JUPITER, Fla. — Willson Contreras won't get to officially don the classic Cardinals' white jersey until opening day on March 30, but it won't be the first time he's worn one.
The first time he wore the birds on the bat against the clean white slate? Well, the jersey just happened to come from the man he succeeded behind home plate.
"I had a white jersey at home that Yadi gave me... I put it on, it looked so different but I love it. I love being a Cardinal... I like the way everything is going. It's kind of the old school way, and everyone is looking one way. I love it," Contreras said about trying on a Cardinals jersey before actually becoming a Cardinal.
Contreras went on to explain that Molina had gifted him a jersey at the end of last season.
"I asked Molina because he's my idol... When I got the jersey I just got home and put it on... I put it on and asked my wife if she liked it, 'Do I look good?'. But I'm really happy with the decision I made, I think it was the right move for me. And being here, it feels like home. I've been here two or three months and the respect everyone has shown me and the love... they wanted me to be here and I wanted to be here. And I think I made a great decision," Contreras said at spring training camp in Jupiter.
As Contreras has said before, being a Cardinal was something he had been thinking about long before this spring training.
In fact, Contreras was even hearing from Cardinals fans last year about how he should switch from Cubbie blue to Cardinal red.
"When I was playing last year I had some Cardinal fans asking me to come here... "We want you here, we'd love to have you here". And now that Yadi's retired, I was like, 'Ok... And why are the Cardinals fans going to love me? Because I always play with my heart and I think that's something I leave out on the field day in and day out," Contreras said.
In his introductory press conference, Contreras said he plays "for the other team not to like me". The edge the catcher has developed on the field will now be used to help the Cardinals, instead of crush them.
"I'm always looking to... how can I say this? When I go out there with my team I'm looking to kill somebody. I'd kill for my team if we're going to war together. Or if we're going to fight we're going to fight together. Win or lose together. I don't really care if the other team likes me or not, because I'm trying to win the game now. That's how my mindset is. When I play with an edge, that's what that means," Contreras said.
Contreras has opted not to compete in the World Baseball Classic this March, so he can spend more time at Cardinals camp getting to know his new pitching staff.
"It's gonna help. If I go to World Baseball Classic and go to finals it would be like March 23, is the last game. That would take a lot of time from me," Contreras said.
And as one of just two players on the current Cardinals' roster with a World Series ring (Adam Wainwright is the other), he has a singular goal to get another one. This time, wearing red.
"Once you get a World Series ring I feel like you want to get back to the World Series every year. Even though it's hard to get back every year, but that's the mindset. And that's why I came here. I talked to my family and my agent about it, and we were looking at teams that have the material to get back to the World Series, and we're talking about the St. Louis Cardinals having everything it takes to get back to the World Series. Hopefully if not this year, another year, but that's what we're looking for and that's why I'm here," Contreras said.