Is a Global Ambassador for the Special Olympics and has been active with the Illinois chapter...Selected as the Cubs nominee for the 2022 MLBPA Heart & Hustle Award...2023 St. Louis BBWAA J.G. Taylor Spink Baseball Man of the Year award recipient...Resides in Orlando, Fla. with his wife Andrea.
2023
NL Ranks: hit by pitch (13, T-ninth)...Finished the year with 20 home runs for the fifth time in his career, with a .467 slugging and .826 OPS that were both his highest single-season marks since 2019...Matched single-season career highs in extra-base hits (47) and doubles (27), while his 67 RBI were his most since a career-high 74 in 2017...Ranked among National League primary catchers in home runs (T-third), doubles (third), RBI (T-fifth), walks (51, third), slugging (.467, third) and OPS (.826, second), total bases (200, fifth) and extra-base hits (47, third)...Caught nine shutouts, fourth in MLB behind Alejandro Kirk (10), Sean Murphy (11) and Cal Raleigh (12)...Threw out 25.0% (14 CS/56 SB ATT) of attempted base stealers...His 20 blasts tied Ted Simmons (1974) and Yadier Molina (2018) for sixth-most single-season home runs by a primary catcher in franchise history...Logged his third straight season of 20+ homers (2021-23), one of two primary catchers (Salvador P¨¦rez) to do so...Also joined P¨¦rez as the only two MLB catchers with five seasons of 20+ homers since 2017...Logged a .906 OPS in 122 plate appearances against left-handed pitching...Appeared at designated hitter in 30 games: .217/.346/.330 (23-106) with a .677 OPS...His .987 OPS with runners in scoring position was 10th-best in the NL...Ranked fifth in MLB with five game-tying home runs...Averaged team-leading 91.3 mph exit velocity by Statcast measures...Recorded the hardest-hit ball of the season by a Cardinal and the eighth-hardest hit ball in MLB, a 117.5 mph groundout to shortstop on May 8 vs. the Cubs at Wrigley Field...Owned four of the Cardinals top five hardest-hit balls of the year (117.5, 115.1, 114.7 and 114.4 mph)...Hit safely in 40 of his final 56 games beginning with the second game in London against the Cubs (June 25-Sept. 20), batting .346/.442/.615 (63-182) with 12 homers and 36 RBI...Over that time span, ranked among MLB leaders in batting (fourth), on-base pct. (third), slugging (sixth), OPS (fourth) and BABIP (.415, first)...Led MLB in July in batting average (.429, 21-49), on-base pct. (.547), OPS (1.282) and BABIP (.581), while ranking second in slugging (.735)...Homered twice on April 18 vs. Arizona for first home runs as a member of the Cardinals...Joined Ted Simmons (five times) and Yadier Molina (April 17, 2021 at Philadelphia) as the third Cardinals catcher with multi-homer games from the cleanup spot...Since 2016, is tied with Salvador P¨¦rez for second-most multi-homer games (14) among primary catchers, trailing only Gary S¨¢nchez (17)...Became first Cardinals catcher other than Yadier Molina to bat third & fourth since Todd Zeile in 1990...Joined Tom Pagnozzi (1996) as the second catcher in franchise history with three multi-homer games in a season (April 18 vs. Arizona, May 18 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, and Aug. 29 vs. San Diego)...Went 2-for-4 on Opening Day (March 30 vs. Blue Jays), becoming the first starting catcher since Mike Matheny (2000) to record two hits in his Cardinals debut...Went yard twice on April 18 vs. Arizona, becoming the 13th different Cardinals backstop with a multi-homer game but the only one to do so in their first season in a Cardinals uniform...Went 2-for-4 with a double and the game-winning RBI in his first game returning to Wrigley Field as a visiting player on May 8...Homered twice and drove in six on May 18 vs. the Dodgers...Became the first Cardinals catcher with six-plus RBI in a game since Tom Pagnozzi (six, May 26, 1991 at New York Mets) and first Cardinal overall with six-plus RBI since Brad Miller (seven, Sept. 1, 2020 at Cincinnati)...Established a career-high of consecutive games with an extra-base hit (six, July 3-15), tying Nolan Arenado for longest by a Cardinal during the season...Had both a HR and three RBI in three consecutive games (Sept. 6-9), joining Jim Bottomley (1929) as the second Cardinal in franchise history to do so...Also was the first Cardinal since Matt Holliday (2014) and the 10th in franchise history with three straight games with three-plus RBI...Tallied multiple RBI in four straight games (Sept. 7-11), the longest stretch of his career and tied with Walker Cooper (1942) and Darrell Porter (1985) for the longest in Cardinals history by a catcher...Also was the longest streak by any Cardinal since Dexter Fowler (five, 2017)...Was the longest multiple RBI streak by an MLB catcher since Miami backstop Jeff Mathis (five, June 26-July 3, 2013)...Caught Adam Wainwright's 200th career win and homered for the lone run in a 1-0 shutout victory (Sept. 18 vs. Milwaukee)...The last Cardinals catcher to homer and catch all nine innings in a 1-0 shutout win was Yadier Molina (March 31, 2014 at Cincinnati), which was Wainwright¡¯s 100th career win...Placed on the season-ending 10-day Injured List on Sept. 22 with left wrist tendinitis.
