Willson Contreras grounded out for the second out of the tenth inning in the Boston Red Sox's 7-6 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night.
Contreras did not appear to be running hard on the play and was showered with boos. This is the second time this season that Contreras has been booed for lack of hustle, and he stood on his decision after the game.
Willson Contreras put his hand to his ear after some Red Sox fans seemingly booed him for jogging on a ground out pic.twitter.com/46fLjIFfLQ
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 20, 2026
"If you’re a real fan and you know baseball, there’s no case for me to hustle out of the box,” Contreras said, per The Boston Globe's Tim Healey. “I’m not 100 percent. We never are, but I’m taking care of my leg. If I have to run, I push a little bit. If I don’t, my manager has my back, and I talk to him, and he gave me the permission just to do whatever it takes to take care of my legs... If I was 100 percent, they wouldn’t boo because I was going to hustle down the line.”
Contreras is clearly playing through some type of ailment, but come October that excuse will not fly. Hopefully he is 100% by then, but right now fans just want to see some effort in the final stretch.
In actuality, Contreras had a chance to beat the throw from third base if he did bust it down the line, but it still would have been close. Caleb Durbin popped out in the next at-bat, ending the game.
Contreras has carried the Red Sox's offense for most of the season, and perhaps he deserves some slack. However, not hustling on a play like that is not really considered winning baseball.