Venezuelan catcher William Contreras wins World Series MVP after leading Brewers to title

William Contreras was named the Most Valuable Player of the World Series on Wednesday, the day the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 to win the championship.

The 28-year-old catcher became the eighth player at his position to receive the award. He is also the second Venezuelan to win the honor, following Salvador Pérez in 2015. Contreras joined Gene Tenace, Johnny Bench, Steve Yeager, Darrell Porter, Rick Dempsey, and Pat Borders in the list of recipients for the position.

Contreras batted .381 in the series. He threw out four base runners and won 10 of 13 appeals using the automated ball-strike system. He hit a two-run double in the decisive fifth game, which was played in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Manager Pat Murphy described the catcher as a pit bull. “No te acercas simplemente y lo acaricias . Hay una posibilidad de que te muerda,” Murphy said. The manager also noted that Contreras was disappointed his statistics were not higher and that he did not win the Gold Glove.

Contreras is one of only four players in history to win the World Baseball Classic and the World Series in the same year. He was part of the Venezuelan team that won the World Baseball Classic in March. He shares this distinction with Alex Bregman and Luke Gregerson from 2017. His teammates Jackson Chourio and Antonio Senzatela also achieved the same feat this year.

During the regular season, Contreras led Major League Baseball with 185 challenges and 105 reversals. He batted .270 with 18 home runs and 94 runs batted in. The Brewers won their fourth consecutive National League Central Division title.

Other Milwaukee players had strong performances in the postseason. Cooper Pratt set a World Series rookie record with six consecutive hits and tied a 1951 record with seven runs batted in. Jackson Chourio recorded 11 hits, the most by any player in a five-game World Series. Jacob Misiorowski went 2-0 with one run allowed in 10 two-thirds innings. Aaron Ashby threw 5 two-thirds scoreless innings with a save and nine strikeouts.

After receiving the award, Contreras hugged his older brother Willson, a first baseman for the Boston Red Sox. Willson Contreras won the World Series with the Chicago Cubs in 2016. William Contreras said his brother is his role model and the person he asks for advice. He stated that winning both major titles in the same year is a historic moment for Venezuela.