Sometimes you don’t have to play to get into the record books.
With Travis d’Arnaud anchored as a regular for the Braves throughout October, Venezuelan William Contreras did not have the opportunity to play in the recently concluded 2021 World Series. In fact, although he was on the roster of the new champions throughout This past month, the only game in which he saw action was Game 5 of the Division Series against the Brewers, in which he went 1-0 as a pinch hitter.
But with the title achieved by the Braves Tuesday night, the franchise’s first since 1995, Contreras and his brother Willson, the Cubs catcher, made a “brotherly” mark on the World Series.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Contreras are the 10th sibling pair (excluding managers) to play at least one postseason game for the team that ended up winning the World Series.
Willson has been the Cubs’ mask since 2016 and was behind the plate when they won Game 7 against Cleveland in the 2016 Fall Classic – also on Nov. 2, coincidentally – and ended a 108-year drought. without crowning.
The Contreras are the fourth group of Latin American brothers to win the World Series, joining the Dominicans Jesús and Mateo Rojas Alou, the Cubans Liván and Orlando “El Duque” Hernández and the Puerto Ricans Bengie, José and Yadier Molina.
The list is completed by Clete and Ken Boyer, Mort and Walker Cooper, Dizzy and Paul Dean, JD and Stephen Drew, Irish and Bob Meusel and Gee and Hub Walker.
After making his major league debut last season, Contreras took advantage of the injuries of d’Arnaud and Stephen Vogt this year and played 52 games for the Braves in the regular round, leaving an offensive line of .215 / .303 / .399, five doubles, a triple and eight home runs. On defense, he took out 10 of the 27 running backs who came out to rob him, a 37% success rate, well above the Major League Baseball average (25%).
“Enjoy the moment,” William said Willson had asked. “Do whatever it takes, but enjoy the moment. You have to live it ”.
He lived it. And now they are both champions. Very few brothers can say the same.
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Contreras brothers make history in SM