Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras has been named the Most Valuable Player of the World Series after leading his team to its first championship in franchise history. Contreras batted 8-for-21 (.381) with four runs batted in and struck out only once across the five-game series.
Behind the plate, Contreras went 10-for-14 on Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenges and threw out four of nine attempted basestealers. He became the 27th player in history to record multiple hits in each of the first three games of a World Series, including a three-hit performance in Game 3. In Game 1, he collected two hits and threw out two basestealers.
"I don't have words to say for how I'm feeling," Contreras said through an interpreter after Game 5. "I'm just appreciative of my teammates, appreciative of (manager Pat) Murphy. I want to thank all of them."
Reliever Aaron Ashby, who threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings in the series, praised Contreras: "This team's not what it is without this guy. He wants to compete every day. He's our bulldog and we love this dude."
Contreras faced strong competition for the award. Outfielder Jackson Chourio hit 11-for-24 (.458), and rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt went 8-for-19 (.421) with a hit in four consecutive at-bats spanning Games 4 and 5.
The Brewers acquired Contreras in a three-team trade involving the Atlanta Braves and Oakland Athletics in December 2022, a deal that has proven highly beneficial for Milwaukee. Since joining the Brewers, Contreras has earned two All-Star selections and established himself as one of baseball's premier catchers. He is the first catcher to win World Series MVP since Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals in 2015.
