Contreras brothers' emotional day 'a dream for all of us'

CHICAGO -- When Willson Contreras first began pursuing his big league dreams, his little brother was still home in Venezuela. By the time William Contreras' own baseball journey began with the Braves, his older brother was rising to stardom with the Cubs.

Their personal paths finally intersected on Saturday afternoon, setting up an emotional moment and day for the Contreras family. As Willson walked to the plate in the first inning -- their parents among family watching from the Wrigley Field stands -- he embraced his brother, the starting catcher for the Braves.

"It was the best moment of our life," Willson Contreras said. "Including my family, my mom and dad. Everything that we went through to get here, now we get to enjoy it together."

The Contreras brothers played baseball together plenty as kids, but this was different. Saturday's 6-3 win for the Cubs marked the first time both catchers were in opposing lineups on the Major League stage, and they did so amid All-Star caliber campaigns. Willson showed up to last year’s World Series wearing a Contreras Braves jersey to support his brother, but they had not played on the same diamond since Little League.

The brothers took a photo together in Atlanta on April 28 for their family. But this was a chance for their parents, Wuiliam and Olga, to sit back and watch their sons compete at baseball's highest level, following all the sacrifices made and risks taken to make the moment possible.

It was also a chance for Willson to remind William what being a big brother is all about.

"You're happy when people you love do well," Cubs manager David Ross said. "But at the end of the day, I know Willson wants to beat his little brother and make sure he knows who the big dog is."

Willson helped lead the Cubs to a second straight win over a Braves squad that came to Chicago riding a 14-game winning streak.

"I didn't want to get beat by my younger brother," Willson said with a smile. "I'm pretty sure that he was thinking the same thing."

Braves pitcher Kyle Wright watched from the mound, waiting to face Willson as the brothers shared their hug.

"I was hoping they would have a little bit of moment there," Wright said. "I can only imagine if that was my brother. I would want that, too. It's pretty special for two brothers to do that. There's not too many guys in this game that have been able to do that."

After their moment, Willson found himself quickly behind in the count against Wright. The Cubs' catcher admitted that he was fighting emotions ("I almost got tears in my first at-bat," he said.) and had to refocus. He then delivered an opposite-field RBI single.

Willson pumped his fist as he left the batter's box and then tugged at the name on the back of his jersey after reaching first base. With runners on the corners, he stole second, trying to entice a throw from his brother. William did not bite.

"That was a designed play that we have," Willson said. "They gave me the green light. They have to decide to throw to second base."

The big brother then cracked a smile.

"But that's 1-0," he added.

During a pregame meeting, Cubs pitcher Justin Steele found himself saying “your brother” instead of “Contreras” when going over the day’s plan. Willson told Steele that the pitch calling against William would be the responsibility of the left-hander. That way, Willson joked, it would be Steele’s fault if the Braves' catcher got on base.

“He's like, 'I'm not calling a pitch. It's strictly what you want to throw,’” Steele said. “I was like, all right, that's fine. If I had to shake him off, I had to shake him off, whatever. But that was kind of funny.”

Combined on the day, the Contreras brothers went 5-for-9 with one double apiece. Collectively, they are batting .288/.390/.575 this season with 21 home runs, 21 doubles and 44 RBIs. Willson leads MLB catchers with 12 homers and his brother is not far behind with nine.

"It was a dream of both of ours since we were little kids," William Contreras said via a translator, "to both be in the big leagues and have that moment where we square off at home plate.”

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this marked the first time that brothers started against each other in an MLB game since June 10, 2014 (Yadier and José Molina).

Six years separate the talented siblings, who hail from Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. They have spent time together during recent offseasons, but they really had never trained together before they stayed at Willson’s Orlando-area home during the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020.

When William returned to Truist Park for Summer Camp that year, he seemed to be a completely different player. As he belted opposite-field homers on a regular basis in intrasquad games, he didn’t look like the guy who hit six homers with a .669 OPS while playing at the High-A and Double-A levels the summer before. He benefited from physical maturity and the time he spent with his brother.

One of their makeshift drills involved using a toy bazooka that shot small Nerf balls. One would hold the gun on one end of the driveway and the other would take swings at the balls to maintain good eye-hand coordination.

"He's just my example to follow, my role model," said William, who has blossomed into an all-around threat much like his older brother this season.

After the game, the Contreras family spent time on the field at the Friendly Confines, taking photos together to cherish the day.

“I don’t think the smile dropped from their faces,” William said. “It was a dream for all of us and something we accomplished together.”

Asked if the All-Star Game could be next, Willson Contreras smiled wide.

“Let's see what happens,” he said. “It would be the next step for our dreams to come true.”