The vote was cast by men who lived the game — and the name they landed on for the Boston Red Sox was Willson Contreras. The 34-year-old Venezuelan received the 2026 Heart & Hustle Award on September 7 at Fenway Park, backed by a season that reads .274/.384/.516 with a .900 OPS and 26 home runs — second-best in the American League — even as he sat on the injured list when the trophy was handed out.
Why This Award Hits Different
Now in its 21st edition, the Heart & Hustle Award is unlike almost anything else in baseball: it’s voted on exclusively by members of the MLBPAA, the association of former major leaguers. No journalists. No managers. No analytics departments. The award goes to the active player who best represents the values, spirit, and traditions of the game — as judged by the people who actually played it.
For Contreras, this is his second team-level Heart & Hustle Award. He won his first with the Chicago Cubs in 2022. When two different organizations — and the same pool of voters — arrive at the same conclusion about a player, that says something no stat line fully captures.
The Season That Convinced the People Who Know
Contreras came to Boston in December 2025 after years behind the plate — first with the Cubs, then the Cardinals. The Red Sox moved him to first base, and his response was one of the best seasons of his career. In 125 games before the injury, he hit .274 with a .384 OBP and a .900 OPS, the second-highest mark in the AL in 2026.
The surface numbers are impressive enough, but Statcast fills in the rest. Contreras averages 89.7 mph exit velocity and carries a 13.4% barrel rate — meaning more than one in every eight balls he puts in play comes off the bat with the exact combination of speed and launch angle that produces maximum damage. His average bat speed sits at 77 mph, 96th percentile across all of MLB.
Four All-Star selections (2018, 2019, 2022, 2026). A 2016 World Series ring with the Cubs. And now a crystal trophy at Fenway. Puerto Cabello, Carabobo, Venezuela has one more reason to follow this man.
The Numbers Behind the Award
Here’s what Statcast recorded for Contreras in the 2026 season:
- 517 plate appearances
- 26 home runs, 79 RBI
- AVG: .274
- OPS: .900
- xwOBA: .374 (expected production based on contact quality)
- Average exit velocity: 89.7 mph
- Barrel rate: 13.4%
- Hard-hit rate: 43.6% (balls hit 95+ mph)
- Average bat speed: 77 mph
How he stacks up league-wide:
- xwOBA: 94th percentile (elite)
- Bat speed: 96th percentile (elite)
- Barrel %: 88th percentile
- Squared-up rate: 6th percentile (one of the lowest in MLB)
- Contact/whiff rate: 14th percentile (one of the lowest in MLB)
What’s Next for Contreras and Boston
The awkward footnote: Contreras accepted the award while on the 10-day IL with a left hamstring strain, placed there on August 31. His return was expected around September 10 or 11 — right when Boston needs him most.
At the time of the announcement, the Red Sox were 79-65 in the AL East, sitting second in the Wild Card race behind the Yankees. Every game in September counts, and having Contreras out of the lineup is not a small thing for a team with October on its mind.
As the team winner, Contreras now advances to the league-wide Heart & Hustle vote, with the overall winner announced in November on MLB Network. Bobby Witt Jr. took the general award in both 2024 and 2025 and represents the Royals again in 2026. Boston’s two all-time winners — Dustin Pedroia in 2013 and Mookie Betts in 2018 — both won in World Series years. The Red Sox know exactly what that trophy can mean.
