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LOS ANGELES — Willson and William Contreras have lived the sort of baseball careers that dreams are made of. Both play the prestigious position of catcher for storied franchises. Both won World Series titles during their rookie seasons. And both will start for the National League at Tuesday’s All-Star Game.
At the beginning of this season, though, not even Willson and William Contreras figured they could become the first brothers since Aaron and Bret Boone in 2003 to earn invitations to the Midsummer Classic, let alone bat back-to-back in the National League’s starting lineup. Not this year, anyway.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports
When their two teams, the elder Willson’s Cubs and the younger William’s Braves, played against each other for the first time this season in April, much of their extended family flew in from their native Venezuela. Back then, it appeared possible it may be the only series they’d both appear in together for all of 2022, if not longer, given Willson’s looming free agency and William’s then-precarious grip on a major-league roster spot. The pair were given the pregame honor of exchanging lineup cards during the first game of the series.
“When we exchanged lineup cards, we just thought of it as like, [a celebration of] ‘We made it to the big leagues,’” Willson said. “We saw ourselves in the All-Star Game. But we didn't think that was going to happen this year.”
For Willson, 30, perhaps the fact he was elected by fans as the NL’s starting catcher came as little surprise. He’d already earned two career All-Star Game appearances and was coming off his best season in terms of Baseball Reference’s WAR. This year, Willson again is one of the top catchers in the major leagues, hitting .253/.366/.455 with 13 home runs and 2.7 bWAR.
For 24-year-old William, however, ending up as the NL’s starting DH qualifies as a shocker—even if his preference to win a Silver Slugger over a Gold Glove, putting him at odds with his brother, makes their respective assignments for Tuesday night somewhat fitting. Because as recently as a few months ago it was no sure thing he’d even be in the big leagues come July.
A few days after going 0-for-4 during his season debut in the third game of the season against the Reds, William was optioned to Triple A. He wasn’t called up again until a couple of weeks later, when backup catcher Manny Piña was placed on the injured list with wrist inflammation. The former Brewers backstop had signed with Atlanta over the offseason for two years and $8 million. At the top of the catcher depth chart was Travis d’Arnaud—another 2022 All-Star, making William’s All-Star bid even more improbable—who last August was signed through ’23 at double Piña’s salary. Those two moves put Contreras’s future, at least with Atlanta, in jeopardy.
Those doubts soon dissipated. In his first game back in the bigs, on April 29 vs. the Rangers, Contreras smacked two home runs. Over his next 11 games, he hit five more homers—for a total of seven—becoming the only major leaguer this season to hit more than six dingers in his first 13 games. By that time, Piña had been ruled out for the season. Across 46 games this season, Contreras is slashing .260/.345/.532 with 11 home runs, which equals his season high at all professional levels and is three more than 2022 Home Run Derby participant and teammate Ronald Acuña Jr., in nearly 100 fewer plate appearances. He leads all 39 catchers with at least 170 plate appearances in slugging percentage, and his 142 wRC+ ranks second behind only Alejandro Kirk of the Blue Jays in that same group. His prowess at the plate made him a regular fixture in Atlanta’s lineup despite d’Arnaud’s dueling success. It eventually ended up pushing him into the National League’s lineup, too.
William, who finished second in the All-Star fan voting to Phillies DH Bryce Harper, was elected as to the NL roster by his fellow players. By that point, Harper had already been ruled out for the All-Star Game due to a fractured thumb, making William the starter.
Some fans have questioned William’s All-Star selection, and it’s true that his season has not been without its blemishes. Contreras has been utterly flummoxed by breaking balls, batting just .105 with zero homers and 22 strikeouts in 62 plate appearances against them. Also, William has started more games at catcher (29) than he has at DH (12), and there are a few catchers who could have a better All-Star case than him at that position. Among catchers with at least 170 plate appearances, his 1.5 bWAR ranks 10th in MLB and sixth in the National League, behind several non-All-Stars, including Will Smith of the Dodgers (3.0), who was one of this year’s most egregious snubs. Still, it was behind the support of his peers that William earned the All-Star nod.
“Willson was confident I would make it through,” William said through a translator. “When I made it, Willson called and said, ‘I told you you’d make it. Now, you’ll come with me to L.A.’”
The Boone brothers played in different leagues when they were All-Stars together in 2003, and neither of them started the game. So, the Contrerases are the first brothers to play for the same All-Star team since Roberto and Sandy Alomar Jr. in 1998. Willson and William are also the first brothers to start the All-Star Game together since the Alomars did it 30 years ago.
Willson has always been a pillar of support for his brother, even if he didn’t have him pegged as a future major leaguer from childhood.
“I always saw my brother playing in the Little League and I couldn’t tell if he was going to be in the big leagues. But once he grew up, and I saw him playing again, I knew that he had something special,” Willson said. “He became a pro ballplayer with the Braves in 2015. And then I saw him in his third season [with them]. … Then, I knew that he had everything to become a major league ballplayer.”
When they were kids, the two brothers did everything they possibly could to realize their dreams of playing in the big leagues, even if it meant defying their parents.
“I remember specifically us leaving the house undercover sneaking out just to go play baseball,” William said. “Our parents were very disciplined. We tried to respect them, but we really wanted to play. So we would try to find a way to sneak out somehow just to try to play baseball because it's what we wanted to do.”
With a large chunk of the Contreras clan back in the U.S. for this week’s festivities, it’s safe to assume those unexcused absences have since been forgiven.
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