brandon graser

Since becoming a Brewer, William Contreras has fully embraced Milwaukee: “Three years ago, my agent calls and tells me, ‘Atlanta traded you.’ I told him: ‘Trade me back.’ I’m like, ‘MILWAUKEE?! OK. Nobody talk to me.’ Nah — it’s just crazy to be traded like that. Crazy. I barely understood what a trade means. But what choice do you have? So I try to accept it. I try to think, William. Be honest. What you KNOW about Milwaukee? Yes, for a Venezuelan kid, and even just coming from Atlanta, it’s a different world, a different culture. But then I get here, and I get to know things.… It’s an amazing place. The organization, the fans, it’s such a great baseball city. Funny how it changes. Now if I think about that trade, I got lucky.... OK — so there is this saying in football (‘soccer’ here). It goes: The ball is round. And what it means is: The game is unpredictable. For example, say it’s the offseason. Teams are making moves. Huge trades, huge signings. Sure. But here’s the thing. It’s only the offseason. Once the real season starts, once the ball starts bouncing? ANYTHING can happen. Most times, it bounces in favor of the big cities. Teams with the biggest investments, the biggest talent. But sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes, the ball just bounces another way. You can’t explain it, can’t predict it, can’t pay for it … you can only go out there and play. It’s just a ball, you know what I’m saying?? The ball is round.... It’s funny … I still have a little regret, years later, for being rude to my agent about the trade. ‘MILWAUKEE?!’ Wow. What a wrong way to react. Now, I hope I spend my whole career here — and I hope to be on the first World Series winner in Brewers history. It’ll happen, I bet. It’s like Bob [Uecker] always said: ‘No one better than you.’ Well actually, Bob, probably some are better than me! I’m not the best. None of our group is. But if you’re telling me another team is the best??? Man, I swear. I haven’t seen them. No one better than Milwaukee right now. No one better than US.” playerstribu.ne/Contreras @Wcontreras42 | @Brewers