William Contreras Named All-Star While Leading the NL
William Contreras made his third All-Star team while leading the National League at his position — not from the headlines, but from behind the plate.
William Contreras sat fourth in the first round of 2026 NL All-Star fan voting. Fourth. Behind catchers with bigger city names and louder followings.
He made the roster anyway. Third All-Star selection of his career.
Here is the rest of the story. Entering All-Star week, Contreras led all qualified National League catchers in fWAR — the full-value number — and in batting average and walks. He was batting near .295 with nine home runs and 51 RBI. The Milwaukee Brewers, who hand Contreras the ball on every pitch, carried a 3.33 ERA into the break — the best mark in Major League Baseball.
Fourth in fan voting. First in almost everything else.
The 29-year-old Contreras spent the first half building one of the quieter dominant seasons a catcher can have. He went 4-for-5 with a three-run home run in a mid-June win over Atlanta. Over the following 14 games, he hit .377 with three more home runs and nine RBI. The Brewers are in first place in the NL Central. Their rotation — the league’s best — pitches to Contreras every night.
A catcher does not just receive pitches. A catcher manages a game. Contreras calls the sequence. He reads the scouting report on every hitter in the lineup. He notices when his pitcher’s arm slot drops slightly in the fifth inning and sets up something different. A hundred small decisions a game that never appear in the box score.
But they appear somewhere.
They appear in a 3.33 ERA.
What a catcher can learn from this
The catchers who get recognized first are usually the ones who hit. The catchers who keep getting recognized — the ones who make three All-Star teams — are the ones who make their pitchers better.
A catcher’s value is more than what the batting line shows. The pitch selection, the scouting, the ability to know which pitcher needs a quick word in the third inning and which one needs to be left alone — that is the meticulous part of the position. The part that requires more preparation than anything else.
Contreras shows up ready before the first pitch of the first inning. You can do the same at your level.
Before your next game, pick one hitter on the opposing team and think about what they like to see. Watch their first swing. Talk to your pitcher about it in the dugout before the game starts. That five-minute conversation is the beginning of the kind of game management that built the best ERA in baseball.
Contreras did it quietly all year. That is how you make three All-Star teams — and it starts with a conversation in the dugout before the first pitch.
Try this at your next practice
- Pre-game scouting conversation. Before your first warm-up pitch, tell your pitcher one thing you noticed about the first batter in the opposing lineup — their stance, their first-swing tendency, what pitch they look for. It doesn’t have to be right. The habit of having the conversation is what matters.
- Sequence tracking during catch. In your next bull pen session, call each pitch to your pitcher the way Contreras would — “fastball in,” “change-up down and away.” After each pitch, say one word describing what you saw: “sink,” “late break,” “straight.” You’re building the vocabulary of a game manager.
- Between-inning check-in. At your next game, find your pitcher between the second and third inning. Ask one question: “How does your fastball feel today?” Listen to the answer. Then call accordingly. That’s game management from behind the plate.
Sources: William Contreras earns All-Star nod while leading Brewers’ pitchers (MLB.com) · Brewers William Contreras Is Still Flying Under the Radar in 2026 (SI.com) · MLB catcher power rankings entering week 15 (The Big Lead).
