Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras was named MVP of the 2026 World Series after his team beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday, October 28, at Tropicana Field. The win closed out the series in five games and gave the Brewers the first championship in the franchise’s 57-year history.
For a club that spent decades as a small-market underdog, the title is a landmark. For Contreras, a three-time All-Star from Venezuela, it caps a year that also included a World Baseball Classic title with his national team in March.
What We Know
Contreras hit .381 in the series, going 8-for-21 at the plate, according to the Associated Press and Sports Illustrated. In the clincher he lined a run-scoring double in the sixth inning that stretched Milwaukee’s lead to 4-0, a cushion the bullpen protected the rest of the way.
His work behind the plate mattered just as much. He threw out four runners trying to steal, and he made the most of baseball’s new automated ball-strike (ABS) challenge system, winning the large majority of the calls he contested during the five games. He led the majors in challenges and successful overturns during the regular season, the AP reported.
Speaking after the final out, Contreras told reporters: “I don’t have words to say for how I’m feeling.” He was more direct about his standing at his position: “Today I feel like I’m the best catcher in the world.”
Game 5 itself was a tidy, pitching-led win. All-Star right-hander Jacob Misiorowski worked 5 2/3 innings before leaving with what he described as “just a cramp” in his right calf, and the relief trio of JoJo Romero, Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill limited Tampa Bay to a single run, a ninth-inning double by Chandler Simpson. Young infielder Cooper Pratt drove in two runs.
Background
Contreras, 28, has been Milwaukee’s everyday catcher since the start of the club’s run of four straight postseason appearances in 2023. During the 2026 regular season he hit .270 with 18 home runs and a career-high 94 RBIs, according to the AP.
He is only the eighth catcher to be named World Series MVP, joining a list that includes Johnny Bench, Pat Borders and, most recently, Kansas City’s Salvador Perez in 2015.
Baseball runs in the family. His older brother, Willson Contreras, now a first baseman with the Boston Red Sox, won the 2016 World Series as a catcher with the Chicago Cubs. Sports Illustrated reported that Willson was at Game 5 in a Brewers jersey. “My brother is my role model,” William said, per the AP. “I don’t have a lot of friends. He’s my friend.”
The Brewers got here the hard way. They finished the regular season with the best record in baseball, then swept the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, according to CBS Sports and the AP. The Rays forced a fifth game by rallying in the 12th inning of Game 4, but Milwaukee’s pitching shut the door the next night.
Reactions
Brewers manager Pat Murphy summed up his catcher’s edge in a single line quoted by the AP: “He’s our pit bull. You don’t just walk up and pet him. There’s a chance you get nipped.”
On the Tampa Bay side, manager Kevin Cash defended his decision-making around starter Drew Rasmussen, who held Milwaukee to one run over four innings before reaching his pitch limit. “He’s a stud. That guy is a stud,” Cash said, as reported by CBS Sports.
Contreras also reflected on a remarkable 2026 for Venezuelan baseball. Asked what it meant to win both the World Baseball Classic and the World Series in the same year, he answered simply: “It means everything.” Sports Illustrated noted that he, Jackson Chourio and Antonio Senzatela are only the second set of teammates to win both titles.
What’s Next
Milwaukee now gets to celebrate a first championship, and fans will be watching for official word from the club on how the city marks it. For Contreras, the offseason brings a new kind of attention: he enters 2027 as the reigning World Series MVP and one of the most valuable catchers in the sport, at a moment when the ABS challenge system has turned pitch-framing and quick decision-making into a visible skill.
Looking for more sports stories? Read our Travis Kelce biography, our profile of sideline reporter Melanie Collins, and the latest on Jay-Z’s Super Bowl LXI halftime show.
Sources
- Associated Press via NBC Los Angeles – Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras wins World Series MVP
- Sports Illustrated – William Contreras named World Series MVP
- Yahoo Sports – Brewers catcher William Contreras wins MVP
- CBS Sports – Brewers win 2026 World Series