1,000-game threshold means the world to veteran Contreras

This story was excerpted from John Denton’s Cardinals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ST. LOUIS -- Willson Contreras signed with the Cubs at the raw age of 17, he was that organization’s Minor League Player of the Year at 23, and by 24 years old he was already a World Series champion.

While it’s been clear most of his teenage and adult life that Major League Baseball stardom was always his destiny, with his enormous power, uncanny athleticism and a white-hot intensity, Contreras’ path to the pros was still pot-holed with negative influences, haters and skeptics.

Now that he’s passed the 1,000 career MLB games and 500 RBIs -- moments that awed him when he passed them last week -- Contreras has been contemplative about his journey, and maybe more appreciative than most would expect of his 10-year MLB career. While his talent might have always suggested a long and successful career at the big league level, he said that simply getting here -- and then sticking around long enough to have 1,000 games under his belt -- has been far more difficult than most would imagine.

“I mean, everybody has a different story, but mine is that when I was in the Minor Leagues, I had to surpass a lot of obstacles just to get to the big leagues, so that makes this even more special,” said Contreras, who drove in the winning run last Thursday against the Royals in his 1,000th game. “If you had told me I’d do this, I would have doubted you. But I also would have told you that I would do whatever it takes to get there and I'm glad I’m still in the big leagues.

“Playing 1,000 games is a lot of games, but coming out of Venezuela, and coming from where I did, I'm pretty sure my mom and dad are proud of me. My whole family supports me every day, so to still be playing means so much to me.”

In some ways, Contreras, 33, feels like he is just getting started, shifting from catching to now being a first baseman. The Cardinals moved him there in hopes of keeping him healthy and keeping his prodigious bat in the lineup. How he attacked the position change impressed the Cardinals, who were already immensely fond of him because of his competitiveness. Despite his relative newness at the position, Contreras is tied for third among MLB first basemen in Outs Above Average (4). To put that into perspective, former Cards Gold Glover Paul Goldschmidt is tied for 15th in OAA with the Yankees.

“The guy is going to work extremely hard at anything he does and when we first spoke about making the move, he said, ‘I want to be one of the best at it; I want to win a Gold Glove,’” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol recalled. “He’s been great, and it’s been fun to watch. It’s a credit to the work he’s put in.”

Contreras, a native of Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, learned the value of work early on from father, William and mother, Olga, who were hard on him and worked to give their three sons -- Wilmer, Willson and Brewers catcher William -- a life beyond the mean streets of the neighborhood where he used to play baseball with broomsticks and crumpled paper.

“I mean, I always wanted to play ball, and I think my mom and dad did a great job of keeping me in line because it would have been easy to go sideways,” Contreras said. “I'm proud of where I’m from. I had to do so much just to get signed by the Cubs. Reflecting on it, it makes me proud, but also emotional because this is everything I always wanted.”

More potential stumbling blocks came when Contreras played for a Minor League manager who he felt intentionally held him back because of his Venezuelan background and his initial struggles speaking English -- factors he thinks that delayed his rise to MLB. And once he got to the bigs, many doubted that he would ever last long as a catcher or become much of a leader because of his fiery persona.

All those things make his place in the game now -- a three-time All-Star and a franchise fixture on the Cardinals as their leader in RBIs -- even more special, he said.

“I dealt with a lot of racism in the Minor Leagues, and going through that, it was tough mentally,” he said. “When I felt bad, I’d call my mom and dad, and they supported me day in and day out. I didn’t ever want to be down like that again and I didn’t want to ever go back to the Minor Leagues. Getting to the big leagues was always my goal, and I’m so proud that I’ve been able to fulfill my dreams in every way.”