{"id":4048,"date":"2026-07-01T21:36:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T21:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4048"},"modified":"2026-07-01T21:36:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T21:36:29","slug":"nationals-cade-cavalli-regrets-choice-of-words-that-enraged-the-red-sox-willson-contreras-im-extremely-torn-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4048","title":{"rendered":"Nationals\u2019 Cade Cavalli regrets choice of words that enraged the Red Sox\u2019 Willson Contreras: \u2018I\u2019m extremely torn up\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>After sleeping on it, Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli and president of baseball operations Paul Toboni addressed the media Wednesday morning at Fenway Park about the scuffle that led to four ejections in Tuesday night\u2019s game.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4046\">Nationals get to Payton Tolle for six runs in three-plus innings, rout Red Sox in finale to take series<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI\u2019m extremely torn up about the way that things were perceived,\u201d Cavalli said. \u201dObviously, there was no ill intention behind that. My teammates know me, my family knows me, this organization knows me. I couldn\u2019t sleep because of it.\u201d  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt 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<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>As NESN microphones captured, and Contreras and interim manager Tracy recounted, the brawl started when Cavalli told Contreras, \u201cSit down, boy!\u201d after striking him out in the fourth inning. That led to a brawl,  during which Contreras charged toward Cavalli and eventually  threw his helmet in Cavalli\u2019s direction.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Starting Point<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><span>The league has not announced any additional discipline to either party.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cBoy\u201d is seen as a racial epithet, commonly used during the Jim Crow era to demean and dehumanize Black people. It\u2019s used colloquially in other ways, but Tracy, and many others, were taken aback in the moment. Contreras, who\u2019s Venezuelan, declined to say whether he believed Cavalli\u2019s words were racist when asked Tuesday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Toboni, a former Sox assistant general manager, said he didn\u2019t know what Cavalli had said until the following morning.  He and Nationals manager Blake Butera spoke with Cavalli ahead of Wednesday\u2019s 10-2 Washington victory.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWhat we talked a lot about was, we within the Nationals organization have a really good understanding of who Cade is as a person,\u201d Toboni said. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t go for everyone else. Cade is a guy of great values, great morals, great leader. At the same time, his choice of words was not ideal. Candidly, I think he was unaware that it might have or induce a negative reaction from folks.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Cavalli said he didn\u2019t realize how his words had been perceived until he returned to the hotel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4044\">Americans step out for their nation\u2019s 250th in a proud moment sown with division and doubt<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt\u2019s awful. Like you said something and somebody turns it around and it\u2019s just not your character, it hurts. It wrecked me. It\u2019s not a good feeling,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<div><span>Related<span>: <\/span><\/span>Connelly Early starts stint on Red Sox\u2019 injured list after experiencing elbow discomfort<\/div>\n<p><span>When he spoke after the game, Cavalli blamed the exchange of words with the Red Sox first baseman on a moment at the end of the first inning when Contreras brushed by him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>After passing Cavalli, Contreras put his hand up as a means of saying, \u201cmy bad,\u201d though Tracy acknowledged that Cavalli \u201cmaybe didn\u2019t see it\u201d on his way back to the dugout.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Toboni made the importance of the team learning from the moment clear. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cA big part of it for me is: It doesn\u2019t matter if your intent is OK. Because the bottom line is, there are folks around Washington, D.C., and around the country that might receive it differently than you receive it,\u201d Toboni said. \u201dI think this is just a life thing, not necessarily a baseball team thing, but being able to empathize with other people\u2019s existences, that\u2019s a huge part of being a good human being.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Toboni hadn\u2019t yet spoken to the Red Sox but said he planned to, hoping to make clear that Cavalli\u2019s intentions were not what they may have seemed. He also wants the team, and especially Contreras, to understand that Cavalli now recognizes the impact of his words.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Cavalli also hadn\u2019t talked to Contreras, but said he wants to make his intentions clear if he gets the chance. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThere\u2019s a history behind that word, and that\u2019s just something that as a competitor, like in football or basketball, playing Wiffle ball with my brother, you don\u2019t understand it,\u201d Cavalli said. \u201dAnd then it gets perceived in a way that was not my intention, and then you learn from that. It\u2019ll never happen again.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4042\">Provincetown official denounces false claim that town banned American flag on July 4: \u2018That\u2019s ridiculous\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As NESN microphones captured, Tuesday&#8217;s brawl started when Cavalli told Contreras, \u201cSit down, boy!\u201d after striking him out in the fourth inning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Nationals\u2019 Cade Cavalli regrets choice of words that enraged the Red Sox\u2019 Willson Contreras: \u2018I\u2019m extremely torn up\u2019 - 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