Willson Contreras eager to continue his climb to catching stardom

Willson Contreras did a double take last month as he responded to a greeting from Bill Buckner during a reception before the Cubs Convention.

“Como esta, amigo?,” Buckner asked as Contreras froze before embracing the former Cubs first baseman as tightly as a baseball before making a game-saving tag at home plate.

“My best hitting coach,” Contreras said later with a proud smile.

Buckner, a lifetime .289 hitter over 20 major-league seasons served as one of Contreras’ mentors at Class A Boise in 2012 — when Contreras took a small, but positive step at the plate while making the transition to catcher after spending his first three seasons as a third baseman.

Since that time, the ascent has been so rapid and impressive that it’s a foregone conclusion Contreras, 25, will be expected to manage the challenging tasks of handling a championship-caliber pitching staff for his second full major-league season and provide protection somewhere in the middle of the batting order behind sluggers Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo.

“Two years ago, it was my first spring training,” Contreras said. “But I’m excited and proud to be part of a huge Cubs family and hope I can be here for my whole career.”

Despite his quick climb, Contreras realizes there’s plenty of work left for him and he felt compelled to clarify his stance after telling the Sun-Times in January that he “was going to be better” than perennial All-Stars Buster Posey and Yadier Molina — a declaration that fueled bewilderment and a stern reply from Molina, an eight-time Gold Glove winner.

“What player doesn’t want to be the best at their position?” Contreras replied later on his Twitter account. “I know I am lacking many years of experience and only time will tell.”

The since-retired Buckner, 68, has watched Contreras transform from an overly excited prospect to a confident, largely reliable player.

“He had the makings of a good athlete,” Buckner said. “I knew he had a lot of potential. He had so much enthusiasm he had to just tone it down a bit.”

One of the biggest adjustments Contreras made at the plate was not wrapping his bat around his neck and gradually hitting the ball with authority to all fields.

“The most important thing is he has become more patient at the plate just trying to swing at strikes,” Buckner said. “He has made a lot of adjustments, and I’m very proud of him. It’s a lot of fun to watch all these young players. I’ve coached most of them. It’s pretty cool.

“He had a lot of trouble. I had him when he was 19. He has just so much enthusiasm that it was tough for him to tone down a bit, be selective and still be offensive-minded.”

That doesn’t seem to be much of an issue for him on the Cubs. Manager Joe Maddon believes Contreras could have driven in 100 runs last season if he hadn’t suffered a right hamstring strain Aug. 9 at San Francisco that sidelined him for 29 games.

Contreras still knocked in 74 runs and he made a strong case to handle the fourth spot in the Cubs’ batting order. Last season, Contreras batted .615 with the bases loaded and .363 with runners in scoring position. He had a .608 slugging percentage from the cleanup spot.

Those credentials are convincing, although Maddon started Contreras twice at the leadoff spot, and Contreras responded with three hits and one walk in 10 plate appearances.

Despite playing deep into two consecutive postseasons, Contreras insists he is 100 percent ready to embark on another season. Among his spring goals will be to improve his pitch framing — a deficiency Maddon pointed out during a session at the Cubs Convention — and better judgment. Ten of Contreras’ 15 errors were throwing.

“It has been two long years, but you know what?” Contreras said. “We’re ready to roll. Everybody looks in good shape. We have a great pitching staff. We have great coaches, and I can’t wait to get together with everyone in spring training and see how I can make the team better.”

Buckner projects greatness for Contreras — provided he remains healthy.

“He has such great physical tools behind the plate,” Buckner said. “He throws as well as anyone I’ve seen. He kind of reminds me of (Hall of Famer) Ivan Rodriguez. And he uses the whole field. He has excellent power.

“He has all the potential to be an MVP-type player.”

mgonzales@chicgotribune.com

Twitter @MDGonzales

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