2022
Named as the starting catcher for the 2022 National League All-Star team, his third selection with all three as the starting catcher...Led all National League primary catchers with a .349 on-base percentage and a career-high 24 hit by pitch, which ranked third overall in MLB behind Mark Canha (28, NYM) and Andres Gimenez (CLE, 25)...Ranked among primary National League catchers in hits (101, fourth), runs (51, fifth), doubles (23, fourth), home runs (22, T2nd), RBI (55, fourth), walks (39, fourth). Tallied a career-high 47 extra base hits (third NL)...Became the first catcher in Cubs franchise history with four seasons with 20 or more home runs...Collected his 100th career home run with a grand slam off Bryse Wilson vs. PIT (5/16), part of a two-hit first inning which included a double. Became the first Cubs player with a grand slam and two extra base hits in the same inning since Wildfire Schulte on Aug. 16, 1911..Posted two multi-home runs games, giving him 11 for his career (6/14 vs. SD & 8/18 at BAL). Since 2016, ranks T-3rd among primary catchers with 11 behind only Gary Sanchez (15) and Salvador Perez (13)...Recorded his 600th career hit with a two-run home run off Luis Cessa vs. CIN (6/29)...Threw out 27.3% (9 CS/33 SB ATT) of attempted base stealers...On the 10-day Injured List with a left ankle sprain (9/3-27).
2021
Appeared in 128 games for Chicago in 2021, starting 112 at catcher ... the 112 starts behind the dish were tied for second-most in the N.L. (Yadier Molina, 118)... Recorded his third 20-homer campaign, becoming the second Cubs catcher to accomplish the feat, joining Gabby Hartnett... His 21 homers ranked second among N.L. catchers, trailing only the Dodgers Will Smith... Tied for the team lead with 20 doubles and was second in runs scored (61), hits (98) and walks (52)... Homered in three-straight games for the first time in his career, April 13-17, including a two-homer game, April 17 vs. Atlanta... Caught his first career no-hitter, June 24 at the Dodgers... On the 10-day injured list, Aug. 12-Sept. 4, with a sprained right knee ... landed back on the shelf the final game of the season, Oct. 3, with right hip inflammation.
2020
Willson batted .243 (46-for-189) with 10 doubles, seven homers, 26 RBI and a team-high 37 runs scored in 57 games...he drew 20 walks and collected a major league-leading 14 HBP, contributing to a .356 OBP, 113 points higher than his batting average...Among N.L. catchers (min. 100 PA), he ranked first with 37 runs scored, third with 26 RBI, third with a .356 OBP and fifth with a .407 slugging mark...Did not allow a passed ball in 324.1 innings, the most innings in the majors without a passed ball...Milwaukee¡¯s Omar Narvaez ranked second with no passed balls in 285.0 innings...Tossed out eight runners attempting to steal, tied for the second-most in the majors...trailed only Cleveland¡¯s Roberto Perez (nine)¡Batted .305 (25-for-82) with four doubles, three homers and 14 RBI in 24 games in September...posted a .420 OBP (8 HBP, 9 BB)¡Went 4-for-4 with two doubles, one walk, two runs scored and one RBI, September 10 vs. Cincinnati...Twice drove in four runs...went 3-for-4 with a homer, run scored and four RBI, September 4 vs. St. Louis...went 2-for-3 with two homers, three runs scored, four RBI, one walk and one HBP, September 25 at the White Sox...marked his eighth-career multi-homer game...Batted .317 (13-for-41) with runners in scoring position...hit .347 (17-for-49) in the seventh inning and later.
