Willson Contreras pours gas on Cardinals-Cubs fire with recent comments

The historic St. Louis Cardinals-Chicago Cubs rivalry never lacks in storylines, great moments and hatred between two of baseball’s oldest franchises. And this new wrinkle from Willson Contreras surely won’t disappoint.

The new Cardinals’ backstop, who inked a five-year, $87.5 million contract this winter to remain in the NL Central, made some recent comments that will draw the ire of Cubs fans.

Willson Contreras endears himself to St. Louis Cardinals fans while alienating his former organization, the Chicago Cubs.

Ouch. Big ouch.

Willson Contreras was an integral member of the 2016 World Champion Chicago Cubs, who ended a 108-year title drought for that franchise. He was one of the homegrown players, along with Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez, that helped anchor a new era of baseball in the North Side of town. But any feelings of appreciation for everything Contreras accomplished in front of Cubs fans must’ve taken a hit after deciding to bolt for rival St. Louis in the winter. That alone had to be a gut punch.

These comments, though? You can almost assure that Contreras will now be booed in his return to Wrigley Field this season.

A player may feel a certain way about his old team after departing them, but to come out publicly and say that the Cardinals are a “better organization” after spending all those years in Chicago and winning a championship? That has to hurt for the Cubs and their fans. Meanwhile, Contreras should quickly ascend to fan favorite status before having even playing a game in front of the Cardinal faithful.

St. Louis has its new catcher after replacing the retired Yadier Molina and is coming off an NL Central title, their first since 2019. The Cubs, on the other hand, never really replaced Willson Contreras despite all their spending this winter. Instead, they’ll roll with veterans Tucker Barnhart and Yan Gomes, as well as the 23-year-old Miguel Amaya behind the plate in 2023. Downgrades, to say the least.

Not that the Cardinals-Cubs rivalry needed any more intrigue, but Willson Contreras just added some with these latest remarks.