William Contreras hit a game-tying homer, took a slow lap around the bases, flashed the bazooka, and some people decided that was the scandal of the night. It earned hype, and it isn't close. If a slow trot in a playoff game offends you, the issue is your tolerance for joy.
Here's what Contreras did in Game 2 of the NLCS on Monday night at American Family Field. The Dodgers grabbed the lead three times in the first five innings. Milwaukee answered every time. The last answer was a 436-foot homer to center off Kris Bubic to tie it in the fifth. An inning later, Contreras singled home the go-ahead run. Final: Brewers 7, Dodgers 4, and a 2-0 series lead, the first time in franchise history Milwaukee has gone up 2-0 in a best-of-seven. He finished 3 for 4 with a walk and three RBIs.
That moment was earned. He became the fourth player ever with three separate game-tying or go-ahead hits in a single postseason game, and the first to do it since Sandy Alomar in the 1997 ALDS. When you are the best player on the field, and you have been the best player on the field all October, you get to pose. That is the deal. Nobody is lining up to lecture the Dodgers' pitching for serving up the meatball.
The complaint is that he took his time. MLB's own video of him circling the bases ran roughly 35 seconds, and he did the same thing on every homer in the Division Series. He runs a practiced routine: the bazooka, the crown at third base, all of it. Christian Yelich admitted postgame that even the Brewers don't totally know where the bazooka came from: "I'm not sure when the bazooka started getting mixed in the celebration. I think that's been like the last month or two." He added, "He's always done the crown thing at third base." His own teammates are still piecing together where the bit came from, and it's a good one.
The strongest version of the other side says restraint shows respect for the game and the opponent, and that a quieter trot is the classier move. People genuinely believe that. I just don't think "act like you've been there" is a real value anymore, and I don't think it ever did anything for anyone except the person who wanted a reason to be annoyed. October baseball is supposed to feel enormous. A catcher hammering a scoreboard-high homer to tie a playoff game and then taking a beat to enjoy it is the product working exactly as designed.
This isn't new for him either. In the Division Series he mimicked Craig Counsell calling for a bullpen change after a big homer. He plays with his food. That's the personality. Yelich, who shares a clubhouse with him, bragged about it: "He's the heart and soul of our team. Just the competitive edge and fire he brings. He's been awesome."
None of this settles the series. It's 2-0, with Game 3 up next at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, where the posing could stop in a hurry. That's a question about baseball. The trot already answered itself. If Contreras keeps giving the Dodgers reasons to watch him walk, that's a pitching problem, and the only one worth an opinion.