2019
Willson batted .272 (98-for-360) with 18 doubles, two triples, 24 homers and 64 RBI in 105 games...his 24 homers were a career-high and the most by a Cubs catcher since Rick Wilkins hit 30 homers in 1993...Is one of just four Cubs backstops to reach 24 homers in a campaign, joining: Gabby Hartnett (24 HR in 1925 and 37 HR in 1930), Jody Davis (24 HR in 1983) and Rick Wilkins (30 HR in 1993)...Was named the starting catcher for the N.L. team in the All-Star Game...went 0-for-2...Had 17 RBI in March/April, tied for the fifth-most by any Cubs catcher in the season's opening month … was the most since Geovany Soto drove in 20 runs in the first month in 2008...Had two career-high 10-game hitting streaks...batted .366 (15-for-41) with one double and four homers from April 28-May 11 and hit .417 (15-for-36) with three doubles, one triple and four homers from June 13-26...Hit his first-career walk-off homer, May 11 vs. Milwaukee...lifted the Cubs to a 2-1 win in 15 innings...marked the first walk-off homer by a Cub in the 15th inning or later since Sammy Sosa's homer in the 15th inning, September 2, 2003 (game one) vs. St. Louis (4-2 win)...Notched a career-high tying four hits, May 17 at Washington (4-for-5, HR, R, 2 RBI) and September 5 at Milwaukee (4-for-5, 2 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI)...Batted .344 (21-for-61) with five homers and 17 RBI with a 1.108 OPS in 16 games from June 13-July 4...Tied for the team lead with three multi-homer games...had two homers and a season-high five RBI June 19, including his third-career grand slam...also had multi-homer games, April 12 vs. the Angels (3-for-4, 2 RBI) and September 13 vs. Pittsburgh (3-for-4, 2 RBI)...His 18 homers prior to the All-Star Break were the most by a Cubs catcher prior to the All-Star Break in franchise history (Rick Wilkins, 17 in 1993)...Served two stints on the injured list...was on the injured list, July 14-24, with a right foot strain...was on the injured list, August 4-September 3, with a right hamstring strain.
2018
Willson made his first career N.L. All-Star Team, voted as the team's starting catcher via the fan vote ... appeared in a career-high 138 games for Chicago, hitting .249 (118-for-474) with a career-best 27 doubles and five triples to go along with 10 homers and 54 RBI ... Went 1-for-2 with a solo homer in the All-Star Game on July 17 at Nationals Park, the first-ever homer by a Cubs catcher in the Mid-Summer Classic ... Led the majors with eight catcher pickoffs ... threw out 18-of-70 runners attempting to steal ... All told, made a major league-high 123 starts behind the plate and also led the majors with 1,109.2 innings behind the plate ... appeared in 133 total games at catcher ... Batted .309 (21-for-68) with an .876 OPS in 20 July contests ... combined to bat .185 (27-for-146) with a .553 OPS in 46 games over the final two months of the season ... Reached base a career-high tying four times on four occasions: April 5 at Milwaukee, May 11 vs. the White Sox and at the Pirates on May 29 and August 4 ... Delivered a career-best two triples, May 9 vs. the Marlins ... became the first Cubs catcher with two triples in a game since Steve Swisher, August 11, 1976 vs. Cincinnati ... also recorded a double ... Recorded his fourth career multi-homer game and belted his second career grand slam, May 11 vs. the White Sox ... finished 4-for-5 with two doubles, two homers and a career-high seven RBI. ..Became the fifth Cubs catcher since the RBI became an official stat in 1920 with at least seven RBI in a game, joining Ed Bailey (8 RBI, 7/22/65 vs. PHI), George Mitterwald (8 RBI, 4/17/74 vs. PIT), Barry Foote (8 RBI, 4/22/80 vs. STL) and Geovany Soto (7 RBI, 8/26/08 at PIT) ... Collected 26 total bases in a three-game stretch, May 9-12, going 10-for-15 with three doubles, two triples, 11 RBI and five runs scored ... became the first Cub since at least 1913 with seven extra-base hits in a two-game span (May 9-11) ... His three triples in the month of May were tied with Trevor Story for the most in the N.L ... Hit the game-winning homer vs. the Tigers on July 4 with a sixth inning solo blast ... added insurance by doubling in two more runs in the seventh inning in an eventual 5-2 victory ... Set a career-high with four-straight multi-hit games from July 1-6 ... went 9-for-15 with two doubles, a triple, a homer, four RBI and three runs scored.
