The Brewers Aren't Trying to Hit (or Hurt) Willson Contreras. But Don't Try Telling Him That

[Tim Muma]

Image courtesy of © Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

It doesn’t matter what uniform Willson Contreras is wearing; you can guarantee he will be whining and screaming when he faces the Milwaukee Brewers.

Yes, the Milwaukee Brewers hit Willson Contreras with another pitch Monday night, and yet again, the older brother of the crew’s All-Star catcher immediately went into victim mode, putting on a show while heading to first base. Unable to show any amount of control, he later jumped into a slide at second base and tried to break up the double play with his spikes raised high. Bush league at its finest.

Brewers’ shortstop David Hamilton was grazed on the play and had the torn pants near his knee to prove it came from the Boston Red Sock, Contreras. But this time, his tired act went from fake tough guy antics to clearly crossing the line of “dirty.” Of course, he’s justified, right? I mean, he’s been hit so many times by the Brewers (24, to be exact).

As always, you need the full story to make logical conclusions.

Monday’s plunking was the 131st of his career, which ranks him 45th all time in MLB history. It is also the third-most in baseball since his debut in 2016. Thus, it’s quite obvious the Brewers aren’t the only ones brushing him back and occasionally nicking the right-handed hitter (although usually it is clanking off a piece of protective plastic). Contreras gets hit that often because he crashes in toward the plate, leaving less room for a pitch to miss inside and giving him little to no time to get out of the way. Not that he actually wants to do so, because he’s perfectly fine leaning into the pitch and taking his base.

It’s a part of his strategy to “force” pitchers to keep the ball middle-away so he can attack those pitches that are easier to handle and drive for power. If hurlers are worried about giving him a free base with an HBP - or that he might “come after them” - then maybe they’ll serve up more meatballs. And if he gets plunked, he can whine about it to further influence pitchers, while raising his OBP and not feeling much because of his body armor.

That intentional game plan and comfort of protection is where a majority of his career hit-by-pitches come from, but somehow the scary Brewers are the big bad culprits. But what do the numbers say?

He does have the most plate appearances against the Brewers in his career, so it makes perfect sense that he likely would have been hit by them the most times, too.

• 10.8% of his career plate appearances have come against Milwaukee

• 18.3% of his hit-by-pitches have come from the Brewers

There is a slightly higher percentage of HBPs compared to the percentage of plate appearances, but nothing crazy. The San Diego Padres have hit Contreras 11 times in his career - almost half the amount of HBPs as Milwaukee. But Contreras has 300 fewer plate appearances against the Padres, so does he beef with them?

The truth is, it’s not a “Brewers thing,” it’s a Contreras thing.

Christian Yelich was diplomatic but clear about the view from Milwaukee’s clubhouse: “We’ve seen that skit for the last 10 years. It’s nothing new.”

But what about Woodruff hitting Contreras six times now?” Let’s look at the Woodruff vs. Contreras career matchup.

The Red Sox first baseman is batting .150 with a .200 slugging percentage in 29 career plate appearances against the Brewers right-hander. Contreras’s bloop double to right field on Monday night was his first extra-base hit against Woody, and just his third knock overall. Contreras ought to be grateful Woodruff has pegged him six times, as it’s just about the only way he gets on base against him. So, why would the veteran hurler intentionally throw at him?

Furthermore, you have to look at plate appearances within their context. Four of the six HBPs by Woodruff are in spots you would not hit a guy, or when Contreras’s swing mechanics put him in position to get drilled.
 

2018: Contreras is hit by a 1-2 pitch, leaving his elbow in harm’s way before “turning away” after the ball hits his elbow guard.
 

2020: Contreras is hit by an 0-1 pitch in the second inning, tucking his elbow guard in to take the HBP instead of trying to get out of the way.
 

2021: With the Brewers winning 2-0 in the fourth inning, Contreras is in full swing mode as the pitch is tailing in toward him and (maybe) hits his hand instead of the bat.
 

2026: The Red Sox are ahead 1-0 with men on first and second with no outs (zero chance the Brewers want him on base). And take a look at the GameDay shot below: the pitch is obviously high, but it’s borderline on the inside corner, so again, his “diving hands” are most of the issue.

Contreras is a (fill in the blank) who thinks he is better and more important than he is, thus believing the Brewers are throwing at him. I’m sure they have tossed a few flesh seekers his way over the years, but Contreras has earned those as well, by doing things like standing in the first base line after recording an out, taking down Caleb Durbin for no reason last season.

Will Contreras do anything else if he gets hit Tuesday or Wednesday? Despite his threats, it’s probably unlikely, unless a Milwaukee hurler makes it obvious. Is there a part of many fans (and some players) that would love for Jacob Misiorowski to let a 100 MPH fastball slip armside and find Contreras’s ribs? Yeah, probably, and you can say the first-year Sox righty deserves it.

But at this point, the Brewers are better off playing to win, letting him show his true colors as a self-created victim and assuming they won’t see Contreras again this season, unless it’s in the World Series. Let Contreras be a one-man circus in Boston and leave it to the professionals from Milwaukee to take care of business as usual.

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[BrewerFan]

He's a clown. Glad William is nothing like him... at least outwardly.