BOSTON — It transcends jersey color, roster construction, what year it is and whoever happens to be on the mound: When Willson Contreras plays the Milwaukee Brewers, he is going to get mad.
The latest chapter in a decades-long inevitability between player and opponent occurred April 6 at Fenway Park. Contreras, now with the Boston Red Sox, was wearing different colors from each of the previous, interdivisional spats with Milwaukee, but it looked the same as each of the prior phases.
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A Brewers pitcher hit Contreras, and he did not appreciate it.
The fireworks in Fenway occurred in the third inning when a sinker from Brandon Woodruff grazed the top of Contreras’ hand – though the visiting side, including Willson’s younger brother and Brewers catcher William Contreras, thought otherwise. The pitch was up but hardly in, just off the plate to the inside by a couple of inches.
The Red Sox first baseman immediately slammed his bat in frustration and began taking steps toward the mound before redirecting his path to first base. All the while, he harped toward Woodruff.
“That’s how he plays,” said William Contreras.
This was not just a one-off; there is history there. Plenty of it.
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It was the 24th time Contreras had been hit by the Brewers in 121 games and the sixth time that Woodruff had hit him, both facts that were quickly brought up after the Brewers’ 8-6 win.
Contreras, 33, has long viewed it as purposeful by the Brewers, dating back to even the days of Craig Counsell as manager when Milwaukee and the Chicago Cubs played dozens of fierce games over the years.
“It’s not just the hit by pitch, it’s the 24th pitch they’ve hit me in my career,” Contreras said. “Twenty-fourth. That’s the sixth time [Woodruff] has hit me and they always say, ‘I’m not trying to hit you.’ That gets old.”
On the other side, the Brewers insist they aren’t trying to hit Contreras, but rather it’s a byproduct of playing so often over the years and his proclivity to lean over the plate. Contreras, after all, is plunk-prone. He ranks second among active players in hit by pitches.
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To relitigate all the hit-by-pitches (and, in most cases, ensuing dust-ups) would be a task too arduous for this space, but there are many. They date back to his tenure with the Cubs, which began in 2016, and up until this night in Boston the most recent dustup was last June.
There has been strife over more than just being hit by pitch, too. Last year, Rhys Hoskins got into it with Contreras over what the Brewers perceived to be a dirty play at first base involving now-Sox teammate Caleb Durbin. Some in the Brewers clubhouse also quietly stewed about Contreras stepping out of the box and onto home plate as Jacob Misiorowski delivered a pitch to try and throw him off during his MLB debut.
Safe to say the Brewers are over it.
“We’ve seen that skit for the last 10 years,” Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich said. “It’s nothing new.”
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Contreras, though, is not.
“Next time they hit me again, I’m going to take one of them out,” he said. “That’s the message.”
The ordeal puts the younger Contreras in a difficult spot, effectively having to choose between his brother and his team whenever the sides play. But William is also leaving no questions to where his allegiances lie when the dust flies up during play.
“He’s my brother – after we leave the stadium,” he said.
William attempted to calm Willson down once again after the Woodruff hit by pitch, but to no avail.
“I tried, but it’s impossible,” little brother said.
Willson continued barking toward the mound after getting to first, only ceasing because he had to run two pitches later to second base, where he went in with cleats high and took a chunk of shortstop David Hamilton’s pant legs with him.
“We’ve been through this – it’s, what, nine years for me? – It seems like every year,” Woodruff said. “He’s trying to play a game and he’s trying to get his side fired up. Once I knew what was going on, I wasn’t going to let it affect me on the mound. I knew I had a job to do. I knew the pitch count was still down, even though I had given up a few runs. And I knew the bullpen was short. So I knew I needed to go out there and just keep competing.”
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A riled-up Contreras kept burning the Brewers with his bat as the game went on, getting a hit in each of his next three at-bats, including a mammoth solo homer in the ninth.
The Brewers, though, got the final word in the series opener.
“That was a great win,” Yelich said. “It was a ‘toughness’ win from the guys. Got down early, it was cold out there, we got a short bullpen and we found a way to win. We’re willing to grind with anybody. Just really proud of the guys for stepping up and finding a way there, just willing it.”
Now, we wait and see what’s next.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Red Sox’s Willson Contreras has threat for unimpressed Brewers
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