Five days after getting booed at Fenway Park, Willson Contreras finally said what the crowd didn’t know: his leg was bothering him. The Red Sox first baseman spoke to reporters in Toronto on August 12, 2026, and kept it simple — a leg issue was why he didn’t run out a hard grounder to third in the eighth inning on August 8, not a lack of effort. Boston’s best hitter this season (.287 AVG, .929 OPS, 23 home runs at the time) didn’t sprint, Fenway booed, and he said nothing that night. Five days later, he explained everything — then went out and hit home run No. 24.
The night of the boos: what the stadium didn’t know
On August 8, Contreras was back in the lineup after missing three days with an illness that had knocked him out of the game against the Chicago White Sox on August 5. In the eighth inning of a 7-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics, he didn’t run out a sharp grounder to third. Fenway let him hear it immediately.
What the crowd didn’t know was that the leg was just the latest entry on a growing injury log: a left foot contusion in July, a 95.4 mph pitch off the helmet on July 31 in Los Angeles that triggered MLB’s concussion protocol, and now this. Contreras didn’t speak to reporters that night.
The timing made it all a little more ironic: one day before the boos, on August 7, the Red Sox had named Contreras their 2026 Heart and Hustle Award winner — the MLB honor given to players who demonstrate passion, desire, and work ethic on and off the field.
What he said five days later
Speaking in Toronto on August 12, Contreras didn’t fire back or get defensive. He was calm and direct.
«Something’s bothering my leg. That’s why I didn’t run the other day when the fans booed me,» he told reporters at Rogers Centre.
On the boos themselves, he was just as matter-of-fact: «Man, didn’t run one time and they boo anybody. Which is good. But I don’t care. I think it’s part of baseball.»
Total indifference, zero drama. Interim manager Chad Tracy had already offered context on August 8 at Fenway, telling reporters: «He hasn’t played in a couple days. His first day in there, I’m sure he’s probably a little fatigued. He’ll be fine.»
The home run night — and the slump that actually matters
While Contreras was addressing the injury question in Toronto, he also went out that same night and launched his 24th home run of the season — a solo shot, 408 feet to left-center off Blue Jays pitching. It wasn’t enough: Boston lost 6-4 and stretched its losing streak to five games. That’s the real story right now.
The Red Sox had gone 32-7 between late June and early August — one of the hottest stretches in the league. Over these five losses, the team batted .119 with runners in scoring position. Contreras himself committed an error in the August 12 game, dropping a foul pop-up with runners on base.
Even so, Boston closed August 12 at 64-56 and still held the second American League Wild Card spot. This isn’t a collapse — it’s a rough patch. The difference matters.
And the guy Fenway booed? He’s still the best hitter on the roster.
