William Contreras earned the Willie Mays World Series MVP award on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to their first championship in franchise history with a 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5.
The 28-year-old catcher finished the Fall Classic batting .381 with eight hits in 21 at-bats. He drove in four runs and scored twice. Beyond his offensive output, Contreras handled a young pitching staff and maximized the sport’s technology by winning 10 of 13 challenges using the automated ball-strike system during the series.
🗣️ MVP! MVP! MVP!#WonOurWay pic.twitter.com/mV9Ast3oLQ
Brewers Claim First Title Behind Contreras and Chourio
The Brewers capped off a dominant 2026 campaign by securing the franchise’s first title in their 58-year history at Tropicana Field. Milwaukee posted the majors’ best regular-season record with 103 victories before going 11-2 through the postseason, eliminating the Tampa Bay Rays.
Latino contributors anchored the championship run. Fellow Venezuelan teammate Jackson Chourio delivered a notable performance at just 22 years old, collecting 10 hits in the first four games against the Rays. Chourio surpassed Andruw Jones for the most postseason hits before turning 23, reaching his mark in only 25 games compared to Jones’s 45 games with the Atlanta Braves from 1996 to 1999.
WILLIAM CONTRERAS IS THE 2026 WORLD SERIES MVP! pic.twitter.com/I8lsWuAE8d
On the mound, Uribe tossed 5.1 scoreless innings with five strikeouts in the series, while Antonio Senzatela surrendered just one unearned run across 2.1 frames. Ace Jacob Misiorowski earned two wins in the Fall Classic, permitting only one run in 10 2/3 innings.
Contreras Wins World Series MVP Using Challenge System
Contreras established himself as the premier player in the series by expertly utilizing the automated ball-strike challenge system. After leading Major League Baseball with 185 challenges and 105 overturns during the regular season, he maintained his precision in October by winning 22 of 33 postseason challenges, including a 10-of-13 mark against the Rays.
Contreras joins an exclusive club of eight catchers to win the World Series MVP award.
He stands alongside Gene Tenace in 1972, Johnny Bench in 1976, Steve Yeager in 1981, Darrell Porter in 1982, Rick Dempsey in 1983, Pat Borders in 1992, and fellow Venezuelan Salvador Pérez in 2015.
Reflecting on his trajectory from a backup catcher during his 2021 title run with Atlanta to the central figure in Milwaukee, Contreras made his stance clear during the post-game celebrations.
A Historic Double Crown for Venezuelan Baseball
The championship added to an already golden year for Contreras, who also represented Venezuela’s national team when they captured the World Baseball Classic in March. Alongside teammates Jackson Chourio and Antonio Senzatela, Contreras joined Alex Bregman and Luke Gregerson of the 2017 Houston Astros as the only players to win both the World Baseball Classic and the World Series in the same calendar year.
Holding the Venezuelan flag across his shoulders on the field, Contreras expressed deep emotion about representing his homeland.
The individual honor also places Contreras alongside Pablo Sandoval (2012) and Salvador Pérez (2015) as the only Venezuelan players to win World Series MVP honors. Moments after receiving the trophy, he embraced his older brother, Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras, who won his own World Series ring with the Chicago Cubs in 2016.
MVP, MVP, MVP 🗣️William Contreras went off in the World Series:.381 AVG (8-for-21), 4 RBI https://t.co/uPM0Ks5xcG pic.twitter.com/xWIWR3PdRA
Manager Pat Murphy noted that he had predicted the award to his catcher before the final game began, confident that voters would recognize the exhaustive defensive and tactical workload behind the plate.
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WILLIAM CONTRERAS IS YOUR 2026 WORLD SERIES MVP!!!! pic.twitter.com/G7IwLuj2wj
Brewers star William Contreras wins the World Series MVP
