Boston Red Sox
“He was inviting me to dinner. I was like, ‘Nah, I’m good with it.’”
Willson Contreras was booed by the Fenway crowd on Wednesday. Photo by: Barry Chin/Globe Staff
August 20, 2026 | 7:30 AM
3 minutes to read
It’s been an interesting first season in Boston for Willson Contreras.
The 34-year-old first baseman has had a career year — standing as one of Boston’s most consistent bats all season, with a .283 batting average, .393 on-base percentage, 25 home runs, and 74 RBI.
But the veteran has had emotions spill over on multiple occasions in 2026, headlined by a brawl against the Nationals on June 30.
And for the second time this month, Contreras was on the receiving end of some boos from Red Sox fans at the end of Wednesday’s 7-6 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
In the bottom of the 10th inning of Wednesday’s game, Contreras heard it from the fans at Boston’s ballpark after jogging down the first-base line during a run-scoring groundout.
Similar to that previous incident on Aug. 8 when Contreras was booed for not running out a ground ball, the veteran was booed heavily on Wednesday as he made his way back to the dugout.
Contreras acknowledged the jeers, cupping his hand to his ear as if to request even more boos from the home crowd.
Things intensified from there, with Contreras seemingly getting into a verbal altercation with a fan sitting behind Boston’s dugout.
“Contreras turned to face the crowd and engaged in a long, animated argument with a fan behind the dugout,” MassLive’s Chris Cotillo wrote. “According to witnesses, other Red Sox players, including Jarren Duran, also were involved. Contreras jawed back and forth with the fan, then walked toward the clubhouse tunnel as the game ended. He returned to continue the conversation and pointed out the fan to security personnel.”
Contreras addressed the incident postgame, noting that he isn’t going to further stress a nagging hamstring injury by hustling down the first-base line.
“I’m not gonna get hurt running on a ground ball,” Contreras said of the play, per NBC Sports Boston. “And if you’re a real fan and you know baseball, there’s no case for me to hustle out the box. I’m not 100 percent, we never are, but I’m taking care of my leg. If I have to run, I’ll push it a little bit. If I don’t, my manager has my back. And I talked to him, and he gave me the permission to just do whatever it takes to take care of my legs, and that’s it. I just don’t care.”
As for the interaction with the fan?
“Nothing,” Contreras added. “He was inviting me to dinner. I was like, ‘Nah, I’m good with it.’”
That nagging leg injury has hindered Contreras as of late, with the first baseman clearly ailing when running on the base-paths over the last few weeks. He added that he tweaked his leg on Tuesday against Arizona, which further limited his ability to sprint during this three-game series.
Given that he acknowledged that his leg has been bothering him over the last few weeks, Contreras admitted that he was surprised to still get booed on Wednesday evening.
“For sure, yes,” he added. “And if you’re a smart fan, you know what’s going on. I’m not gonna make excuses, because it’s not an excuse — it’s real. And I just want to play through it. I want to stay on the field as much as I can, especially at this time of the year where every game matters and it’s really important for me to stay in the game for my team, for my teammates.
“We’re all battling through something. We’re human, we’re not robots. I wish I was, to not feel any pain in my body. It’s just baseball, man. You’ve got to keep your head up and keep going.”
Despite these recent run-ins with fans, Contreras said that he still has no issue with the Red Sox fanbase as Boston gets set to host Rafael Devers and the San Francisco Giants this weekend.
“No, that won’t change my mindset. I won’t change my mind about Boston or the fans,” Contreras said. “I think I’m in the best place to play baseball. If I was 100 percent, they wouldn’t boo me, because I was gonna hustle down the line. But I was sharing my perspective about being a Red Sox, being in Boston. I get goosebumps every time that I think about Boston, and I’m in the right place. I’m in the right place.”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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