Willson Contreras wants to be ‘one of the leaders’ for the next Cubs World Series

Willson Contreras was a rookie when the Cubs won the World Series in 2016. He wants to be a veteran leader when the Cubs win it again.

August 17, 2016. The Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-1 to improve to 76-43 on their way to 103 wins and a their first World Series championship since 1908.

Willson Contreras did not play that August night. He was a mere two months into his MLB career,  already making his mark, memorably homering in his first big league at-bat. Contreras would go on to start five of the seven World Series games and become the Cubs starting catcher in 2017.

But on this night, Contreras was a rookie that Chicago was just getting to know.

After the game, Contreras stopped by Tony’s Burritos a short drive from Wrigley Field. He was not recognized by any of the patrons with the exception of one reporter who happened to be making the same late night dinner choice.

“I used to live by that area when I got here, and it was really fun I could’ve gone out and very little people recognize who I was,” Contreras told Da Windy City podcast. “Five years later, I’ll be walking the streets of Chicago and I got recognized by a lot of people. It feels great. That was one of my dreams since I was a kid.”

Contreras has made it well known that he would like to stay in Chicago while the Cubs reinvent themselves. Cubs brass does not plan to fully tear it down despite trading Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javy Baez. But, who knows. Contreras has one year left on his contract.

“I would love to be a part of new World Series for the Chicago Cubs,” Contreras reiterated. “I’m in this ship and I want to be here. Of course there are a lot of decisions that I can’t control.”

Many thought the Cubs would already have their second World Series team of the 21st century, but the magic from 2016 never returned despite a plethora of talent. Or, perhaps the team was not talented enough or just missing something.

“From what I remember was the mix of veterans and young guys that were mixed together and created a really good chemistry,” Contreras said. “In 2016 that team sticks together from April until November and I would like to have that back. To have the same chemistry, to have the experience, to have the young guys. By the time that I get my second World Series I want to be one of the leaders.”

David Ross, Jon Lester, Ben Zobrist and even John Lackey were big veteran contributors in 2016. There were leadership lessons to learn and Ross is now managing Contreras in his second season post Joe Maddon. Contreras will be one of the leaders of the dismantled Cubs for the rest of 2021 with an interesting offseason on deck.

“It’s been a little different since everyone got traded,” Contreras said. “There is a lot of new faces and a lot of new energy which I like and I like what I see from my guys that just got called up. We are trying to make sure that we stick together. We win and lose together. We just want to make sure that they feel comfortable enough to play good baseball.”

Willson Contreras spoke to FanSided on behalf of Laureus USA’s “Chicago’s Comeback” campaign, a new campaign designed to mobilize the Chicago community to sign a Letter of Support calling on legislative stakeholders and funders to prioritize sustained funding for local youth sports programming.