Contreras on All-Star ride with brother: 'It's crazy that it's happening'

CHICAGO -- Willson Contreras smiled as he thought back to his childhood, when he and his little brother would grab a plastic ball and find a stick and dream about being big leaguers. During those days back home in Venezuela, it was just that, a dream.

"We used to do that every single day," Contreras said. "We were just kids wanting to play a baseball game."

Not all dreams stay dreams, even if things still do not feel real.

• MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard: Tuesday on FOX

This has been a life-changing year for the Contreras family, culminating in both Willson and his younger brother, William, being in the starting lineup for the National League All-Star Team on Tuesday night. Even bigger than that honor, Contreras' whole family will be in Los Angeles for the event.

There has been a peace of mind that has arrived this year for Willson, who now has both his parents, Olga and Wuiliam, along with other family members, in the United States. That will make for quite the celebration as the Cubs and Braves catchers play in the All-Star Game together.

"Man, I think we're blessed," said Willson Contreras, who is now a three-time All-Star. "I can say a lot of things, but there's not a specific word to describe how I feel and how my family feels."

It was already the kind of year the Contreras brothers and their family would never forget.

William was promoted to Atlanta in late April while the Cubs were in town, giving them the chance to be in a Major League ballpark together for the first time. They exchanged lineup cards before one of the games and had a photo taken to capture the moment.

Next came the Braves' trip to Wrigley Field, where the Contreras brothers were in the lineup against one another for the first time on June 18. In the first inning, Willson walked to the plate and embraced his brother, while their family watched from the stands.

Now, they get to share a stage at the Midsummer Classic.

"Incredible. Incredible. It really is," first-time All-Star William Contreras said via a translator. "It is a dream come true. It's something we've always dreamed about. But it's something that, it's crazy that it's happening."

Willson is currently the Cubs' longest-tenured player, having been in the organization since 2009. He left home at 17 years old, leaving behind his 11-year-old brother and family with an uncertain road ahead. In 2015, William followed a similar path with the Braves.

The next year, as William began to learn how to navigate life in professional baseball, Willson was helping the Cubs capture the '16 World Series crown. Five years later, Willson stood in the stands in Atlanta wearing a Contreras Braves jersey, watching his little brother win a title.

They have an older brother, Willmer, so Willson has joked that there are "five W's" in the family. The trio of brothers, plus the two World Series wins.

Willson and William will become the first brothers to appear in the same All-Star Game since Aaron and Bret Boone in 2003. They will be the first set of brothers to play for the same All-Star team since 1998 (Roberto and Sandy Alomar Jr.) and the first to both be in the same starting lineup since the Alomars in 1992.

"It’s an exceptional [thing] when you have a chance to play with your brother," said Sandy Alomar Jr. "But any time you have a family member or brother or dad in the All-Star Game, but most of all all together, it’s just memories you cherish forever."

For Willson, specifically, he has been trying to cherish every moment this season.

Given the current state and direction of the Cubs, Contreras understands that his days could be numbered in Chicago. He watched a group of core players get traded by the Cubs last season and knows that a similar fate could await him after this All-Star Game.

Contreras, who will be a free-agent over the winter, has expressed his desire to remain with the Cubs. He has embraced a leadership role this season and has shown that he can push distractions to the side and still produce at an elite level on the field.

"I take a lot of pride in that," he said. "That was something that I put in my head before the season started, before we went to Spring Training. How am I going to be able to block all the noises out that I can't control? I learned from last year a lot.

"Coming into this year, I was trying to win games with my teammates, enjoy the game as much as I can. And now that I have my whole family here, it's a big relief for me. A lot of weight off my heart, my shoulders."