2017
In his first full season with the Cubs, Willson ranked second among all N.L. backstops with 21 homers, 74 RBI and 45 walks ... batted .276 (104-for-377) and recorded an .855 OPS... Was slotted in the cleanup spot for the first time on June 5 ... in 44 games hitting in a cleanup role, batted .307 (47-for-153) with seven doubles, 13 homers, 39 RBI and 25 walks ... posted a 1.012 OPS when batting fourth... Ranked fourth in the National League, throwing out 20 would-be base-stealers ... his six catcher pickoffs were tied for the major league lead with Milwaukee's Manny Piña... Twelve of his 21 homers came with runners on base, tied for the second-most on the Cubs... Became only the second Cubs catcher in the last 20 seasons to reach 20 homers, joining Geovany Soto (23 in 2008)... Recorded three multi-homer efforts: May 12 at St. Louis, August 3 vs. Arizona and August 6 vs. Washington... Belted a ninth inning, game-tying three-run homer Opening Night, April 2, in St. Louis … marked just the fifth time a Cub under the age of 25 homered in a season opener... At 24 years and 324 days old on April 2, joins Corey Patterson in both 2003 and 2004, Matt Murton in 2006 and Anthony Rizzo in 2013... Recorded a career-high 10-game hitting streak that dated back to Sept. 28, 2016 and ran through April 13 … hit .361 (13-for-36) with a 1.006 OPS during the run... April 16 vs. Pittsburgh, recorded a caught stealing and a pickoff in the seventh inning … became the first Cubs backstop to record a caught stealing and a catcher pickoff in the same frame since Jody Davis, May 14, 1986 against the Giants (second inning)... Belted his first career grand slam, April 22 in Cincinnati … was the first regular-season slam by a Cubs catcher since Miguel Montero, September 6, 2015, vs. Arizona... Hit a solo homer off Clayton Kershaw, May 28, to lead off the second - was a 12-pitch at-bat, the latest in an at-bat a Cub went deep since Mike Fontenot in 2009 off Arizona's Dan Haren... Belted a lead-off homer, June 26 at Washington off Gio Gonzalez, in his first career game at the top of the order ... became the first catcher in franchise history to lead off a game with a homer ... was the first Cubs catcher to even bat leadoff since Michael Barrett, June 20, 2004 ... thanks to Ed Hartig... Enjoyed a torrid July, hitting .321 (27-for-84) with four doubles, seven homers, 19 RBI, 11 walks, a .400 OBP, and .619 slugging mark, good for a 1.019 OPS ... became the first Cubs catcher with at least seven homers and 19 RBI in a month since Rick Wilkins (8 HR, 20 RBI) in June of 1993... Recorded his first career four-hit game, July 16 at Baltimore... Drove in a career-high six RBI, August 3 vs. Arizona ... was 3-for-5 with two homers and two runs scored... Was named N.L. Player of the Week for July 31-August 6 after batting .455 (10-for-22) with a league leading five homers, 13 RBI and 1.660 OPS in six games, including a pair of multi-homer efforts vs. Arizona and Washington... Batted .331 (50-for-151) with nine doubles, 16 homers, 45 RBI, 17 walks and 25 runs scored in 42 games from June 16-August 6 ... ranked second in the N.L. in both homers and RBI in that span... Suffered a right hamstring strain while running to first base, August 9 in San Francisco ... landed on the 10-day DL, August 11 (retro to August 10) ... played in two postseason games with Single-A Myrtle Beach on a rehab assignment, going 1-for-4 with a pair of walks... Went 4-for-8 with three RBI and six walks (.714 OBP) in his first four starts off the disabled list, September 12-16 ... ranked fourth in the N.L. with a .460 on-base percentage after returning on September 10 (min. 50 plate appearances)... Went 7-for-32 (.219) with two homers, two RBI, five runs and six walks in 10 postseason games ... led the team in runs scored and walks, while tying for the team lead in homers.
