Contreras orchestrates heel turn as Cubs lose to St. Louis
Willson Contreras had been pondering what his reception would be when he steps into Wrigley Field wearing a St. Louis Cardinals uniform.
"I'm a little nervous," he said before Monday's game. "I don't know what I'm going to get."
Contreras predicted a 50-50 mix of cheers and boos, but it was all positive during a pregame video tribute, followed by a standing ovation when he walked to the plate for the first time in the second inning.
Too many cheers for Contreras' liking, apparently. This is Cubs vs. Cardinals, after all. No room for mixed feelings.
So after sending a single up the middle off Marcus Stroman, the former Cubs catcher raised one arm and signaled fans to bring it on. Then he stood on first base and used both hands to motion like a pro wrestler, "Let's hear it."
Contreras repeated the process when he smashed an RBI double off the center field wall in the sixth inning, putting St. Louis ahead for good in a 3-1 victory. Maybe next game he'll pull a wrestling mask out of his pocket to complete a full heel turn.
"They were a couple people booing and I love it," Contreras said after the game. "I think when you get booed, you're doing something right and that was kind of an extra push I got there. My teammates responded to it.
"It was fun to be back at Wrigley Field and play and I enjoyed every second. Yes, I play with an edge. Sometimes too much, which is fine. It's something that's in my blood and won't go away."
Contreras added another RBI in the eighth on a fielder's choice. That play might have been an inning-ending double play, though, if Patrick Wisdom hadn't thought about throwing home before trying to turn two. Contreras also had a 117-mph ground out, with Dansby Swanson making a great play.
Nico Hoerner left the game in the fifth inning with left hamstring tightness. He slowed up between second and third on Swanson's RBI double and was replaced by Nick Madrigal. A trip to the injured list seems probable.
And the Cubs wasted another strong pitching performance. They fell to 10-8 when getting a quality start this season. Stroman's record dropped to 2-3, despite a stellar 2.28 ERA.
Contreras downplayed the weekend controversy, when St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol announced Contreras would be removed from catching duties until further notice. It seemed like Contreras was getting blamed for the Cardinals' 10-24 start, or at least his pitch-calling abilities were being criticized.
"They're not saying that," Contreras said. "I haven't heard one person telling me I won't be behind the plate, or, 'We don't want you catching anymore.' We're going to keep communicating. We're setting ourselves up for the future and for the next five years."
Contreras referenced a Sunday meeting between himself, pitchers Adam Wainwright and Jack Flaherty, along with Marmol. Wainwright explained what it was all about.
"I don't want this to get over-compounded in the media without everyone knowing all the information," Wainwright said. "What we did was we sat him down and just poured into him: We love this guy, we're glad he's here, we want him to be our guy. No one's giving up on Willy.
"That was the main message that we wanted to share with him. I think he took it well. Honestly, I don't know if anyone's ever told him that. He's appreciated, we love him, we're glad he's here, we're glad he's part of our team. I think he's going to be a huge force for us going forward."
Whatever Contreras needs to do to complete the Cardinals' school of catcher preparedness, he seemed to be OK with the process.
"I always do my homework," he said. "I do my preparation and I communicate what I see. I don't think it's that. I think it's more than that. It's hard for me to explain right now.
"I can't wait to be behind the plate, to be honest. That's what my passion is about. Right now, just focus on getting better, do whatever I need to come back on the field, especially behind the plate."
Contreras said he knew replacing Yadier Molina, the Cardinals' starting catcher for 19 seasons, would be challenging, but he loves a challenge.
"Don't get me wrong, Yadi's the greatest catcher to ever live, in my opinion," Wainwright said. "But does he make us go from 10 over (.500) to 14 under? That's on us.
"It's a pitcher's sole responsibility to execute pitches. No catcher in the history of the game has thrown the pitch and caught it too."
Regarding his departure from the Cubs, Contreras said he had no hard feelings, understood it was time to part ways. He said current Cubs catcher Yan Gomes is one of the best teammates he's ever had and he called to congratulate Miguel Amaya on his big-league debut last week. Newly-promoted Christopher Morel jumped into Contreras' arms before the game.
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