t hurt his ability to return to the Red Sox and play well in his return.
The Red Sox do need Contreras at his best, too. This season, he’s hitting .277 with a .387 OBP, a .517 slugging percentage, and a .904 OPS. His 26 home runs are already a career high. On top of that, if the season ended today, that would be a career high in OPS.
Willson Contreras Was Blunt About His Return From Injury
Prior to going on the IL, Willson Contreras had been battling through several injury concerns. That includes the left hamstring, which is why he had to go on the IL.
Red Sox fans had grown restless with Contreras. He was slumping at the plate and not running out ground balls, while nursing that hamstring. So, the fans booed him on a couple of different occasions.
“I had to. I don’t want to get booed again,” Contreras said. “So I made sure my hamstring was 100%. I tested it last night in Portland. Went first to third. Felt good. And that’s why I decided to be activated today, because my leg felt great.”
Contreras had the chance to test his hamstring right away during his return to the Red Sox. He was on base three times and seemed healthy. Now, he just needs to stay healthy through October.
Red Sox 1B Willson Contreras Responds to Umpire Incident with Sea Dogs