This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin’s White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Joseph Contreras remembers his early days in baseball, although at the present age of 17, they weren’t that long ago.
“I’m just really happy that I kept up from a young age because sometimes I’ll be honest: I didn’t understand it at all at the beginning,” Contreras told MLB.com during a recent phone interview from his home near Atlanta. “Why do I have to work so hard or do this?
“My dad always told me this isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. At that age, I was the smallest, skinniest kid on the field and I wasn’t really having much success. I was like, ‘What’s the point of working hard if it’s not going to happen?’ He always instilled the discipline in me to keep going.”
Contreras kept going to become a highly touted pitching prospect working toward a second straight state championship with Blessed Trinity High School in Roswell, Georgia. He stands at 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, is committed to Vanderbilt University and has Scott Boras as his advisor.
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But his selection to pitch for Brazil in the upcoming World Baseball Classic is of greatest current importance. It’s one of the few baseball competitions where José Contreras, Joseph’s father and accomplished 11-year MLB veteran, never had the chance to participate.
“There were two events I really wish I could have played in: the World Baseball Classic and the Caribbean World Series,” José told MLB.com in the same phone interview. “But I remember when Joseph was a kid, he was always saying, ‘Don’t worry, Dad. Whatever you leave off, I’m going to pick it up.’ It’s just incredible the opportunity he’s getting.”
“Just being able to play against the best of the best and the high stakes to get all the bragging rights, that’s pretty insane,” Joseph added.
White Sox fans fondly remember José, one of the true good guys in the game, as the Game 1 starter in the 2005 ALDS, ALCS and World Series. He also hurled the ALCS-clinching complete game against the Angels, sending the White Sox to the Fall Classic.
There were Major League appearances with the Yankees, where he started after coming from Cuba, the Phillies, the Rockies and Pirates. He pitched nine elite seasons for Pinar del Rio in Cuba, finished pitching in Mexico, and at 54, could still take the mound and go after hitters.
Maybe even in the World Baseball Classic?
“If they need me, I tell them I’m always ready,” said José with a laugh. “My wife and Joseph would go to the field to watch me play, and now it’s the opposite. My wife and I go to watch Joseph play.”
Emotions were high for José when Joseph pitched in the ’24 Double Duty Classic at Rate Field, watching his son take the same mound where he made 75 appearances, 73 as a starter. Those emotions will run just as high when Joseph pitches during Pool B competition in Houston for Brazil, where Joseph’s mom, Isabel, was born and lived until she was 15.
When he was first part of Brazil’s preliminary roster, Joseph wanted to see how his first few bullpens and live bullpens went before committing. If he wasn’t ready, he wasn’t ready, but he feels good.
His focus is homed in on helping Brazil, even within the excitement of his senior year and a pro career not too far off in the distance. And he’ll be doing so as the youngest athlete in the WBC.
“It means a lot. I didn’t think I would have such a special title,” Joseph said. “I thought I would be another guy going. I just want to use that to my advantage and be out there and attack to the best of my ability. I might be the youngest, but I don’t want to seem like the youngest on the field. I want to seem like a veteran playing the game.”
“What will I feel? I’m just really proud of him for everything he’s done,” said José, when asked if he would tear up again watching Joseph pitch. “I’m proud of not only the pitcher but the young man that he’s become. I’m going to start preparing right now because I don’t want to cry in front of everyone.”