St. Louis Cardinals DH Willson Contreras. (Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports)
Willson Contreras enjoyed the crowd at Wrigley Field in his return to Chicago, egging on Cubs fans as he ran the bases now as a member of the Cardinals.
Willson Contreras’ departure from the Cubs after seven years with the team was contentious. The fact that he landed with the rival Cardinals in free agency only promised to further strain his relationship with the city of Chicago.
So what else was there to do but embrace the role of the villain?
On Monday, Contreras made his return to Wrigley Field and invited the boos at every turn.
Willson Contreras welcomed boos from Cubs fans in return to Wrigley Field
The former Cub had the first hit of the game for the Cardinals with a second-inning single. As he ran to first he put up his yellow-gloved hands to call for the home crowd to let him have it.
If it wasn’t already plainly obvious, Contreras wanted to make an impression in front of his old team. He was swinging with something extra, that’s for sure.
In the top of the fourth he grounded out with the hardest-hit ball the Cardinals have seen all season or in the last seven yers at 117.5 mph, per John Denton of MLB.com. It was the hardest hit ball of his career, even if it was an out.
In the sixth, he managed to up the ante with a double off the wall in center to score a run. Once again he played up to the fans.
Contreras might be taking out frustration on the Cubs as much as he’s just enjoying the moment. His time in St. Louis hasn’t been all that peachy.
The Cardinals have had a miserable start to the season, sitting in last place in the NL Central and 9.5 games back of first place going into Monday’s action.
On a personal level, Contreras’ catching has been called into question. He was essentially scapegoated and demoted to play designated hitter as the team called up another catcher over the weekend.
