Willson Contreras gets into spat with fans, fans get banned from Nationals Park

Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras isn’t known to be controversial, so a heated verbal exchange with fans left many surprised.

Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras got into a heated verbal exchange with two fans on Tuesday. Contreras isn’t a controversial player, so the exchange was out of character and proved to be problematic on the fans’ end.

As a result, the fans got banned from Nationals Park in Washington, DC for five years.

The exact exchange is unclear, but Contreras told Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune, “If somebody tried to mess up my family, they’re going to (have to go through) me first. Whatever they said, it wasn’t healthy. It was not right. What he said got under my skin. We’re speaking the same language. I know what he means.”

Contreras has been one of the most respected players in Chicago over his career.

Willson Contreras isn’t expected to face any discipline from the Chicago Cubs

Contreras isn’t expected to face any discipline from Chicago, which seems to be the right call. Though it’s not clear exactly what happened, he doesn’t seem to be at fault.

The Cubs will continue to have their three-time All-Star play with the team. Contreras contributes a lot to Chicago and if he had been suspended, his absence would’ve been noticeable.

This season, he’s hitting .245/.355/.452 for an OPS of .807. He was also a huge speculated trade target for several teams, but the Cubs decided to keep him. He made his MLB debut in 2016 with Chicago and has never played elsewhere.

There was much speculation that would change at the trade deadline, but he stayed put in Chicago. Now the question will become if he stays there come the 2023 season given his looming free agency.