{"id":5938,"date":"2026-07-01T18:06:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T18:06:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5938"},"modified":"2026-07-01T18:06:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T18:06:17","slug":"nats-cade-cavalli-apologizes-for-telling-willson-contreras-to-sit-down-boy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5938","title":{"rendered":"Nats’ Cade Cavalli apologizes for telling Willson Contreras to ‘sit down, boy’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Washington Nationals\u2019 Cade Cavalli, front right, is held back as tempers flare during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo\/Charles Krupa)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

BOSTON \u2014 Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli apologized Wednesday for shouting \u201csit down, boy\u201d at Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras while instigating a benches\u2019 clearing scrum a night earlier.<\/p>

Read more NFL player Calais Campbell\u2019s brother is charged with murder after mother found dead<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m extremely torn up about the way that things were perceived,\u201d Cavalli said. \u201cObviously, there was no ill intention behind that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cavalli shouted at Contreras after striking him out looking with a full-count pitch in the fourth inning of the Nationals\u2019 8-1 victory over the Red Sox<\/a> .<\/p>\n

The term \u201cboy\u201d has a racist history in the U.S. Contreras, who is Venezuelan, demurred when asked after the game if he felt there was a racial component to Cavalli\u2019s word choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy teammates know me, my family knows me, this organization knows me,\u201d Cavalli said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t sleep because of it. It hurt my heart, knowing that, if there\u2019s a 13-year-old Black kid in D.C. that sees that \u2014 that looked up to me and thinks that he perceived it in a way that wasn\u2019t intended the way that it came out, and then he\u2019s not looking up to me anymore \u2014 that hurts my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked, he said he understands the meaning behind the word used.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a history behind that word, and that\u2019s just something that as a competitor, like in football or basketball, playing whiffle ball with my brother, you don\u2019t understand it,\u201d Cavalli said. \u201cAnd then it gets perceived in a way that was not my intention, and then you learn from that. It\u2019ll never happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old right-hander said he didn\u2019t realize the public outcry on social media until he got back to his hotel room.<\/p>

Read more Why are World Cup refs giving red cards to players covering their mouths when confronting opponents?<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI looked at my phone, and I saw what people were saying about me. Saw how torn up my wife was. It hurt my heart,\u201d he said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it. I really couldn\u2019t. Because I know that people know me, and they know my character, and that\u2019s not me. So, it was hard. I truly didn\u2019t sleep last night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contreras was walking back to the dugout after striking out and yelled back at Cavalli: \u201cAre you talking to me?\u201d A few words were exchanged, and he charged the mound. He was stopped before he got to the pitcher. He tried to throw his helmet over a group of players at the righty.<\/p>\n

Things settled down quickly after that, though the brief dustup ended with Contreras, Boston interim manager Chad Tracy, Red Sox outfielder Nate Eaton and Washington pitcher Miles Mikolas being ejected.<\/p>\n

Cavalli said he hadn\u2019t apologized to Contreras yet, but he hopes he hears his explanation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have not reached out to him. I know that we\u2019re both competitors, I hope that he hears this and he understands that was not what was intended at all,\u201d Cavalli said. \u201cI think he knows that. But if I see him, I want to make sure that he knows that.\u201d<\/p>

Read more 15-year-old prodigy Sooryavanshi left out again by India for 1st T20 against England<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP MLB: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/mlb<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli apologized Wednesday for shouting \u201csit down, boy\u201d at Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras while instigating a benches\u2019 clearing scrum a night earlier<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5848,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nNats' Cade Cavalli apologizes for telling Willson Contreras to 'sit down, boy' - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5938\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nats' Cade Cavalli apologizes for telling Willson Contreras to 'sit down, boy' - 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