PITTSBURGH ¨C A fiery competitor who has been known to allow his white-hot lava of emotions to spill out from time to time in the past, Willson Contreras said if there¡¯s one thing to be proud of early in the 2025 season, it¡¯s how he¡¯s handled failure better than before.
Then again, Contreras is starting to question everything he¡¯s doing as his frustrating start to the season as a middle-of-the-order hitter for the Cardinals has lingered for weeks.
¡°It¡¯s not about me and not about any individual; it¡¯s about how we handle ourselves and how we keep the best energy in the dugout,¡± said Contreras, who was 1-for-6 with a strikeout on Wednesday as the hot-hitting Cardinals cooled off in a 2-1 loss to the Pirates in 13 innings at PNC Park. ¡°[Controlling his emotions is] one thing I feel proud about because I¡¯ve gotten so much better from last year to this year, but I don¡¯t know if that is helping me or hurting me now.
¡°I¡¯m proud of the way I¡¯ve been handling myself through this stretch. I know sooner or later, everything will change.¡±
Things certainly changed offensively for the Cardinals on Wednesday. They entered the game as MLB¡¯s only team to score at least four runs in every game -- one game shy of the National League record to open the season set by the 1954 Cardinals. The Redbirds were also first in MLB in team batting average (.291) and third in runs scored per game (6.45).
That hot streak fizzled as the Cards stranded 11 runners, and they failed to score in three of the four extra innings, even with the automatic runner placed on second at the start of each frame. Some of the reasoning for the struggles could have been their four rain delays this season, their four extra-inning games or a taxing doubleheader in Boston on Sunday.
Contreras, who has gradually taken on more leadership in his third season with the Cardinals, didn¡¯t want to hear any of that talk.
¡°There¡¯s no excuse, there¡¯s no excuse,¡± he stressed. ¡°That¡¯s all I can say ¡ no excuse.¡±
Contreras, who made the move from catching to first base this season, looked primed for the season after he hit .405 with two homers and got on base at a .511 clip during 16 Spring Training games. He left Wednesday¡¯s loss at 5-for-49 (.102) with 22 strikeouts in 12 games. He is tied with the Cubs' Seiya Suzuki for most strikeouts in the NL, but he¡¯s played three fewer games.
Contreras, 32, didn¡¯t get his first hit until the sixth game of the season, he whiffed at least once in seven of his first eight games, and he¡¯s already had five three-strikeout games. Spring Training, he insisted, is just a mirage because of the less-than-ideal circumstances it presents.
¡°Spring Training doesn¡¯t mean [anything],¡± Contreras said. ¡°They¡¯re not game-planning, and they¡¯re just throwing fastballs right down the middle. But if you watch my at-bats now, I¡¯m not getting any fastballs or any good pitches to hit. I¡¯m probably overswinging trying to do something. That¡¯s probably my fault and my trap, and I need to get better at that.
¡°There¡¯s no excuse now for me to not get better. But I¡¯m holding my head up high, and I¡¯m looking forward to getting better and starting to help the team.¡±
Contreras has had 24 at-bats end on breaking balls or offspeed pitches and 20 at-bats end on fastballs, but he¡¯s hit just .125 in those circumstances, per Baseball Savant. Any concerns about his bat slowing down have been addressed by his average bat speed (76 mph), which ranks in MLB¡¯s top 93 percentile. However, chase (41.9% from 29.9% in 2024) and strikeout rates (40.9% from 26.8% in 2024) have climbed dramatically.
Knowing the team will need a productive Contreras to have a solid season, manager Oliver Marmol has shown patience with the veteran slugger by batting him in the No. 2 and No. 3 slots in the order.
¡°Worried? No, but I mean, we¡¯re 12 games in, and he¡¯s working on it,¡± said Marmol, who has consistently lauded Contreras and shortstop Masyn Winn (.222 batting average and 16 strikeouts) for how they have handled their early-season struggles. ¡°Yeah, we need him, and he¡¯ll get there. An off-day [Thursday] is a good thing.¡±
Contreras said he sees signs of himself coming out of the early slump, and he certainly hopes it ends soon.
¡°I feel like I¡¯m getting better, and I made more contact today than I did in the past,¡± he said. ¡°The only thing I can control is to keep working and improving myself.¡±