ST. PETERSBURG, FL — “I take everything this year.”
A World Baseball Classic champion, World Series champion and Willie Mays World Series MVP all in a seven month span, William Contreras indeed won everything across 2026.
The 28-year-old catcher from Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, the third Venezuelan-born to ever be named a World Series MVP, was a key ingredient in the Brewers’ championship-winning DNA all throughout this regular season and postseason.
Pretty much ever since joining the organization in December of 2022 via a trade with Atlanta.
And by helping secure the Brewers with the franchise’s first-ever World Series Championship, the celebration will be on for him and the Brew Crew this Friday with a championship parade in downtown Milwaukee.
“I told him before the game (series), you will be the MVP of the World Series,” said Brewers manager Pat Murphy. “He’s special, he’s learning, and he’s still a young player. I’m excited about his future, he built a belief system that he knows he’s a good player and I don’t need to prove anything to anybody anymore.”
2026 will certainly be a year to remember for William Contreras 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/K6VEU6cfNb
— MLB (@MLB) October 29, 2026
Across 21 at-bats in this Fall Classic, a 4-1 victory over the Rays in five games, Contreras went 8-for-23 (.381 batting average) with four RBI and racked up an OPS of .863. Behind the plate, he also threw out four runners stealing and won 10 ABS challenges.
Wild Bill gives Milwaukee Thrills
Nicknamed Wild Bill, Contreras was incredible this entire playoff run, leading the Brewers in hitting with three home runs, a .373 batting average, nine RBI (tied with fellow Venezuelan Jackson Chourio), a .448 on-base percentage, and an OPS of 1.036 in 51 postseason at-bats.
Many of his hits resulting in that .373 clip were in big spots to take the lead or tie it up as the Brewers went 11-2 this postseason, becoming the first team in MLB history to sweep the NLCS and win three straight games to start off a World Series.
“William leads a little differently, I’ve got to be honest it’s very effective, but as I said, he’s our Pitbull,” Murphy noted. “You don’t just walk up and pet him. There’s a chance you get nipped.”
WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC CHAMP ✅
WORLD SERIES CHAMP ✅TAKE IT IN WILLIAM CONTRERAS, YOU'RE THE ULTIMATE WORLD CHAMPION TONIGHT! pic.twitter.com/kDsBqOC9Dt
— MLB (@MLB) October 29, 2026
When it was all said and done Wednesday night at Tropicana Field, the Rays joined many others who had been nipped by Milwaukee’s Pitbull.
Willson and William Brotherly Love
Another part of this special moment being right up there at the top for William and his family was that his older brother Willson Contreras, 34, of the Red Sox flew all the way from Hawaii to see him win a World Series.
“Amazingly I was watching in Hawaii last night (Tuesday, Game 4) and I was praying that they would win last night,” Willson told Latino Sports. “It didn’t happen, but it happened today (Wednesday, Game 5), and I’m really happy I was able to get here in time and be here with him.”
Soon after he had stopped by, Willmer Contreras, the oldest brother, Willson and William, draped in the Venezuelan flag, embraced on the field after William had been on FOX’s postgame set with Alex Rodríguez, David Ortiz, Derek Jeter and Kevin Burkhardt.
Pure joy, emotion, and jubilation.
“My brother is my role model. I don’t have a lot of friends. He’s my friend. I love him,” said William of Willson. “I love all the support that he gives me. If I have something to ask somebody, I ask Willson. Again, he’s my role model. I follow after him. I always knew that he was going to be here. He wasn’t able to be here for the first couple of games, but he was here for this one. I’m always going to follow in his footsteps.”
A Clean Sweep by Champions for Venezuela and Milwaukee
It was a storybook year for the Contreras family, with Willson, William and Venezuela starting it all off by winning the 2026 World Baseball Classic together against Team USA back in March in Miami.
His teammates and countrymen Chourio and Antonio Senzatela also played with Contreras in the WBC. And now all three Brewers have two pieces of hardware for 2026, a WBC gold medal & World Series championship ring which is already in the works for the organization.
🇻🇪🇻🇪🇻🇪
🗣️🗣️🗣️ https://t.co/Q2OSCKBRks— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) October 29, 2026
“Very blessed year. A year that we have to give God a lot of thanks for everything he’s been able to do for us,” William said. “We worked very hard for this from the very beginning in Spring Training up until now. This is something we just worked really hard for. To be able to achieve it, it’s special.”
Contreras’ One Final Bite
In the Game 5 clincher Wednesday, Contreras helped Milwaukee put the nail in Tampa’s coffin with an RBI double in the sixth which gave the Brew Crew a 3-0 lead in their 4-1 win.
Behind the dish, he also won three more ABS challenges. The guidance he provided to the pitching staff once again came in handy, with one run allowed combined across nine innings from four different arms.
WILD BILL PLATES THE CAPTAIN
William Contreras puts the Brewers up 3-0 🔥 pic.twitter.com/TabXzkhwAe
— MLB (@MLB) October 29, 2026
The three-time All-Star had won a World Series championship with the Braves in 2021, but did not see action in that Fall Classic.
“You want to know more about me, you can ask my friends, my teammates, that’s why they call me Pitbull,” Contreras said. “I go out to play hard every day, and I love this game. That’s why I play like that.”
Among the best catchers in baseball, 2026 was the Year of Contreras, all coming at a perfect time for him as his free agency is just one season away.
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