Willson Contreras needs to stop complaining and back off the plate

Just four days after being activated off the IL, Willson Contreras was hit by a pitch and had to leave Thursday's Boston Red Sox game. This marked the 24th time he's been hit by a pitch this season and the 153rd time this has happened in his big-league career. Rather than look internally for a solution, Contreras called on his team to figure out a solution, telling the Boston Globe's Tim Healey that "If nobody does anything about it, I'm going to keep getting hit. That's the way I see it. That's it." Contreras complaining isn't out of the norm, but his proposed solution is.

Does it sound like Contreras is calling on his teammates to throw at the opposition to try to ensure he doesn't get hit by pitches? As good as that might sound to him, that is not going to solve the problem. However, his hit-by-pitch issue has one clear solution.

Willson Contreras needs to back off the plate if he can't stand getting hit by pitches

The issue is self-inflicted. Contreras is a player who likes to stand as close to the plate as he can. I mean, look at the image above. It looks like his elbow is in the strike zone. If that's where he's comfortable, that's totally fine. There's nothing illegal about where he is standing. However, if you're going to stand on top of the plate, don't you think you're more likely to get hit by pitches?

“A lot of people might say that I hit on top of the plate, but I’m seeing a lot of players hit on top of the plate. They don’t get hit like me,” he said.

Just think about this logically. Jose Altuve, a player known for standing incredibly far away from the plate yet still finding ways to make tons of contact, has been hit by just three pitches this season and 83 times in his 16-year career. He's never been hit by more than 10 pitches in a single season. Contreras has never been hit by fewer than 14 pitches in a season since 2020. On top of that, he has been hit 124 times since 2020, good for second in the majors, trailing only Ty France.

Contreras standing as close to the plate as he does makes it tough for pitchers to pitch inside against him. Should they control their pitches better? Sure. Does the fact that Contreras, a player who stands on top of the plate, gets hit a lot mean that he's being targeted? Of course not.

Nobody is targeting Contreras, and there is a clear solution. He can simply back up in the box. I promise, he won't get hit nearly as much if he does that. His proposed remedy for this situation, however, will only put the Red Sox in a tougher spot.

The last thing the Red Sox should be doing is seeking retaliation on behalf of Willson Contreras

I understand Contreras' frustration. Getting hit by pitches as often as he does is painful, and it's especially frustrating when it happens days after returning from another injury and just a couple of weeks before the postseason. However, not doing any self-reflection and instead imploring his teammates to "do something about it" is pretty ridiculous.

The only thing the Red Sox can conceivably do is throw at the opposition, and what does that solve? Again, Contreras is not being targeted. If he continues to stand on top of the plate, he's going to continue to get hit. That's how this game works. That's why guys like Anthony Rizzo, Freddie Freeman, Brandon Nimmo and many others get hit as often as they do. The closer to the plate you stand, the more susceptible you become to getting hit by pitches.

Throwing at the opposition will only lead to Contreras or someone else actually being targeted, and/or ejections and suspensions being handed out to Red Sox pitchers. Is this really what Contreras wants down the stretch of the regular season? If Contreras wants something to change, he's going to have to do something himself. If he doesn't, it'll just be more of the same, whether the Red Sox retaliate or not.

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