When catcher Willson Contreras signed with the Cardinals, he needed to find a way to be loved by the fanbase. It’s not often a star player defects to his rival team, but Contreas had the chance to earn $87.5 million from a team that was, at the time, more competitive.
It didn’t take long before he started talking badly about his former team, hoping to win Cardinals fans over.
“For me, I like this better,” Contreras said in early 2023. “It’s a better organization. Old school way, which I love it. … Ever since I got here it’s been everything just one way. The Cardinal way.”
Calling the Cardinals a better organization didn’t sit well with Cubs fans, especially after they had shown Contreras so much love during his time in Chicago. He very quickly went from friend to enemy to many, but time has a way of healing even the deepest wounds. Julian Guilarte of Our Esquina recently interviewed Contreras to discuss his future with Team Venezuela, and the conversation eventually turned to those comments about the Cubs organization.
“I really want to take back everything I said in 2023,” Contreras said. “I think I spoke from my emotions and not my maturity. We live and learn, and I love both teams.”
Despite a slow start as he adjusts to playing first base full-time, Contreras has posted a 120 OPS+ and 5.6 fWAR over parts of three seasons with the Cards. It’s nice to see him take back the comments about the Cubs organization, even if they were understandable given the disappointment surrounding his departure from Chicago. He may not have taken a route that made Cubs fans happy, but he wanted to make a good impression with his new team.
Now we just have to hope he doesn’t keep St. Louis fans happy by beating up on his former team.
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