BOSTON -- Willson Contreras plays for the Red Sox. But he is playing for Venezuela, his native country that was ravaged by earthquakes last Wednesday.
When Contreras mashed a three-run homer in the bottom of the first inning in Monday night’s 6-3 win against the Nationals at Fenway Park, he let out every kind of emotion he had.
Contreras flipped his bat high into the air as his Statcast-projected 421-foot blast off Nats righty Miles Mikolas soared over everything in left-center field.
The first baseman then slapped his helmet with both hands and screamed “Venezuela” to his teammates as he headed past the home dugout to first base. By the time he sat on the bench, Contreras started crying. It lasted for several minutes, and many of his teammates and coaches gave him soulful hugs.
What was Contreras feeling in those moments?
“[I was thinking about] everything that's going on in Venezuela, I think. It's not easy to hide. It's not easy just to show up and play with everything that's going on in my country,.” Contreras said. “I think because I feel like I could be there helping people, and I can’t be there.”
The homer put his adrenaline over the top. And when Contreras got back to the dugout, he crashed.
“The homer just represents something that I prayed to God for it to happen, because that's the only thing that I can do for Venezuela right now, physically, and that's when my emotions showed,” Contreras said. “I was thinking of so many kids that have died, so many people that have died, and it's not easy to deal with it.”
In the second inning, Contreras got emotional again, this time after he was ejected by first-base umpire Nic Lentz, who ruled that he didn’t check his swing on a strikeout.
“Man, kind of surprising. Nick and I have a really good relationship,” Contreras said “We had a really good talk right before the game. He also mentioned Venezuela, which is good for him to know about it. I think it kind of surprised me, because I never made eye contact with him.”
Replays indicated Contreras did go through with his swing. Contreras tapped his helmet as he walked down the first-base line, which is what Lentz indicated was the cause for the ejection.
“I called him out on appeal for the check swing, and as he was walking back to the dugout, he started gesturing, tapping his helmet, like he wanted to challenge something that is not a challengeable call,” Lentz said to a pool reporter. “And so disrespect, and again gesturing towards what he thought was an incorrect call, [that] got him removed from the game.”
Hitters tap their helmets when making an ABS challenge. But swinging strikeouts, as this one was ruled, aren’t allowed to be challenged.
“It wasn’t directed at him,” Contreras said of the helmet tap. “He told me, ‘Because you tapped your helmet.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I didn't make eye contact with you.’ I didn't argue. I didn't yell. I didn't do anything wrong. And he told me, ‘Yeah, but I have to throw you out.’ I was like, ‘You didn’t have to, but you made that choice. That’s it.’”
Lentz said that helmet taps like that are just about an automatic ejection.
“Correct. Yeah, it's a lot like drawing a line in the dirt,” Lentz said. “It's on the list for items for removal from the game. You know, you can have a little bit of discretion. But in a situation like this, where it's pretty immediate and showing disagreement or trying to gesture in that sort of manner, it would be immediate [ejection].”
By the end of the night, Contreras didn’t seem all that worked up about the ejection. Instead, his heart and mind was back home.
“I wasn't feeling good the whole day. I was kind of down, sad and I hit a homer,” Contreras said. “I tried to help my dugout, but the first thing that I said was ‘Venezuela!’ That was the first thing that came out of my mouth, and it's for Venezuela. And I think that of course, I'm helping the team to win, and it's good. But I think every homer from now on is going to be for the Red Sox and Venezuela.”
Contreras is one of five Venezuelans on the Red Sox, a group that also includes Monday’s winning pitcher Ranger Suarez, right fielder Wilyer Abreu, catcher Carlos Narváez and utility infielder Andruw Monasterio.
Abreu let Contreras know he wasn’t alone when he leaned down to give his slumped-down teammate a lengthy embrace a few minutes after the home run.
“I was there for him, because I know the feeling,” Abreu said. “It's the same feeling that I have. It's very tough to play right now with this situation that we have in Venezuela, but we try to keep our heads up and try to stay focused on the game, and try to play the game the right way.”
Contreras, in the midst of a career season at the plate, vowed to continue to multitask as best he can.
“The thoughts [for Venezuela] are not going anywhere,” he said. “But at the same time, I know that I have the responsibility here, and it's my job to perform. To be there for my team. To be there for my teammates and do the best I can to help. So that's something I have clear in my mind. But again, it's my country, so it hurts.”