When Mick Abel hit Willson Contreras, the first baseman joined Yandy Diaz, Dillon Dingler, Connor Nordy, and Isaac Paredes to lead all of MLB with four hit by pitches. So far in the season, Contreras has been hit once each by the Reds, Brewers, Cardinals, and Twins.
Contreras has had a mixed bag with HBPs. In his first season with the Cubs he was hit 4 times in 283 plate appearances (76 games) Then 3 times in 428 plate appearances (117 games). Nothing too interesting.
In 2018 he recorded his highest
playing time total until the 2025 season: 544 plate appearances (138 games). And he’s up to 13 HBP.
Drops down to 9 the next season in 409 PAs (105 games).
And that’s where the story starts to get interesting.
In 2020, in 225 plate appearances (57 games in the short season) he was hit 14 times!
Then he was hit another 14 times in 2021 in 483 plate appearances (128 games). More than double the games but the same number of times hit.
You can watch these over and over and over. He’s taking pitches off that front arm. Is he leaning into it? I mean, maybe? He does often turn the shoulder but that’s also what you see guys evading the ball do.
We’ll keep going.
In 2022, his final season in Chicago, Contreras was his 24 times. Not leading the league but adding 10 to his previous personal…best. The Brewers hit him 3 times that year. As did the Reds, Pirates, and Cardinals (two in one game!). The only AL team to hit him? The Yankees.
He decides to replace Yadier Molina in St. Louis and spare himself a few HBPs. And he drops to 13 (495 PAs, 125 games) and 12 (358 PSs, 84 games) in his first two years in Missouri. With one season injury-shortened though, you can guess what is coming next. 23 HBP! In 2025, his final season in St. Louis, we see the future Red Sox first baseman take 23 pitches off his body. 563 PAs, 135 games.
Interestingly, in 2025 the Red Sox hit him twice. And he was then traded there. So that at least follows his own choice to sign in St. Louis after taking a few off the “chin.”
Red Sox fans have gotten to see some of the classics too. The teams that hit him a lot — which is partially due to playing time because they’re NL Central teams and his career was spent in the NL Central until 2026. But also The Brewers hit him 4 times last year.
In the opening series there’s a very typical shoulder move.
March 28th, 2026:
Then there was a but of an incident with the Brewers. He really thinks that one was on purpose. Right? He looks mad. And this one is more of the scraper type of HBP than his classic shoulder bruise. This is grazing the hand. Was this avoidable, or at least moreso than others?
April 6th, 2026:
In his return to St. Louis it’s a quick reception and then a pretty solid plunking. And remember he played with Kyle Leahy. This is a former teammate. Famously, the pitcher of St. Louis didn’t care for Contreras as a catcher. But this is a pretty standard (for him) pitch to the arm. He wears an elbow guard. He’s ready for these.
April 11, 2026:
Right now, depending on playing time, Contreras could be heading for a new HBP record. But he’s quickly running out of NL Central games and opponents. The teams that know him. The teams that might really dislike him. So maybe it’ll turn out that his shoulder was a nice target for guys who wanted to settle a grudge. Or is it his OBP secret sauce?
