'Emotional' Contreras apologizes for on-field flap...

'Emotional' Contreras apologizes for on-field flapsBoston Red Sox1hRockies place Sugano, 36, on IL with back spasmsColorado Rockies4hChapman sets career record for K's by relieverBoston Red Sox22hAstros option struggling OF Meyers to Triple-AHouston Astros7hCubs DFA struggling Wilson, sign RHP WoodfordChicago Cubs4hJunis (hip) to IL as part of Rangers bullpen movesTexas Rangers8hMLB Power Rankings: Rays, Marlins bring Florida heat to start JulyArizona Diamondbacks3dESPNWhere does Aroldis Chapman rank among the greatest closers ever?Boston Red Sox17hDavid SchoenfieldMidseason rankings for MLB's biggest awards: Can PCA catch Ohtani for NL MVP? How does Judge's injury rock AL race?

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-- Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras offered an emotional apology for his involvement in a pair of bench-clearing incidents against the New York Yankees and Washington Nationals this past week.Contreras, who is appealing the seven-game suspension he received from Major League Baseball for his part in a heated dispute with Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli Tuesday night, had just finished addressing reporters about his All-Star snub when he continued to speak through his interpreter in Spanish."One thing I want to add, on the record," Contreras said before Saturday night's game against the Los Angeles Angels, "is an apology for all of the events from last week, all of the things that occurred when the Nationals and Yankees (were at Fenway Park) are very hard.

It was a very emotional time for me."(People) won't understand why I'm apologizing now, but I think it's something that's important for me to do, to apologize because I feel that it was an emotional time, and those situations could have been avoided and controlled and handled better."Benches cleared when Contreras stared down Yankees starter Will Warren last weekend, but the incident did not escalate.

But Tuesday night, when Cavalli shouted at Contreras after striking him out looking at a full-count pitch, Contreras threw his helmet at Cavalli and approached him on the mound. The two began jawing at each other, and both dugouts and bullpens emptied.Contreras, who hit a three-run homer in the first inning Saturday night-his 19th of the season-fought back tears as he processed the fallout from his on-field turmoil and the struggles of his native Venezuela, which was hit by two powerful earthquakes this past week."

It's been a really tough week, an emotional week for me," Contreras said. "I hope that (people) understand how emotional it's been. I'll prove myself with my actions on the field moving forward and show them the kind of person that I truly am."

'Emotional' Contreras apologizes for on-field flapsBoston Red Sox1hRockies place Sugano, 36, on IL with back spasmsColorado Rockies4hChapman sets career record for K's by relieverBoston Red Sox22hAstros option struggling OF Meyers to Triple-AHouston Astros7hCubs DFA struggling Wilson, sign RHP WoodfordChicago Cubs4hJunis (hip) to IL as part of Rangers bullpen movesTexas Rangers8hMLB Power Rankings: Rays, Marlins bring Florida heat to start JulyArizona Diamondbacks3dESPNWhere does Aroldis Chapman rank among the greatest closers ever?Boston Red Sox17hDavid SchoenfieldMidseason rankings for MLB's biggest awards: Can PCA catch Ohtani for NL MVP? How does Judge's injury rock AL race?

Arizona Diamondbacks2dBradford DoolittleFrom surging Marlins to slumping Braves: MLB winners and losers for June -- and what we're watching in JulyPhiladelphia Phillies4dESPNSkenes or Kurtz? Wetherholt or Griffin? Redrafting the 2023-25 MLB drafts in one 60-pick mega-draftArizona Diamondbacks2dKiley McDaniel, +2 MoreUSMNT coach Pochettino latest World Cup star to throw first pitch.

How did he do?Seattle Mariners22hESPNWhat are MLB ballparks serving up for the Fourth of July?Arizona Diamondbacks2dAnthony GharibAll of the special MLB July 4 uniforms and capsArizona Diamondbacks3dAnthony GharibFantasy baseball: Shohei Ohtani out for Dodgers, Julio Rodriguez heads to IL16hESPN Fantasy EmailPrintOpen Extended Reactions EmailPrintOpen Extended Reactions Open Extended Reactions