2016
Willson was promoted to the Cubs, June 17, and made an instant impact both offensively and defensively ... batted .282 (71-for-252) with 14 doubles, 12 homers, 35 RBI and 26 walks, while catching 12 runners stealing and recording four catcher pickoffs ... His 12 homers were the third-most by a Cubs rookie catcher in franchise history, trailing only Geovany Soto (23, 2008) and Randy Hundley (19, 1966) ... Played three positions, spending time at catcher (57 games), left field (24 games) and first base (three games) ... His 12 runners caught stealing ranked tied for second-most among rookie catchers, while his four pickoffs tied for second among all catchers ... Beginning June 19, he ranked among N.L. rookies in homers (4th, 12), RBI (t-4th, 35), doubles (5th, 14) and walks (t-5th, 26) ... Batted .311 (23-for-74) against lefties and .270 (48-for-178) off righties ... however, had nearly identical OBPs against lefties (.354) and righties (.358) ... Hit at a .256 clip (10-for-39) in 17 postseason games, adding one homer and five RBI ... connected on an RBI double off Corey Kluber in Game Seven of the World Series, extending the Cubs lead to 3-1 ... homered off Clayton Kershaw in Game Six of the NLCS ... Batted .452 (14-for-31) with three doubles and three homers in his last 11 games beginning September 16 ... Connected on eight of his 12 home runs at Wrigley Field ... batted .301 (40-for-133) with nine doubles and 23 RBI in 42 home contests ... Hit a pinch-hit two-run homer on the first pitch of his first major league plate appearance, June 19 vs. Pittsburgh … was the first homer by a Cubs player in their first plate appearance since Jorge Soler in 2014 ... was the first Cubs player to homer in his first major league plate appearance while in a game at Wrigley Field since Cuno Barragan, September 1, 1961 vs. the Giants (Elias). w Became the first MLB player with a homer on his first career pitch seen since Minnesota's Eddie Rosario, May 6, 2015 against the A's … first N.L. player to do so since Pittsburgh's Starling Marte, July 26, 2012 against the Astros … first Cubs player to do so since Jim Bullinger, June 8, 1992 at the Cardinals (thanks STATS Inc.) ... Reached safely in his first 13 major league games with a plate appearance, including hits in his first seven contests ... added a career-high 18-game on-base streak, July 3-25 ... was the longest streak by a Cubs rookie since Kosuke Fukudome reached in 19-straight contests, June 7-30, 2008 ... June 24 in Miami, hit a two-run homer in the first and broke a 4-4 tie with a run-scoring single in the seventh, helping the Cubs to a 5-4 victory ... Was recalled from Triple-A Iowa, June 17, and made his major league debut that day as a defensive replacement ... Batted .353 (72-for-204) with 16 doubles, three triples, nine homers and 43 RBI in 55 games to begin the season with Iowa … joined the Cubs riding a 20-game hitting streak in Iowa, during which he batted .383 (31-for-81).
2015
Willson Contreras enjoyed a breakout season with Double-A Tennessee, leading the Southern League in batting average (.333/151-for-454) en route to earning Cubs Minor League Player of the Year honors. Became the first Tennessee player to win the league batting title since Joe Gate in 1978. Set career-highs in games played (126), at-bats, runs scored (71), hits (151), doubles (34), RBI (75), walks (57) and average. Ranked second in the league in doubles, RBI and on-base percentage (.413) while his .478 slugging percentage ranked third and his 217 total bases were fifth. Named to the Southern League mid-season and postseason All-Star teams … posted nearly identical batting averages in both halves, batting .332 (69- for-208) before the break and .333 (82-for-246) after the break. Hit .371 (33-for-89) against left-handed pitching and posted a .323 mark (118-for-365) against righthanders. Enjoyed a season-high 14-game hitting streak, July 28-August 10, in which he batted .519 (28-for-54) and earned Player of the Week honors for July 27-August 2. Recorded a .987 fielding percentage (8 E/600 TC) and threw out 27-of-97 (27.8 percent) baserunners attempting to steal. Collected a season-high four RBI thanks to a sixth-inning grand slam, July 28 at Montgomery. Batted .333 (40-for-120) with nine doubles and 26 RBI with runners in scoring position and two outs. Hit .283 (15-for-53) with five doubles, three homers and eight RBI in 14 games with Mesa in the Arizona Fall League ... recorded a .908 OPS ... named to the Arizona Fall League All-Star Game.
