Umpire Lost The Plot In Ejecting Willson Contreras

Boston Red Sox slugger Willson Contreras was ejected from Monday's 6-3 win over the Washington Nationals when he likely shouldn't have.

In the bottom of the second inning, Contreras was up to bat for the second time after he hit a home run in the bottom of the first. Contreras was called out for a check swing, and as he was walking back to the dugout, he tapped his helmet, saying he wished he could challenge a check swing.

After tapping his helmet, first base umpire Nic Lentz ejected him, which was a major surprise.

unreal.



Willson Contreras has been ejected by first base umpire Nic Lentz following this interaction pic.twitter.com/EUXegLcoJd

— NESN (@NESN) June 30, 2026

Contreras never said anything about the call and made a small gesture, which many didn't even notice. Yet, after the game, Lentz offered his own explanation through a pool reporter

"I called him out on appeal for the check swing, and as he was walking back to the dugout, he started gesturing, tapping his helmet, like he wanted to challenge something that is not a challengeable call," Lentz said. "And so, disrespect, and again gesturing towards what he thought was an incorrect call, got him removed from the game."

Lentz, meanwhile, said if a player is mocking an umpire, it's an immediate ejection.

"Correct," Lentz said. "It's a lot like drawing a line in the dirt."

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Although the rules technically say it's an ejection, Lentz had no reason to eject Contreras. The slugger was going back to the dugout and wasn't saying anything to the umpires, which is why Lentz shouldn't have ejected him.

Contreras, meanwhile, also thought it was surprising he was ejected for making a tiny gesture as he was almost in the dugout.

"Man, kind of surprising," Contreras said. "Nick and I have a really good relationship. We had a really good talk right before the game. He also mentioned Venezuela, which is good for him to know about it. I think it kind of surprised me because I never made eye contact with him. ...

"I didn't make eye contact with you, I didn't argue, I didn't yell, I didn't do nothing wrong," Contreras added. "He told me, yeah, but I have to throw you out. I was like, you didn't have to, but you made that choice. That's it."

Contreras was right, as he shouldn't have been ejected, as it felt like Lentz abused his power by ejecting the Red Sox slugger.

Yet, Lentz feels like he followed the rules, but Contreras' actions don't seem like a true mocking of an umpire or a reason to be ejected.

Willson Contreras Got Emotional After Home Run

Before Contreras was ejected in the second inning, the Red Sox slugger was emotional after a first-inning home run.

Contreras was seen nearly crying in the dugout after his home run, as he admitted after the game that he had not been well as of late. His home country of Venezuela was hit by a 7.2 and a 7.5 earthquake on Wednesday, and the death toll is over 1700 people and rising.

So, although Contreras gets to play baseball for a living, he admitted his mind and heart were back home for the past couple of days.

Willson Contreras was emotional after his HR pic.twitter.com/kLHDWqf9hZ

— NESN (@NESN) June 29, 2026

"I think it's just the emotional part of Venezuela that got to me, got the best out of me," Contreras said after Monday's game. "I wasn't feeling good the whole day, I was kind of down, sad and I hit a homer, of course. I tried to help my dugout, but the first thing that I said was it's for Venezuela. Of course, I'm helping the team to win, and it's good, but I think every homer from now on is going to be for the Red Sox and for Venezuela."

Contreras was able to have a special moment before being ejected for a lackluster reason

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This story was originally published June 30, 2026 at 9:29 AM.