Willson Eduardo Contreras (born May 13, 1992) is a Venezuelan

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher ...

for the St. Louis Cardinals of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

. Contreras made his MLB debut in 2016 and was a member of the 2016 World Series champions. Contreras was voted as a starter in the

MLB All-Star Game The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

in 2018, 2019, and 2022. He signed with the Cardinals as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

after the 2022 season.

Early life

Contreras was born on May 13, 1992, in

Puerto Cabello Puerto Cabello () is a city on the north coast of Venezuela. It is located in Carabobo State, about 210 km west of Caracas. As of 2011, the city had a population of around 182,400. The city is home to the largest and busiest port in the coun ...

, Venezuela, to Olga and William Contreras. He was the middle child of three, with an older brother, Willmer, and a younger brother,

William William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conq ...

. Willson and William would play baseball in the street as children by using a crumpled piece of paper as a ball. At the age of 16, Contreras began attending a baseball academy in Venezuela run by the

(MLB).

Career

Minors

Contreras signed with the Chicago Cubs as an international free agent in 2009. He made his professional debut with the Dominican Summer League Cubs that year. He batted .205 in 29 games at age 17. In 2010, he batted .313 in 17 games at age 18 with them. In 2011 and 2012 he played with the Boise Hawks. Contreras spent 2013 with the Kane County Cougars, 2014 with the Daytona Cubs, and 2015 with the Tennessee Smokies. He was named the Cubs Minor League Player of the Year in 2015 after batting .333/.413/.478 with eight

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

. During his minor league career, he played the positions of catcher, first base, second base, third base, left field, and right field. The Cubs added him to their 40-man roster after the season. Contreras was rated 57th on

Baseball Prospectus Baseball Prospectus (BP) is an organization that publishes a website, BaseballProspectus.com, devoted to the sabermetric analysis of baseball. BP has a staff of regular columnists and provides advanced statistics as well as player and team perf ...

' top 101 prospect list prior to the 2016 season.

Chicago Cubs (2016–2022)

2016–2017

The Cubs promoted Contreras to the major league team on June 17, 2016. On June 19, he hit a two-run home run on the first pitch of his first major-league at-bat after two pick-off attempts by

A. J. Schugel Andrew Jeffrey Schugel (born June 27, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association of Professional Baseball. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks ...

to first base, becoming the 30th player in the modern MLB era to do so. In his fifth game, he started at the first base position, and started in left field in his eighth game, establishing himself as a versatile player on the field. Contreras finished the 2016 regular season with 80 hits in 295 at-bats with 12 home runs, 35 RBIs and a .275 batting average. In Game 4 of the 2016 National League Division Series against the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

with the Cubs having a 2–1 series lead, Contreras had a pinch-hit two-run single in the top of the ninth inning, tying the score at five. Contreras was forced at second by a Jason Heyward bunt but the Cubs scored the go-ahead run later that inning, sending them to the

National League Championship Series The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two Nation ...

. The Cubs won the 2016 World Series over the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

, giving the Cubs their first championship in 108 years. Contreras drove in a run with a double in the seventh game. On April 2, 2017, Contreras was the Cubs' opening day starting catcher against the St. Louis Cardinals. After hitting five home runs in six games, he was selected as the National League's Player of the Week on August 8. On August 9, Contreras suffered a moderate hamstring strain while running to first base against the San Francisco Giants. At the time of the injury he was batting .274 with 93 hits in 339 at bats, hit 21 home runs and had 70 RBIs. Willson returned from the injury on September 10 as a pinch hitter. On September 15, 2017, Contreras was ejected and suspended one game for throwing his mask, which bounced and hit umpire Jordan Baker in the shins. In 377 at-bats, Contreras finished the season with a .276 batting average, 104 hits, 21 home runs, five stolen bases and 74 RBIs. On October 18, 2017, in Game Four of the NLCS, Contreras hit the longest postseason home run, at , since Statcast started recording such data in 2015.

2018–2022

Batting .287 with seven home runs and 34 RBIs, Contreras was voted to start in the 2018 All-Star Game, his first All-Star appearance. He finished his 2018 campaign batting .249 with ten home runs and 54 RBIs in 138 games. Contreras had a fast start to the 2019 season, batting .315 with an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.069 into mid-May. On May 11, he had his first career walk-off hit, a solo shot off the Milwaukee Brewers' Burch Smith, ending a 15-inning marathon. Contreras and teammate

Javier Baez Javier may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Javier, in video game '' Advance Wars: Dual Strike'' * Javier Rios, a character in the Monsters, Inc. franchise. * ''Javier'' (album), a 2003 album by the American singer Javier Colon, known a ...

were named starters for the National League in the 2019 All-Star game, but neither registered a hit. On August 3, Contreras strained his

hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrup ...

running to first base and was put on the 10-day injured list. He finished the 2019 season slashing .272/.355/.533 with 24 home runs and 64 RBIs over 105 games. In the shortened 60-game season in 2020, Contreras played in 57 games with a batting line of .243/.356/.407 to go along with seven home runs and 26 RBI. In 2021, Contreras slashed .237/.340/.438 with 21 home runs and 57 RBIs in 128 games. He also caught the first combined no-hitter in Cubs history against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brookly ...

on June 24. On May 16, 2022, Contreras hit a grand slam off of

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

starter

Bryse Wilson Bryse Everett Wilson (born December 20, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates. Wilson was drafted by ...

, with the blast marking his 100th career home run. In 2022, Contreras put up a slash of .243/.349/.466 alongside 55 RBIs and 22 home runs. He was selected to participate in the

2022 MLB All Star Game The 2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 92nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game, held between the American League (AL) and the National League (NL) of Major League Baseball (MLB). The game was hosted by the Los Angeles Dodgers ...

alongside his brother,

William Contreras William Jesus Contreras (born December 24, 1997) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Atlanta Braves. Contreras signed with the Braves orga ...

, becoming just the fifth pair of brothers to play in the same All Star Game in baseball history.

St. Louis Cardinals (2023–present)

On December 9, 2022, Contreras signed a five-year, $87.5 million contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. On May 6, 2023, the Cardinals announced that Contreras would begin to see less time at catcher and more time at

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

and in the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball a ...

. The decision was made at the request of the Cardinals' starting pitchers who attributed their poor performance to Contreras and told management that they no longer wanted to pitch to him. He returned to catching duties on May 15, when he was the starting catcher in a Jack Flaherty start against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

Personal life

Contreras's younger brother,

, is also a catcher in MLB. Contreras married Andrea Villamizar on May 3, 2018. Contreras is a supporter of the Venezuelan opposition and

Juan Guaidó Juan Gerardo Guaidó Márquez (born 28 July 1983) is a Venezuelan politician, a former member of the social-democratic Popular Will party, and federal deputy to the National Assembly representing the state of Vargas. On 23 January 2019, Guaid� ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Contreras, Willson 1992 births Living people Boise Hawks players Chicago Cubs players Daytona Cubs players Dominican Summer League Cubs players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Iowa Cubs players Kane County Cougars players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Mesa Solar Sox players National League All-Stars St. Louis Cardinals players Tennessee Smokies players Tigres de Aragua players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States People from Puerto Cabello Sportspeople from Carabobo