2014
Appeared in 80 games with Single-A Daytona, batting .242 (68-for-281) with 40 runs scored, 14 doubles, two triples, five home runs and 37 RBI ... Drew 28 free passes while striking out 66 times … went a perfect 5-for- 5 in stolen base attempts … Recorded four-straight multi-hit efforts, May 19-24, going 9-for-14 with four doubles … Homered and drove in a season-high three RBI in back-to-back games, August 16-17 at Tampa … Hit .370 (20-for-54) with five doubles and eight RBI in 16 May games after posting a .159 mark (7-for-44) in 12 April affairs … Posted a season-best 12-game hitting streak from August 16-29, batting .357 (15-for-42) with 11 runs scored, three home runs and 10 RBI during the stretch … Went 31-for-89 (.348) with a combined 24 RBI in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings of a game … Batted .455 (5-for-11) with 11 RBI with the bases loaded … Played 26 games with Aragua of the Venezuelan Winter League, batting .273 (18-for-66) with five home runs and 17 RBI.
2013
Spent the entire season with Single-A Kane County, batting .248 (77-for- 310) with 46 runs scored, 11 doubles, a career-best five triples, 11 home runs and 46 RBI ... Collected a season-high four hits July 25 at Beloit, going 4-for-4 with a homer and three RBI ... Drove in a season-best three on four occasions - April 18 vs. Quad Cities, May 4 vs. Dayton, June 11 vs. Burlington and July 25 at Beloit ... Logged a .329 batting average (25-for-76) against southpaws compared to a .222 mark (52-for-234) against righties ... Began the season hot, batting .326 (15-for-46) with three home runs and 10 RBI in 14 April games ... Went 18-for-57 (.316) with seven walks and 13 RBI with runners on base and two outs ... Played seven games with Aragua of the Venezuelan Winter League, batting .333 (5-for-15) with three runs scored and one double.
2012
Posted a .273 batting average (68-for-249) with 32 runs scored, 10 doubles, three home runs and 39 RBI in 64 games with Single-A Boise ... Made the transition from an infielder to catcher, appearing in 39 games behind the plate ... Registered a season-high four hits, June 28 vs. Spokane, going 4-for-5 with a double and three RBI ... Went 2-for-4 with a home run and season-best four RBI, August 12 vs. Salem-Keizer ... Owned a .319 batting average (22-for-69) against southpaws … hit .256 (46-for-180) against righties ... Enjoyed a big August, posting a .333 average (29-for-87) with six doubles and 16 RBI in 21 games ... Was 20-for-53 (.377) when leading off an inning … went 13-for-34 (.382) with 19 RBI with runners in scoring position and two outs.
2011
In his first professional season outside of Summer League ball, Willson batted .261 (58-for-222) with 31 runs scored, five doubles, four triples, two home runs and 27 RBI in 60 games with Single-A Boise ... Registered multi-hit efforts in four-straight games, August 10-14, going 9-for-16 during the stretch ... Wore out southpaws to the tune of a .417 average (20-for-48) … batted just .218 (38-for-174) against righties.
2010
Appeared in 17 games with the Cubs Dominican Summer League team, batting .313 (20-for-64) with two doubles and nine RBI ... Recorded multi-hit efforts in five of the 19 games, including back-toback, three-hit games August 12-13.
2009
In his first season with the Cubs organization, Willson batted .205 (23-for- 112) with 13 runs scored, five doubles, two triples, one home run and six RBI in 29 games with the Cubs Dominican Summer League team ... Signed as a non-drafted free agent July 2, 2009.
