http://www.todaysknuckleball.com/nl/chicago-cubs/cubs-rookie-contreras-ready-put-show/
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Russell Lansford/Icon Sportswire
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Tommy Stokke
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</section><!--social-sharing-top-->In less than 48 hours, an entire country of sports fans will turn their attention to the Chicago Cubs. They’re either rooting for a team that hasn’t experienced the ultimate celebration in more than 100 well-documented years, or against the team that’s become the model for rebuilding, turning 100 losses into 100 wins in four years. Wrigley Field will be one Cubs home run away from reaching Daytona 500 decibels or one visiting team single away from an empty cemetery.
“Check back if the other team scores the first run or gets the first base runner,” Theo Epstein
told reporters on Tuesday when he was told that it seems like fans have less angst this year heading into the playoffs.
Who should be more nervous than the 24-year-old rookie catcher who just started playing the position three years ago? But if Willson Contreras gets nervous, he sure doesn’t show it.
Yes, the playoffs are a different atmosphere, but the game is the same and Contreras is treating it as such. He’s not worried. Neither are the Cubs.
“I don’t think there’s any concern at all,” Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer told Today’s Knuckleball in regards to Contreras catching a playoff game. “A lot of the things he does exceptionally well. He’s a great blocker, a great thrower. Obviously you’ve got two really good veteran framers and receivers he’s always getting compared to on his own team, but he does so many other things exceptionally well. Obviously with the bat he’s a threat all the time. There’s no concern at all. I’m glad that we have some difficult choices there. If we didn’t have difficult choices behind the plate we’d be pretty concerned.”
When Hoyer first saw Contreras in 2012, the tools and enthusiasm were obvious. Arm strength, footwork, hand-eye coordination, it was all there. The move from third base to catcher was more calculated than luck, a move Contreras called the best decision of his life.
“Once the Cubs wanted me to learn how to catch, I put my whole focus on it,” Contreras told Today’s Knuckleball. “There are a lot of hours of hard work, drills, talking about game calling, learning how to read scouting reports, a bunch of different stuff that I’ve had to adjust. Looking back from the beginning, it’s just a great feeling. I’m so proud of myself and thankful for the Cubs having confidence in me.”
That confidence was shown when the team promoted him in June, an aggressive move for a team with two capable catchers in Miguel Montero and David Ross. But for all the talk around Kris Bryant and service time, the Cubs have been aggressive in promoting their prized prospects, whether it was Addison Russell and Kyle Schwarber last season or Contreras and outfielder Albert Almora this season.
“The biggest thing with a catcher is there’s a little extra development, if you will, that a catcher requires that isn’t necessarily required at other positions,” Hoyer explained. “We didn’t know when we brought him up if this was going to be a short-term thing or not. He quickly proved he belonged both with the bat and behind the plate. Pretty much like Addison, you gave him a chance to come up because we were in a pinch, and once he did he proved he belonged here.”
August 21 2016: Chicago Cubs Catcher, Willson Contreras (40) during a regular season Major League Baseball game between the Colorado Rockies and the visiting Chicago Cubs at Coors Field in Denver, CO. (Photo by Russell Lansford/Icon Sportswire)
Contreras hit 12 home runs with a .282 batting average and .357 on-base percentage three years after hitting .248 in Single-A and two years after hitting .242 in High-A. He burst onto the prospect scene in 2015 in Double-A Tennessee, hitting .333 with a .412 OBP. Hoyer said it would’ve been easy for him to advance to Triple-A and stall a little bit after a breakout season, but he kept getting better with a triple-slash at Triple-A Iowa of .353/.442/.597.
It was never a matter of ‘if’ with Contreras, but ‘when’.
With such a commanding lead in the division the Cubs were able to go through growing pains on the fly with Contreras behind the plate, which he admits were certainly there.
“At first everything was too fast for me,” he said. “But now I can take my time to think about what we are going to do against hitters. I know how (the pitchers) like to work and how fast or slow they like to work. Everything is about adjusting to them, but we got along very well during the second half of the season. I have to give credit to every single one of them. They have good stuff and they know what they want to do.”
The Cubs haven’t revealed their plans for Contreras in the postseason, and Contreras said he’s prepared for anything. But it’ll be hard to keep him out of the lineup. The impact of his bat has been felt since the first pitch he saw landed in the bleachers in center field, resulting in a fist-pumping, chest-pounding trip around the bases in front of 40,000 people.
Behind the plate, even if he’s not the receiver David Ross and Miguel Montero are at this point, there’s no questioning his arm — one that’s thrown out Dee Gordon at second and picked off Stephen Piscotty at first from his knees. He’s the best athlete they can put back there, quick enough to both block and pop and throw.
Maybe equally important is the exuberant presence, or “unbridled enthusiasm” as Hoyer calls it. The bigger the moment, the more fun Contreras has, and he’s the perfect complement to the rest of the clubhouse that has a mix of World Series-winning veterans like Ross, Ben Zobrist, Jon Lester and John Lackey, young superstars like Bryant and Anthony Rizzo and role players.
(Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire)
For the most part, everyone’s been here before, except Contreras. Some have approached him with positive comments about his attitude. Privately, others laud his energy as a reason for complacency not setting in when the division was essentially locked up before Contreras even arrived.
Don’t let his wide eyes fool you. As happy as he is to just be here, he knows he belongs. Credit Montero for taking it well when Contreras told him he was coming for his job. But credit Contreras for proving it.
“I always had that confidence in myself,” Contreras said. “I’ve been working hard and grinding for six years in the minor leagues. Now I’m in the big leagues and still have the same confidence — even more.
“It’s just a fun game where the catcher has to be focused and do the best to make the pitcher feel comfortable. I trust in myself and I know how much I can do to help my team win.”
The attitude comes from the right place with the right intentions, which makes a difference.
“There’s nothing in his game that’s selfish at all,” Hoyer said. “It’s all about winning. It’s always team first. With that, there’s nothing wrong with what he’s doing and I’m glad our players look at it that way.”
Hoyer says the questions around a rookie catcher are fair to ask, but there’s no concern about him catching or about the moment being too big. He points out how Contreras has performed all year, in good environments and in tough, late-game situations.
“He’s made mound visits at the right time with a veteran pitcher. It’s really important to see he’s got that kind of awareness,” Hoyer adds.
The moment — the Cubs playing playoff games — swallows up the best of them. But don’t tell Contreras that October baseball is different, even under the brightest of lights that’ll shine on the Cubs.
“Pressure?” Contreras asks. “I don’t put pressure on myself. It’s baseball; it’s a game. We just have to go out there and keep doing what we’ve been doing the whole season. Now is time to keep having fun and put on a show.”
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