Cardinals' Willson Contreras hints his pitchers aren't protecting him from being hit by pitches
'Every hit by pitch is scary,' the star first baseman told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch after Tuesday's 1-0 loss to the Pirates, during which he was hit for the second time in a week. 'I wish it hit me in a different spot. Every hit-by-pitch on the hand is really scary… Probably, it can be bad luck. It can be they're trying to go in and off the plate. And we're not protecting anybody, [so] that's going to keep happening.'
Contreras, who has been hit by an MLB-high 14 pitches this season, seemed to be insinuating that St. Louis' pitchers aren't sticking up for him by not hitting opposing batters in retaliation.
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The Cardinals' Willson Contreras reacts after getting hit by a pitch in Tuesday's 1-0 loss to the Pirates.
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'I know they're not trying to hit me in the hand,' Contreras added. 'I'm a human being. It gets old. I want to play. I want to stay in the game. I don't know what to say about it. Protect myself, and hopefully somebody protects me.'
Tuesday's hit-by-pitch was particularly harmful for Contreras, who underwent X-rays on his left hand after Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes hit him with a fastball in the fourth inning.
The tests came back negative, according to The Athletic's Katie Woo, and the Cardinals have listed Contreras as day-to-day.
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The Cardinals' Willson Contreras rounds the bases after hitting a home run on June 28.
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A three-time All-Star, Contreras is hitting .248 with 11 home runs and 51 RBIs this year.
He signed a five-year, $87.5 million contract with the Cardinals in December 2022 after spending the first seven years of his MLB career with the Cubs.
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The 33-year-old was hit by the most pitches in the majors in 2020, with 14 during the pandemic-shortened season.
He was hit by the third-most pitches in MLB in 2022 with 24, although he's on pace to top that number this season with ease.
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