MLB suspends Red Sox's Willson Contreras, Nationals' Cade Cavalli, others after benches-clearing incident
Yahoo Sports • • sports
Key Points:
- Major League Baseball suspended Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras and Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli for seven games each following a benches-clearing incident at Fenway Park on Tuesday.
- Nationals pitcher Miles Mikolas and Red Sox outfielder Nate Eaton also received suspensions of five and three games respectively, with all four players appealing the decisions, delaying the start of their bans.
- The altercation began after Cavalli struck out Contreras and used the phrase "Sit down, boy," which sparked the benches to clear and led to pushing and shoving; Contreras was ejected from the game while Cavalli was not.
- Cavalli apologized for the phrase, acknowledging its potential racist undertones and expressing regret over how it was perceived, emphasizing no ill intent behind his words.
- Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy criticized MLB's handling of the incident, questioning why Cavalli was not ejected during the game given his role in instigating the conflict.
