REACHING OUT

Simple outreach to fans goes a long way in creating bonds.

Sometimes good things happen when you least expect it, as occurred recently at Wrigley Field after a long rain delay during a Cubs-Brewers game. Catcher Willson Contreras decided to warm up before the game resumed by playing catch near the Cubs’ dugout. But instead of throwing to a teammate, Contreras did so with a young fan instead.

Contreras and a boy standing in an aisle a few rows behind the dugout played catch for only about 30 seconds. Contreras motioned for the kid to keep the ball after the ninth throw between them, then turned and went back to work behind the plate in what turned out to be a Cubs loss.

It was no big deal to Contreras, who said he enjoys interacting with fans.

“I was just trying to have fun before the game started again, and I saw the kid asking for a baseball,” he said. “I just called him down and we started playing catch.”

Contreras said he hadn’t planned to do it when he walked out of the dugout. Warming up with the fan just seemed natural.

“It was just spur of the moment,” he said. “He came down by himself. He didn’t plan on doing it. It turned out pretty good, and I just made the kid happy.”

Contreras received a nice ovation from the fans who had waited out the rain delay, and because a Cubs’ social media employee was filming the warmup and posted a video on Twitter, it quickly went viral.

Easy to bond

Contreras went back to his job, and everyone moved on. But the gesture was a small reminder of how easy it is for players to create a bond with fans and make the game experience better than it already is.