Willson Contreras has a history of getting involved in bench-clearing incidents, sometimes even sparking those himself. However, when benches cleared on Saturday during the Red Sox-Twins game, Contreras remained mostly calm amid the wild scenes.

The Boston Red Sox lost the series to the Minnesota Twins in back-to-back games. But things turned heated in the fourth inning as Contreras collided with Twins catcher Victor Caratini, causing benches to clear on both sides. Underdog MLB posted the video on X.

At Fenway Park on Saturday, with the Twins leading 2-0, Contreras attempted to score from first on Ceddanne Rafaela’s RBI double at the bottom of the fourth. Contreras ran through the stop sign that the Red Sox third base coach Chad Epperson showed. However, as Contreras failed to stop himself, he sent Caratini toppling at home plate.

Despite the collision not being very forceful, Caratini was apparently not pleased with Contreras.

Immediately after the incident, the Red Sox hitter put his hands up and started walking towards the dugout. But Caratini stopped Contreras to have a word with him, causing the benches to clear on both sides. Players rushed to the field, including the bullpen, ready to defend their own teammate.

However, the situation fortunately did not escalate any further, and no punches were thrown. Everyone escaped the situation scot-free, and neither player was ejected, as they were not involved in any illegal move.

In a multiplayer deal with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Boston Red Sox acquired Contreras and cash considerations this offseason. While playing for the Cardinals, Contreras found himself in the middle of multiple controversial incidents.

Last season, while facing the San Diego Padres, Contreras was hit by a 0-1 pitch from Nick Pivetta. The pitch hit his elbow pad area, and the first baseman began yelling at the pitcher as he walked down to first base. As Contreras continued yelling despite the Padres catcher Elias Diaz’s intervention, benches cleared on both sides.

Contreras also had a meltdown against the Pittsburgh Pirates in August 2025. In the bottom of the seventh, home plate umpire Derek Thomas called him out on a 0-2 count, much to Contreras’ frustration. He spewed a few words towards Thomas while walking back towards the dugout, which led the umpire to eject him. Following the ejection, Contreras started to have a complete meltdown as he charged towards Thomas. As he was being restrained by multiple coaches, Contreras chucked his bat, which hit a Cardinals staff member in the face. He continued his temper tantrum by throwing a tub of HI-CHEW candies onto the field.

However, it was not the same with Caratini, as the Red Sox player already knows him well, having played for the Chicago Cubs together. Following the match, Contreras reacted to the incident.

Contreras revealed the collision was not intentional

Against the Twins on Saturday, Willson Contreras went recorded 2 hits and a run in his 3 at-bats, alongside a single walk. During the incident as the throw beat him to the home plate, Caratini tagged Contreras out just before he crashed into the Twins catcher. However, Contreras has revealed that the hit was not intentional, he just could not control his speed.

“No, it wasn’t anything malicious or anything at all, it was not bad intention,” said Contreras, per MLB.com. “I played with Caratini with [the Cubs for a] long time, so there weren’t any bad intentions behind that. When I was getting to home plate, when I thought it was going to be out, I tried to stop myself, but at the end of the day, if I dive, I might have hit him harder.”

As the Red Sox lost the game 4-2, as well as the series, Contreras also revealed that during their conversation, Caratini told him that he should have slid in the situation. However, he believes that contact would have been much harder if he indeed slid into home plate.

While Caratini chose to decline from commenting on the incident owing to their friendship, Contreras expressed his surprise at the way things unfolded.

“That is an organization I respect a lot, and I’ve never had any kind of problem with them. Even more with Caratini behind the plate, he’s a guy that is a close friend of mine,” remarked Contreras, per MLB.com. “For him to get that mad at that, it was kind of surprising. For the benches to empty, that was surprising as well.”

The umpires issued a warning to both benches before play resumed. The Red Sox will again face the Twins aiming to avoid a series sweep.