Contreras

[Goldfan]

George Hendrick played 18yrs
Highest HBP yr was 4
9yrs Silent George went the ENTIRE year never HBP

If you stand right on top of plate and stride out over it as pitcher is releasing ball you will get hit on high and tight pitches.

[CorneliusWolfe]

St. Louis Cardinals pitchers once again fail to defend Willson Contreras, the club's de facto spark plug, after being hit once again.

Agreed...but to be honest. .I like your minor league threads better!

LOL!

It was the 15th hit-by-pitch of the 2025 season for Contreras, which leads the National League. Also mentioned that Contreras was hit twice by Padres pitchers last season (with one of those incidents involving Contreras getting hit on the left hand and being knocked out of play).

He's the only player on the team that plays with any passion. Would be nice to buzz a Padre today.

WC the only player we have that seems to actually hate losing.

[dugoutrex]

WC is the heart and soul of this team!

[Bushiro]

What would Bob Gibson do?

I guarantee WC wouldn’t be right on top of plate with hands held in front of him and striding into plate if Gibson were pitching……

Contreras?.....I bet he still would

[esp31]

Love Contreras. My favorite Card. 4th best IB according to Fangraphs. You have to retaliate. I don't care if it was accident. I pitched and managed. You have to protect your players. If TLR was still here, I guarantee pitchers would do their job.

So forfeit a pitcher when you need innings because a guy who gets hit often, got hit again?

He wasn't even upset till Pivetta started yapping at him

Told ya Scouty. They even brought up TLR on the broadcast. He went after Machado too. Perfect!

[OldRed]

Contreras has been impressive this series.

[rightthinker4]

you only retaliate if the batter was hit on purpose. This was an accident.

Correct

[Ozziesfan41]

you only retaliate if the batter was hit on purpose. This was an accident.

Correct

Not necessarily I don’t think their starter did it on purpose but if a pitcher has shaky control and is going in on hitters and hitting them and throwing up at their face and head you have to send a message if you don’t have control to pitch. In effectively don’t do it because you can damage someone

[icon]

I'm going a ways back here, but Frank Robinson was notorious for crowding the plate just like Contreras does and got hit often, but seldom complained about it. He knew the price of crowding the plate. And he knew that for him, it was his ticket to the Hall of Fame.

[icon]

George Hendrick played 18yrs
Highest HBP yr was 4
9yrs Silent George went the ENTIRE year never HBP

If you stand right on top of plate and stride out over it as pitcher is releasing ball you will get hit on high and tight pitches.

Yep

[Melville]

Plunked a MLB best 15 times.

I'm w/OR someone on this staff has to respond or it's going to kept happening until he gets hurt.

He sits alone on an island. Is the issue numerous teams are throwing at him, or is he inducing pitches up and in by his plate posture.

Definitely not his stance, just teams want to take away the inside part of the plate (which is fine).

But NOT when they keep hitting him above the waist.

Too many opportunities for serious injury (wrist, shoulder and of course head if they go that high).

He's the best hitter on the team.

His pitchers need to send a message (which would be heard round the league).

You throw at WillyC, we're throwing the same spot at your best hitter.

This is how MLB teams have policed things for hundreds of years.

I think many of the up and in pitches are a (bleep) shoot as to location. Then add a crowded box you may get knicked more often.

The fact that it’s many teams indicate to me it’s not intentional to hit him but it is part of the pitching strategy to pitch him tight.

Yes, of course.
Contreras not only stands closer to the plate than the majority of players, but he also attempts to cover more of the hitting zone.
He is ready to turn on pitches on the inner half (where pitchers know he can do serious damage).
He is also ready and willing to look for pitches away that he can drive to center or right fields.
If a pitcher comes in when Contreras is guessing away and has his body weight ever so slightly leaning in that direction, he is going to get hit.
He knows that better than anyone on this forum (with maybe one exception).
Ridiculous for anyone here to think he is getting hit by design - other than his own.
Another point worth noting.
Contreras DID NOT get upset after his pad was hit.
The pitcher said something as Contreras started down the line - and Contreras said something in return.
The pitcher then said something else, at which point Contreras yelled something like "what did you say to me".
FACT is, it was the verbal exchange, not the harmless bouncing of the ball off his shield, which spiked a brief moment of tension.

