William Contreras may only be 25, but he is already out here making 15-year-veteran moves.
The Milwaukee Brewers catcher Contreras went viral for his unique move behind the plate that fooled New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton during Saturday’s contest. In the fifth inning, Stanton was waiting for the payoff pitch from Elvis Peguero on a 3-2 count. Right before the pitch was thrown, Contreras pretended that he was setting up inside by kicking his leg out towards Stanton. Instead though, Peguero dropped in a 91 mph slider on the outside corner, and Stanton waved at it aimlessly for the strikeout.
Take a look.
This is genius. Contreras kicks his leg before the pitch to trick Stanton into thinking he's setting up inside. pic.twitter.com/kIeHnrRs2Y
— Baseball's Not Dead (@dead_baseball) September 9, 2023
It looks like Contreras was successfully able to invade Stanton’s peripheral vision there. The former MVP slugger seemed totally fooled.
Contreras, an All-Star in 2022, is still known more so for his bat (hitting .282 with 15 homers and 69 RBIs for Milwaukee this season) than for his defense. But with that savvy move, he now becomes the latest opposing catcher to make Stanton look silly.
