Contreras Hits .381, Wins World Series MVP As Brewers Take Title 4-1
The Milwaukee catcher became the eighth catcher to earn the award after helping the Brewers close out Tampa Bay in five games.
By Aiko Brooks ·
Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras was named World Series Most Valuable Player on Wednesday after the Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 to win the series 4-1. Contreras hit .381 across the series, threw out four runners attempting to steal, and delivered an RBI double in the clinching win. He also went 10 for 13 on ball-strike replay challenges, the first World Series played with the automated challenge system in use.
Contreras, 28, led the major leagues during the regular season with 185 challenges and 105 overturned calls, going 22 for 33 with challenges in the postseason. He batted .270 with 18 home runs and a career-best 94 RBIs as Milwaukee captured its fourth straight National League Central title. He is a three-time All-Star.
The Brewers reached the World Series after beating San Diego in the divisional round, where Contreras hit .444 with two solo home runs, including a tiebreaking hit in the seventh inning of Game 1. He then hit .357 with a home run and three RBIs in the sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Championship Series.
In the World Series, Cooper Pratt set a rookie record with six straight hits and matched the rookie mark of seven RBIs held by Gil McDougald since 1951. Jackson Chourio collected 11 hits, the most by any player in a five-game World Series. Jacob Misiorowski went 2-0 and allowed one run in 10 2/3 innings, and Aaron Ashby threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings with a save and nine strikeouts.
Contreras is the eighth catcher to win the award, following Gene Tenace, Johnny Bench, Steve Yeager, Darrell Porter, Rick Dempsey, Pat Borders and Salvador Perez. He spoke after receiving the trophy. "Sitting here today, world champion, I feel I am the best catcher in the league," he said. Brewers manager Pat Murphy said of him, "I told him before the game: you will be the MVP of the World Series."
Contreras wrapped the Venezuelan flag over his shoulders after the game and embraced his older brother, Willson Contreras, a first baseman for the Boston Red Sox who won a World Series with the Chicago Cubs in 2016. William Contreras also played for Venezuela in its first World Baseball Classic title in March. He joined teammates Jackson Chourio and Antonio Senzatela as players to win the Classic and the World Series in the same year, alongside Alex Bregman and Luke Gregerson in 2017.
Contreras went 13 for 0 with no RBIs in that Classic. "It means everything because it is the first time the guys from Venezuela have won the Classic and the World Series," he said. "It is history, history for my country." Milwaukee's next scheduled activity is its offseason roster work following the championship.