Mel, I sometimes wonder if I’m watching the same game as other posters…..he’s literally a couple inches from the inside chalk line at his feet, strides even closer when he swings, with his hands and elbow out in front of him. Just watched Pujols HR highlight reel. He was twice as far off plate as WC, hands were held back up high, and he barely strides toward plate if at all…..just an ever slight lift of front foot then bat comes through zone…
I’m all for retaliation pitches and pitching inside but to somehow say WC is responsible for most of his HBP and injuries is laughable.

It is a beautiful game.
Best watched and understood without ruby shades.

I hope you took time to look at the graph I posted. Because he doesn't stand closer to the plate than the majority of players.

Yes, he does.
I watched every RH Cardinal PA very closely tonight for that very purpose.
Only Winn is as close as Contreras.
Contreras' back foot is maybe 2 inches inside the chalk.
And as the pitcher winds his front foot moves directly toward the plate.
He most certainly is aggressive in covering the outside corner and as a result, he gets hit more often than most others.
He knows that - which is why he hugged the SD pitcher the first time he got hit.

[Melville]

Some guys just get hit more often than others. In my time guys like Craig Biggio, Don Baylor, or Ron Hunt were infamous for getting hit. Anthony Rizzo and Chase Utley are more recent examples of guys who got hit a lot. One of my favors from my early childhood, actually was a Cardinal for a year, was Minnie Minoso.

Very few of those guys ever said a word when they were hit. In fact some of them made a career of getting hit.

Hunt certainly did.
As I recall, he was regularly north of 20 HBP in a season.

[icon]

Frank Robinson was hit 198 times by pitches. And he never changed his approach in the batter's box. He knew that his approach worked very well for him and was willing to pay the price. Contreras protests too much, and he's not nearly as good as Robinson was.

[rockondlouie]

Plunked a MLB best 15 times.

I'm w/OR someone on this staff has to respond or it's going to kept happening until he gets hurt.

He sits alone on an island. Is the issue numerous teams are throwing at him, or is he inducing pitches up and in by his plate posture.

Definitely not his stance, just teams want to take away the inside part of the plate (which is fine).

But NOT when they keep hitting him above the waist.

Too many opportunities for serious injury (wrist, shoulder and of course head if they go that high).

He's the best hitter on the team.

His pitchers need to send a message (which would be heard round the league).

You throw at WillyC, we're throwing the same spot at your best hitter.

This is how MLB teams have policed things for hundreds of years.

Best hitter on the team??? How do you figure that?

Huh?

You're kidding right or just being inane?

How do I figure WillyC is the best hitter on the team?

WillyC's rank 2025 Cardinals:

1st - .809 OPS
1st - 125 OPS+
1st - 14 HR's
1st - 28 Doubles
1st - 61 RBI's
1st - .458 slg%
2nd - .351 OB%

Yea, but besides that, how is he the best hitter???

Guys either a troll or red a z z scrubbie fan

[rockondlouie]

Plunked a MLB best 15 times.

I'm w/OR someone on this staff has to respond or it's going to kept happening until he gets hurt.

Hitting a San Diego batter isn't going to stop a Seattle pitcher pitching him tight in a month from now.

And finally the Cardinals responded, bet Manny tells his pitchers to be more careful pitching inside to WillyC today.

Disagree, players around MLB saw that the Cardinals will now plunk their best hitter if pitchers aren't more careful pitching inside to Willy.

[Rosthol]

What would Bob Gibson do?

Easy.
The way Contreras reacted, Gibby would have hit him again.
Harder and higher.

Gibson if his teammate would have protected him.