They call him Wild Bill. And without a doubt, he's been going wild this postseason, a driving force behind his Brewers sitting just one win away from the franchise's first World Series title.
Wild Bill -- aka William Contreras -- has elevated his above-average offense in the regular season to absolutely dominant in October. He’s carrying a 1.141 OPS with three home runs and eight RBIs.
He has also caught all 11 postseason games for the Brewers, expertly handling a pitching staff that has stifled opponents with a 2.02 ERA. And Contreras’ defense has been lights-out, especially in the World Series, as he’s caught the Rays stealing three times in seven attempts. That included two monumental cutdowns in Game 1 of the Fall Classic.
But there’s one more aspect in which Contreras has taken his game to the next level. In the debut season of the Automatic Ball-Strike Challenge System, Contreras seems to have mastered it.
He was MLB’s most frequent challenger in the regular season, tapping his head 185 times -- 49 more than second-place Tyler Stephenson. And despite his liberty, Contreras was still effective, ranking seventh in Runs Above Average (1.9) with a 57% overturn rate.
Contreras’ challenging philosophy has not changed at all in the postseason. In fact, he’s been even more aggressive.
In the regular season, Contreras challenged 38% of incorrectly called pitches when he still had a challenge available to him. In the postseason, that number is up to a whopping 63%.
His 29 total ABS challenges as a catcher are more than any other two postseason backstops combined. The Guardians’ Patrick Bailey and the Rays’ Liam Hicks have used the ABS system 28 total times -- 15 for Bailey and 13 for Hicks -- through Game 3 of the World Series.
And, of course, Contreras’ success rate is additionally up in the postseason, rising to 66%. That’s all been worth 0.8 Runs Above Average for Wild Bill during this incredible Milwaukee run.
“Whenever I want to challenge, I call it. I’m not afraid to lose my challenge,” Contreras said on MLB Network ahead of Game 3. “I trust my pitcher.”
Even during the regular season, Contreras added that there were times when he’d challenge a pitch, especially near the top of the strike zone, just to get an idea of the zone.
“I don’t care about the numbers after the end of the season,” he said. “But I like to know how the box is. It’s different with every hitter.”
No game this postseason has better shown Contreras’ meaning to this Brewers team than Game 1 of the World Series, when he not only threw out two would-be basestealers but also stole a pair of strikes via ABS -- both of which eventually turned into strikeouts. Oh, and he went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI at the plate.
“Contreras was incredible,” said manager Pat Murphy after the 3-2 win. “If anybody doesn't notice the contributions of Contreras, he was the player of the game.”
If the Brewers can close out their 3-games-to-none lead over the Rays and win this World Series, Contreras will have an argument to win series MVP, though Jackson Chourio, Aaron Ashby and a few others will be in contention, too.
At the very least, Contreras has been Milwaukee’s most-valuable position player throughout the postseason, leading the charge both offensively and defensively. That has represented a quantum leap for someone who was not seen as a particularly good defender when he was traded to the Brewers ahead of the 2023 season.
“He just always has such a good feel for the game,” said Game 3 starter Robert Gasser, who made history of his own with six scoreless innings. “He's a really special catcher.”