theathleticuk
BOSTON Sit down, boy! Theres really no dancing lightly around those three words, unless were talking about an exasperated, stressed-out parent and a small child.
Cade Cavalli is not a parent.
Willson Contreras is not a child.
And so when the Washington Nationals right-hander directed a term with a racist history at Contreras after striking out the Boston Red Sox slugger Tuesday night at Fenway Park, it was an instant reminder that the baseball world is part of the world as we now know it.
Decorum, manners and propriety are out.
Hurling insults and a general dismissiveness is in, or at least tolerated.
Dont even bother to say youre sorry.
Or maybe wait a day and then say youre sorry.
Punishment beyond that? Nah.
Advertisement Well get to a breakdown of this summertime Fenway drama in a moment, but its important to point out that on Wednesday morning, Cavalli gathered the media at his locker in order to point out how absolutely sorry he is that he yelled, Sit down, boy! at Contreras.
Im extremely torn up about the way that things were perceived, Cavalli said.
Obviously, there was no ill intention behind that.
It hurt my heart, knowing that, if theres a 13-year-old Black kid in D.C.
that sees that that looked up to me and thinks that he perceived it in a way that wasnt intended the way that it came out, and then hes not looking up to me anymore.
That hurts my heart.
Nationals manager Blake Butera said, Hes a man of really good character.
We believe in Cade, and Cade the person, and this was a learning moment for him.
Look, he feels terrible about it.
He lost sleep (Tuesday) night because of how what he said was perceived.
The word usage Cade made was not the best, and he feels horrible about that, Butera said.
But also knowing that we are here in his corner with him and also going to help him become better as a person and as a player.
And yet Cavalli deserves whatever fine that MLB decides to send his way.
It doesnt have to be a suspension.
But if MLB does nothing other than point out that, hey, the guy said hes sorry, its just adding to the growing trend of people saying outrageous things and suffering nothing in the way of repercussions.
To put it another way, this would be a good time for MLB to remind itself of what happened in 1947, when the Brooklyn Dodgers welcomed Jackie Robinson to Ebbets Field, thereby cancelling baseballs so-called gentlemans agreement.
It wasnt easy at first, not for Robinson, not for his teammates, not for opposing teams, not for fans, not for the media.
But where once the baseball establishment feared Robinson, now every team has retired No.
42 in his memory.
It would be going too far to brand Cade Cavalli a racist.
Its true that his initial reaction after Tuesday nights game was clanky and somewhat dismissive, as when he told reporters, I dont know, I just lose my head in it, after Washingtons 8-1 victory over the Red Sox.
I just told him to sit down.
Advertisement But lets not use time codes to analyze Cavallis remarks.
By all measures, he came across as sincere on Wednesday morning.
Now MLB needs to fine him anyway, if only to take a stand in a world gone nasty.
Sooner or later, common sense has to land somewhere.
Why not on a baseball field? This case is easy to twist and turn into whatever outcome and justification you desire, given that Willson Contreras is the player to whom Cavalli delivered his remark.
Contreras has always been an overheating boiler of a ballplayer, with a history of arguing with umpires, throwing bats and helmets, and willing to charge the mound over any slight, real or imagined.
He responded to a taunting fan on Instagram after Tuesday nights game to Come meet me at Fenway, which is something MLB should be looking at.
To compound things, an incident took place earlier in Tuesdays game in which Contreras, who had been a runner on second, jogged past the mound after Jarren Duran flied out to end the first inning, appeared to make contact with Cavalli, and then, after moving on, seemed to turn toward the pitcher as if to say, My bad.
Speaking with reporters after the game, Contreras said, If he thinks that was on purpose, thats not.
Cavalli said, Just a weird feeling.
I was just caught off by it.
Contreras outbursts since joining the Red Sox are marring what has otherwise been one of the best seasons of his career.
But the Red Sox have next to no veteran leadership on the roster beyond Contreras himself, and pitching coach Andrew Bailey is the only member of the coaching staff who played in the big leagues.
With the Red Sox sputtering in last place in the AL East, the organization has bigger problems than Contreras.
And yet none of this clears a path for Cavalli to yell, Sit down, boy! Cavalli took steps Wednesday morning to clean things up.
And now MLB, which integrated its sport more than a year before President Truman signed Executive Order 9981 to desegregate the military, has a responsibility to again show the way.