Another Willson Contreras tantrum casts doubt over his looming Red Sox return

Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras just can't help himself. Even in a minor-league rehabilitation start — in which Contreras is hoping to take one step towards returning to the bigs — he took the focus off of his play and put it on antics that have little to do with actual baseball.

Contreras made an appearance for the Portland Sea Dogs — a game in which the Red Sox prefer he get as many at-bats as humanly possible — and purposely forfeited one of those chances when the umpire wouldn't allow him to go back to the dugout. Yes, I'm serious; this is one of the more odd exchanges I've ever seen, and I've been to a lot of minor-league baseball games.

Why did Willson Contreras forfeit a minor-league at bat?

It appears Contreras wanted to put more pine tar on his bat, which is why he was heading back to the dugout in the first place. For those not in the know, pine tar is a substance MLB hitters use to apply some stickiness to the bat, which they have to swing hard and fast to make contact with a baseball traveling in the upper-90's more often than not.

Contreras was already facing two strikes in the at-bat when he had the exchange with the MiLB umpire. The umpire wouldn't let Contreras go back to the dugout, so he essentially forfeited the at-bat, standing well outside the box while the pitcher threw a third strike.

In the end, the result of this game doesn't mean much to Contreras. Whether there were actual runners on, or the Sea Dogs were in a close affair, isn't important to one of the Red Sox best hitters when healthy. All Contreras needs is to register a certain number of rehab outings — and he had a couple of RBIs in the game prior — so that he can get back to Boston by the home stretch. He's imperative to their postseason hopes.

Willson Contreras needs to get his act together for the Red Sox sake

This isn't the first time Contreras has involved himself in an unnecessary exchange with an opposing team, player, or in this case umpire. It's that same fire the Red Sox and their fanbase love. It helped get Boston through a brutal start to the regular season, and even has a place in the dog days of summer. However, as we near October baseball that really matters, Contreras' little acts of petulance aren't going to make much of a difference. If anything, they'll distract from adjustments the Red Sox actually have to make when the lights are brightest.

Just take when Contreras started a benches-clearing incident against the Milwaukee Brewers early this season. The Brewers and then-starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff have hit Contreras more than any team (or player) over the course of his career. It's understandable why Contreras would be miffed, and his Red Sox teammates eventually came to his defense. They rallied around Willson at a time the team was struggling.

These dramatic moments can be valuable in the regular season, when there's a game every day and motivation can be lacking. In the postseason, it serves as a distraction and little else. If Contreras isn't contributing at the plate, or letting his emotions get the best of him to the point of sacrificing real at-bats, then he can't be counted on. Get it together, Willson.

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