How Contreras reminded himself of who he is

This story was excerpted from John Denton’s Cardinals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Throughout a season that has challenged him in almost every way imaginable, Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras has had several skull sessions with his MLB mentor, Victor Martinez. He’s also talked to nine-time Gold Glover Yadier Molina and he’s met at various times with team president John Mozeliak, manager Oliver Marmol, pitching coach Dusty Blake and several starters on the staff.

However, the most important conversation Contreras has had was with himself a month ago.

“I just told myself, ‘They signed you for something,’” Contreras said of the personal pep talk. “‘You already do something good, so don’t try to do more than you can do.’”

Contreras has needed reminders like that in a season that has fallen well below expectations -- for himself and for the Cardinals. The catcher jumped at the chance to sign an $87.5 million free-agent deal with the Redbirds because of the riches it guaranteed him, but also because he yearned to be a part of an organization that has a history of success.

Never in Contreras’ wildest dreams could he guess what would come next. Not only did the Cards get off to an underwhelming start, but he had his starting-catching duties stripped from him when pitchers and coaches questioned his methods behind the plate -- methods that obviously differed from those used by Molina, the legend Contreras was tasked with replacing.

That pressure led the newcomer to press himself even more at the plate in the hopes of somehow appeasing his teammates and the Cardinals’ fanbase.

“Sometimes when you’re new to a team, you're just trying to do way more than you can do,” Contreras said. “I just got into my head too much early in the year. Since July, I’ve just let things happen. I’m going to hit, because I know I’m a good hitter. I’m a good catcher, I can throw people out, I can block the ball. Those are things that I’ve been really focused on. It’s been way better than before.”

It’s been night-and-day better for Contreras, who hit just .158 in May and .221 in June before coming alive when the Cards were facing his former team, the Cubs, in London. In July, he not only hit .429, slugged .735 and had a ridiculous 1.282 OPS, but he also was on base (35 hits, walks and hit-by-pitches combined) more than he got out (34 times). Contreras is hitting .313 in August, and he stung another pinch-hit single on Sunday, as the Cardinals tried to mount a comeback in a disappointing 1-0 loss to the Rockies.

Finally, Contreras’ hitting numbers this season are back in line with his career marks.

Batting average
This season: .252
Career: .256

OPS
This season: .772
Career: .802

OPS+
This season: 111
Career: 114

That has happened because Contreras weathered the season’s early storm and talked himself back on track.

“The first two months, there was a lot of stuff coming at me,” Contreras said. “I was overthinking things. What can I do better to help the team? What can I do better to help the pitching staff or the starters?

“When you come to a new team and sign that big of a contract, there’s some weight on your shoulders and you try to do way more than you’re able to do. That’s the mistake I made. Now, I feel more at home, more [like] I came into a family, and I’m just getting along with all the players and coaches a lot better. This is the first year of five [in his contract], and hopefully we’re [headed] to a World Series real soon.”