Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras stirred up some drama last week with some comments about himself and his veteran counterparts at the position, but now he is taking time to clarify his remarks.
In a recent interview with Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun-Times, Contreras said that he no longer studies film of the St. Louis Cardinals’ Yadier Molina or the San Francisco Giants’ Buster Posey behind the plate.
“I used to watch a lot of those guys,” the 25-year-old was quoted as saying. “But now I’m watching myself because I know that I’m going to be better than them. That’s my plan. That’s my [mindset].
“I know that I have a lot of talent, and I thank God every day for giving me this kind of talent that I have,” Contreras continued. “In my mind, I want to be the best catcher in the game for a long time — like it was with Yadier Molina, like it is with Buster Posey.”
Well, Contreras’ pronouncements appeared to anger Molina, who took to Instagram on Wednesday to post a picture of himself along with Posey and Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez from the 2016 All-Star Game.
“Respect the ranks, newbies!” Molina’s caption roughly translated to. “Here with those who have proven that they are the hard ones!”
A few hours after Molina’s post, Contreras headed to social media himself to set the record straight, tweeting that his quotes had been misinterpreted.
Many people have misinterpreted what was said during a recent interview, I see no wrong in taking the best players as personal goals and exceedance. What player doesn’t want to be the best at their position? I know I am lacking many years of experience and only time will tell.
— Willson Contreras (@WContreras40) January 18, 2018
Contreras may very well become one of the best backstops in the game after hitting .276 with 21 homers and 74 RBIs as a second-year player last season. But regardless of whether or not you think that he said anything wrong here, this is not the first time that he has appeared to show up an opponent.
