Column: 10 years later, former Chicago Cubs star Willson Contreras still loves being in the fight

It seems like just yesterday that Willson Contreras was beginning his career with the Chicago Cubs, with a pinch-hit home run on the first pitch of his first at-bat in a 10-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field.

That was over 10 years ago, on June 19, 2016, during a season that would go down in Chicago history, and one that will be celebrated again next week at Wrigley when the World Series champs are feted with a gate honoring them at Gallagher Way.

Contreras was 24 at the time and made the long, hard ride to the majors through the Cubs system to join Miguel Montero and David Ross on the roster. One of his minor-league managers bluntly told Contreras he was lying to himself and he would not make it to the majors, urging him to give it up.

But Contreras ignored him and the rest of his doubters, becoming a vital player on that championship team and eventually turning into a four-time All-Star. He’s currently enjoying one of his best seasons with the Boston Red Sox, who began a three-game series with the White Sox on Tuesday night on the South Side.

Contreras entered the series hitting .284 with 20 home runs, 59 RBI and a .920 OPS, ranking among the American League leaders in all categories. This is the guy who seemed to go through a hundred goodbyes with the Cubs, who never found the right trading partner and wound up letting him leave via free agency after the 2022 season to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Before Tuesday’s game, Contreras learned that he was named as a replacement for the American League All-Star team, taking the spot of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who opted out. Next week he’ll join his younger brother, Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras, in Philadelphia.

“As a kid you have a dream for sure,” he said before Tuesday’s game. “We all have dreams, and Willie and I will dream big. You’ll see. But you know what, it’s a long way from the dreaming and then working hard and making it happen.

“I’m glad I’m his older brother and he saw how hard I worked growing up and how much I care about baseball. It feels good to still be living the dream after 10 years in the big leagues, and being there with my brother. It means a lot to our family.”

Contreras also will be joined in Philly by Kyle Schwarber, another member of the '16 team who was let go in his prime and continues to make the Cubs pay for their mistake.

Contreras missed the original '16 reunion in January when he was in Venezuela, and won’t make the upcoming reunion because he’ll be busy playing with the Red Sox. He also hasn’t been able to schedule his interview with David Ross and Anthony Rizzo on their “Lovable Reunion” podcast, but said he’d do it this offseason when his head is clear.

“I feel like that podcast is special, and there are a lot of things to recall,” he said. “I want to take my time.”

When he was young, Contreras was considered over-emotional and out of control. Maybe some still think of him like that, though he’s much more relaxed. He became one of the leaders on the Cubs in '22 after many of the veterans were sold off at the '21 trade deadline to kick off the rebuild that couldn’t be called a rebuild.

"He's realized where to pick his spots," then-Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks told the Tribune in April 2022. "Willson has grown into himself in the way that he's just confident and comfortable in who he is as a player and a person. He's settled into himself. He knows when is the right time to say something and when is not just based on experience."

Contreras has always been an outspoken player in Chicago, St. Louis and Boston, and sometimes his honesty has gotten him into hot water.

He’s also been in the middle of many incidents, and was suspended for seven games last week for a bench-clearing scene after Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli struck him out and yelled: “Sit down, boy!” That came on the heels of another bench-clearing incident against the New York Yankees with Contreras at the plate, and after Contreras had an emotional reaction to the Venezuelan earthquakes, shedding tears in the dugout after a home run.

Contreras played Tuesday while his case is on appeal. Cavalli’s seven-game suspension was reduced to five games after his own appeal, which bodes well for Contreras.

Cavalli said he regretted his actions and the remark that could be construed as racist, and told reporters he would apologize personally to Contreras. That had not happened as of Tuesday afternoon.

“Not yet, but I’m open to it,” Contreras said. “I’m open to having a meeting with him, for sure. I don’t hold grudges against people. I’m at fault as well. That’s why I apologized. That’s what makes human beings human. You make mistakes, and if you recognize you’re at fault, you apologize.”

While he would be a valuable trade piece if the underachieving Red Sox wave the white flag next month, Contreras said he loves playing in Boston and hopes they add instead of subtract.

“This is a special place to be,” he said. “I know the Red Sox are not playing the way they were expected, and that fans expect. And I respect that. But it’s a blessing to be playing here.”

A bat flip, a shout of ‘Venezuela' and tears for home as Boston Red Sox’s Willson Contreras plays on

Contreras was in a good mood before Tuesday’s game after learning of the All-Star news and coming back to Chicago. He hasn’t changed much, no matter how many times he’s been hit or been in a brouhaha. (He has been hit by 143 career pitches going into Tuesday, not that anyone is counting.)

We saw Willson get into a few incidents in his Cubs days, mostly with the Brewers after being hit by a wayward pitch. Perhaps his most epic bat flip came here at empty Rate Field after hitting a home run off Dylan Cease during the 2020 pandemic season. Former Sox pitching coach Don Cooper allegedly ordered reliever Jimmy Cordero to hit Contreras for the bat flip, which led to ejections for Cordero, Cooper and manager Rick Renteria.

"I'm going to keep playing the way I play and play hard for my team," an unapologetic Contreras said afterward. “If they don't like me, that's fine. I don't play for other teams. If I have to do it again, I'll do it again."

Radio reporter Bruce Levine asked Contreras on Tuesday whether his contract is structured so that he gets paid by the fight.

“I wish,” he said with a laugh.

Ten years after his debut, Willson being Willson is a story that never gets old.

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This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 8:05 PM.