Willson Contreras Leaves His First Game as a Cardinal with an Apparent Leg Injury (UPDATE)
This offseason, Willson Contreras left the North Side of Chicago for the warm embrace of … St. Louis, MO, a city he was apparently pining for over multiple seasons with the Cubs. And as such, the Cardinals faithful greeted him with a warm welcome in his first at-bat in a Cardinals uniform.
I guess that’s what you get for turning full heel on the Cubs and wearing Yadi Molina tribute cleats for your first start in St. Louis. Say what you will about him, but Willson Contreras knows how to play The Game.
But here’s the thing. For however ready I was to root against Willson Contreras this season, I never-ever-EVER would want to see him get hurt. Unfortunately, this afternoon, Contreras left the game with an apparent leg injury. I wasn’t watching live, but word is it happened after taking a 103 MPH Jordan Hicks fastball off his leg (UPDATE: Video below).
Hicks throws as hard (and is often as wild) as any pitcher in baseball. I am sure that did not feel good. Making matters worse, I think we all know, as Cubs fans, that Contreras never leaves games he’s physically allowed to continue playing. He has a reputation for being an extreme “play through it” guy, which leads me to believe this was particularly bothersome.
Hopefully, it was nothing serious. I may not want to see Contreras or the Cardinals succeed this season, but not like this. We’ll update this post as soon as we learn more, including video of the pitch.
UPDATE: Here’s video of the pitch. It looks like it bounces straight off his knee, and you can see Contreras hobble right away.
Contreras left after going 2-4 at the plate and throwing out a base stealer.
