Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras has been named the World Series Most Valuable Player after leading the franchise to its first championship title in 2026.
Contreras' dominant performance
Contreras batted 8 for 21 (.381) with four runs batted in and only one strikeout across the five-game series. He also excelled defensively, going 10 for 14 on Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenges behind the plate and throwing out four of nine attempted basestealers. Contreras became the 27th player in history to record multiple hits in each of the first three games of a World Series, including a three-hit effort in Game 3. In Game 1, he collected two hits and threw out two basestealers.
Teammates praise
"I don't have words to say for how I'm feeling," Contreras said through an interpreter after Game 5. "I'm just appreciative of my teammates, appreciative of (manager Pat) Murphy. I want to thank all of them." Reliever Aaron Ashby, who threw 5 ⅔ scoreless innings in the series, said: "This team's not what it is without this guy. He wants to compete every day. He's our bulldog and we love this dude."
Strong competition for MVP
Contreras faced strong competition from teammates Jackson Chourio, who went 11 for 24 (.458), and rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt, who batted 8 for 19 (.421) with a hit in four consecutive at-bats spanning Games 4 and 5. All were considered deserving of the award.
Trade proven a heist
The Brewers acquired Contreras in a three-team trade involving the Atlanta Braves and Oakland Athletics in December 2022, a deal centered on Sean Murphy. Since then, Contreras has emerged as one of baseball's best catchers, earning two All-Star selections with Milwaukee and now a World Series MVP.
Historical milestone
Contreras is the first catcher to win World Series MVP since Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals in 2015.
