Boston Red Sox star Willson Contreras has threatened to ‘take out’ rival players in future after he was struck by a wayward pitch again on Monday night.
Milwaukee Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff caught first baseman Contreras on the fingers during the third inning of their game at Fenway Park.
However, Contreras now seems to believe the Brewers are intentionally targeting him.
The incident on Monday marked the 24th time he’d been hit by a pitch thrown by a Milwaukee player. It was the sixth time Woodruff had struck him.
And speaking after the game, Contreras was understandably furious and issued an ominous threat.
He said: ‘They always say “I’m not trying to hit you”. That gets old.
‘So next time they hit me again, I’m going to take one of them out. That’s the message. That’s the message.
Brandon Woodruff caught Willson Contreras on the fingers with a pitch during the third inning
It was the 24th time Contreras had been hit by a pitch thrown by a Milwaukee player
Woodruff acted as if it wasn’t intentional and asked his catcher if he had hit Contreras
Contreras was furious as he made his way to first base and then confronted the umpires
‘I took exception to it. I knew my brother was behind me [as he went to first base]. I was like, “OK, you hit me… see what happens next”.
‘Nobody likes getting hit at any point. But like I said, I took exception to it. It’s the 24th time. They’re going there with a purpose. That’s fine, that’s pitching. But the next time you hit me, the message is clear: I’m going to take one of them out.
‘I don’t think any other team has hit me as much as them. I don’t care what they call it, I don’t care what they say. All I care about is my health. If they don’t care about my health and they hit me again, I’m going to try to take one of them out.’
After getting hit on this occasion, Contreras screamed out as he started to make his way to first base.
Woodruff seemed surprised that he’d caught his opponent again and even asked his catcher, William Contreras – the brother of Willson – whether or not he had struck him.
Once Contreras got to first base, he started to shout at the umpires and Red Sox coaches had to leave the dugout to calm him down.
It proved to be a heated game for Contreras, who found himself in the thick of the action again later on.
As he slid into second base, he caught Brewers shortstop David Hamilton and he required treatment from a trainer.
