William Contreras Is the World Series MVP: The Brewers' Catcher Hit .381 and Ran the Series From Behind the Plate
Milwaukee's championship has a face, and it spent the Series behind the plate. Catcher William Contreras was named World Series MVP after hitting .381 with four RBIs, throwing out four runners and turning the new ball-strike challenge system into a weapon in the Brewers' five-game win over Tampa Bay.
William Contreras is the World Series MVP. The Milwaukee catcher's two-way series — a .381 average, four RBIs, and control of the running game and the strike zone from behind the plate — closed Wednesday night with the Brewers' 4-1 clincher over Tampa Bay in Game 5.
His clincher line was 1-for-4 with the RBI double that mattered: in the sixth inning he doubled off Garrett Cleavinger to score Christian Yelich and make it 3-0. Across the five games he threw out four runners in the first four games — the first catcher since Lance Parrish in 1984 to do that in a World Series — and set a franchise record with 19 postseason hits.
Then there is the newest weapon in the sport. In the first World Series played with the Automated Ball-Strike challenge system, Contreras won 10 of his 13 appeals, the Associated Press reported, after leading the majors in challenges during the regular season. He is the eighth catcher ever voted World Series MVP, and the first since Salvador Perez in 2015.
The 28-year-old, a three-time All-Star who hit .270 with 18 home runs and a career-best 94 RBIs this season, also completed a rare double: he, Jackson Chourio and Antonio Senzatela won the World Baseball Classic with Venezuela in March and the World Series in the same year. His older brother Willson, who won the 2016 World Series with Chicago, watched from the stands wearing his brother's jersey.
