MILWAUKEE – William Contreras and the Brewers are having way, way, way too much fun to worry about contracts.
The 28-year-old catcher became the fourth player to deliver a trio of game-tying or go-ahead hits in a postseason game with a relentless performance in the Brewers’ 7-4 win over the Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLCS on Monday. Thanks to Contreras, 15-up 15-down from four relievers and support from 42,516 fans at American Family Field who cheered every base hit like it was a walk-off home run, the Brewers have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series as it shifts to Dodger Stadium, where the atmosphere will be decidedly less supportive.
Before the Brewers hit the road, those fans saw something exceedingly rare from Contreras.
“Fourth guy ever?” said Brewers rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt. “That seems good.”
It is good. Contreras added his name alongside Sandy Alomar Jr. in Game 4 of the 1997 ALCS for Cleveland, Steve Garvey in Game 4 of the 1984 NLCS for the Padres and Hall of Famer George Brett in Game 3 of the 1978 ALCS for the Royals on a list of players who simply refused to lie down in October. He all but dug a pitch out of the dirt to hit a tying single in the first inning, tied the game again with a solo home run off the scoreboard in the fifth and then gave the Brewers the lead for good when he singled home another run in the sixth after the Dodgers dared to intentionally walk Brice Turang in front of him.
After the go-ahead hit, Contreras tossed his bat with what looked like a mixture of elation and disdain.
“That’s Wild Bill,” said Pratt. “He’s been playing unbelievable. Big knock after big knock. He’s a dog.”
Sometimes he looks borderline angry after one of those big knocks.
“He always seems angry,” Pratt said, laughing. “He’s just a competitor. He wants to win. He’s playing really, really, really well. He’s a dog.”
“He wants to be in that moment,” said Christian Yelich. “We love it as teammates. His fire rubs off on the team.”
“He’s pumped up, like anyone would be,” said Sal Frelick. “It’s like hitting a homer – in the playoffs, every run feels like that. Runs are so hard to come by, so hard to manufacture. He kept looking in the dugout before they even put up four [fingers to walk Turang]. He knew. He was ready for the moment. That’s our pitbull. That’s our guy.”
Contreras has been the Brewers’ guy since the three-team trade in December 2022 that brought him – reluctantly – to Milwaukee. He was two weeks shy of turning 25, already an All-Star, and he was so disappointed about leaving that he initially demanded his agent do something to send him back to Atlanta.
But since then, he’s found a home with the Brewers, playing at least 141 games in each of his four regular seasons and making two more All-Star appearances as the NL’s starting catcher. When then-Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy called his friend Walt Weiss for a scouting report, Murphy learned that “you’ve got to peel away the onion a little bit” to get past the “strong” stuff to find something good.
And the Brewers have found the good stuff.
“You watch him compete every night and you watch him go about [his] business. There's nobody that wants it any more,” Murphy said. “The first year he was here, he literally wanted to catch every game. Night, day, didn't care. Wanted to catch every day and was ticked if I ever DH'd him. He just wanted to be in there. This kid wants it. He doesn't believe in days off. He doesn't believe in being injured. He played one year with a broken hand. And he wants to excel.
“It's not enough for him to make the All-Star team. He wants to excel. He wants it all. He's driven to a point where sometimes you have to intervene.”
Little by little, Murphy and his coaches learned to navigate those moments. And Contreras has thrived.
He led Major League catchers in innings behind the plate this season, his third straight year with at least 1,000 innings at the position. He notched 89 of his 94 RBIs while playing catcher, breaking Hall of Famer Ted Simmons’ club record for RBIs while in the game at catcher.
“I think it's the confidence that Milwaukee instilled in me from day one whenever they acquired me,” Contreras said. “I think going out there and letting me play the game that I do and letting me play the way that I do, I think the only thing I really have to say is just very appreciative to the organization for what they've been able to do.
“I think I've been able to have the best years of my career here.”
And who knows how much longer it will be that way?
Is there a chance Contreras is playing his final weeks in a Brewers uniform? Sure. When winter finally comes, he will have one year of contractual control remaining. Any fan who followed Corbin Burnes, Devin Williams or Freddy Peralta knows that a team like the Brewers tends to trade a player like Contreras to keep the system flush with young talent, and the window to contend wide open.
Is there a chance he will stay? Sure. The last time the Brewers had a position player of this caliber in this position, they kept shortstop Willy Adames all the way to free agency. There’s nothing stopping them doing the same with their star catcher.
But that can wait. Contreras is busy trying to carry his adopted franchise to the World Series.
“We’re all focused on the moment right now and where we’re at as a team and the opportunity we have in front of us right now,” said Yelich. “We love to have him. He’s a huge part of this team. So, no, nobody has thought about that. Nobody has thought about next year, what’s going to happen. We have a lot going on in the present for us right now.”