St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Wilson Contreras was caught eating some bat tape while standing in the batter's box during one of his at-bats during Saturday's game against Minnesota.
It happened in the bottom of the third inning with a runner on first and nobody out and the game tied at 1-1. After working a 3-2 count, Contreras used his teeth to pull a piece of batting tape off the handle, ripped it off, and stuffed it into his mouth. Then, he lined up to take the next pitch while chewing it as if it was no big deal.
Willson Contreras eats bat tape.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 29, 2025
Chip Caray on the St. Louis Cardinals TV play-by-play call for FanDuel Sports Network. ⚾️⁉️🎙️ #MLB pic.twitter.com/JS6FJUYDxm
Now that is really disgusting. Bat tape is used to improve a baseball player's grip on his bat. It is not supposed to be a mid-game snack. We haven't seen anything this gross since Indiana basketball coach Tom Crean put gum back in his mouth after it fell on the floor.
We would guess this is not the first time that Contreras has eaten bat tape, which raises so many questions. When did he start eating it? What made him think to eat his bat tape? Most importantly, WHY?
Contreras would go on to strike out with a swing and a miss on the next pitch. For the game, he was 0-for-5 with three strikeouts and has yet to record a hit this season, going 0-for-9 with 5 strikeouts.
Fortunately, the Cards haven't needed him so far as they beat the Twins 5-1 on Saturday and are now 2-0 on the season. In the meantime, we have a suggestion to Contreras for getting out of his slump: STOP EATING BAT TAPE!
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
