...
By Ben Watanabe
Contributing Sports Writer
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
With Willson Contreras pacing the offense, the Boston Red Sox have revitalized their season and are in the thick of the AL playoff race.
Without him, it's scary to think where they'd be. Last place, probably.
So it seemed just a bit reactive when Red Sox fans recently booed Contreras for failing to run out an infielder grounder at Fenway Park. Contreras, who had been dealing with an unidentified illness that caused him to be pulled in the middle of a game last week, admitted he heard the boos but shrugged them off.
Read More on MLB
...
He also revealed the reason for his apparent failure to hustle.
"Something's bothering my leg. That's why I didn't run the other day when the fans booed me," Contreras told MassLive's Chris Cotillo Wednesday after the Red Sox lost to the Toronto Blue Jays 6-4. "Man, didn't run one time and they boo anybody. Which is good. But I don't care. I think it's part of baseball. They have the right to boo, they have (a right) to yell, they have a right to do everything."
Contreras has been a godsend for the Red Sox, who desperately needed his right-handed bat in their lineup and his sterling defense at first base. His 158 OPS+ leads the team, as do his 24 home runs and 71 RBI. He received a deserved AL All-Star nod and -- assuming he stays healthy -- is virtually assured of posting the highest WAR of his career.
On the heels of a scorching July, however, the Red Sox are reeling. Not coincidentally, Contreras' bat has gone cold at the same time.
During Boston's five-game losing streak entering Thursday, Contreras had gone 2-for-21 and struck out six times. Although he launched a home run Wednesday, that was all the offense the Red Sox mustered for the first eight innings at Rogers Center. If Contreras isn't producing, the Red Sox offense is severely hampered.
Now that the reason for Contreras' lack of hustle is public, it's unlikely that even the most hard-to-please Fenway Faithful will boo him again. Red Sox fans expect effort, but they'll surely be more understanding now that they understand what he's dealing with.
More MLB: Former Red Sox Infield Blames Team's Reliance On Analytics for Failure
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines