Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras let his bat do the talking on Tuesday night after getting hit by a Milwaukee Brewers pitcher for the seventh time over the past two seasons.
Contreras hit a go-ahead eighth inning home run that shushed the crowd while rounding the bases.
"It feels good to shut them up," Contreras said after the Cubs 3-2 win. "When they boo me, I don't really care. But don't get sensitive when I do something like that."
Contreras has been pitched inside repeatedly in recent years against Milwaukee, including in their last series at Wrigley Field when he was hit in the helmet.
"I know a lot of those hit by pitches are not intentional," he said. "I was trying to send a message last series at home and then I got fined $7,500 because I was trying to protect myself. That hit by pitch can be the end of my career."
After getting hit in the head in Chicago, he got hit again the next day leading to the benches and bullpens clearing. That led to a fine for breaking Covid protocols, so this time Contreras took his frustration out on the baseball -- and then the crowd. "They picked the wrong guy to throw at," Contreras said. "That was a message sent."
One inning after Contreras was hit by a pitch on Tuesday, Cubs reliever Ryan Tepera threw behind Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff leading to words between the two, as well as Contreras, who was behind the plate.
"That caught me off-guard," Contreras said. "I didn't know anything about it. I was just trying to calm him down because I know how it feels to be thrown at."
Contreras is known as an emotional player but even the Brewers have been understanding of his frustration after getting hit so much. The crowd took the brunt of his emotions this time, instead of the Brewers.
"It's good to shut them up," Contreras stated. "If you want to boo, boo. I don't really care...A lot of people that watch the game, they don't understand what's going on."