José Contreras

“Pressure-tested.” The label suited José Contreras, the ace of the formidable Cuban national team of the 1990s that dominated international competition. Fidel Castro himself had deemed the pitcher “el titán de bronce” (the bronze titan), a nickname first bestowed upon Cuban Revolutionary hero Antonio Maceo, one of the country’s founding fathers.

How could José Contreras wilt under pressure? “People would tell me, ‘Wow, you pitched in a sold-out Yankee Stadium.’ But I’d already pitched in a full park, the Estadio Latinoamericano. I trained for three months to go to Atlanta and win the Gold Medal in a 10-game competition. If you get off to a bad start, if you lose two games, you’re out of the tournament. … You have to wait four more years … (and) cost you four years of work.”1

José Ariel Contreras Camejo was born on December 6, 1971, in Las Martinas, an agricultural town in the westernmost Cuban province, Pinar del Río. As the youngest child, he helped his parents, Florentino and Modesta, and eight siblings grow tobacco on the family farm, which lacked electricity until his late teens. Contreras, who rode his horse to school, dreamed of becoming a veterinarian until he was discovered by former Cuban national team pitcher Jesús Guerra Hernández in a sandlot game.

Barefoot and shirtless, Contreras played third base and threw a perfect strike to first – from his knees. Impressed, Guerra Hernández said, “Come with me to the Youth Academy, and in two years you’ll be on the Cuban national team.”2 Until then, Contreras preferred volleyball to the Cuban national pastime.

Two years later, the 6-foot-4, 255-pound Contreras debuted in the Cuban Serie Nacional (National Series)1991-1992 season. Under the tutelage of Guerra Hernández (whom Contreras considered a second father) and Juan Carlos Oliva (Tony Oliva’s brother), Contreras blossomed into the top starter of his hometown Vegueros (Tobacco Growers) and a formidable one-two punch with fellow flamethrower Pedro Luis Lazo.

Coach Maximiliano Gutiérrez suggested a new pitch: the forkball. A quick study, Contreras fanned contact hitter Lourdes Gurriel Sr. twice. The stunned batter asked Contreras about the pitch. “Oh, that’s a forkball I’m learning,” said Contreras. “Learning it? That’s your pitch!” replied Gurriel. Contreras, who had “heard the bat blowing in the wind” in the two at-bats, marveled at the praise from one of Cuba’s all-time greats.3

Now blessed with two devastating pitches, Contreras appeared in 232 games from 1991 through 2002 and posted a 117-50 record with a 2.82 ERA in 4,419 innings.4 The team won the National Series Championships in 1996-1997 and 1997-1998.

Contreras represented Gold Medal-winning selección nacional in the 1998 and 2001 World Baseball Cup, the 1996 Olympic Games, the 1995 Intercontinental Cup, the 1998 Central American & Caribbean Games, and the 1999 Pan-American Games. Only twice, in the 1997 Intercontinental Cup and the 2000 Olympics, did the squad finish as runners-up.

In the 1999 Pan-American games, Contreras pitched six innings in a Saturday semifinal game against the Dominican Republic and fanned 13 Americans in eight innings two days later.5 Perhaps his finest amateur hour was in the 2000 Summer Olympics, when he struck out 13 opponents in 12 innings in the first round.6 The Cubans thought Japan was their toughest opponent and opted to start Contreras, who tossed a six-hit, nine-strikeout shutout in the semifinal. But it meant he was not available for the final, won by the Tommy LaSorda-managed Team USA. As Contreras recalled, “We were in shock. … At that time we were beating everybody easily. … We had that streak. We had a very good team. And the US was playing with minor leaguers. The Cuban National Team wasn’t prepared to lose that game.”7

Fans wondered how Contreras would fare against US major-league talent. A relative thaw in US-Cuba relations under President Bill Clinton presented the opportunity to use baseball as a diplomatic tool, and the Baltimore Orioles agreed to take part in a two-game series. In the Havana opener on March 28, 1999, the Orioles chased Cuban starter José Ibar after two innings. Contreras, in relief, dominated the major leaguers, striking out 10 in eight shutout frames. Although Baltimore won, 3-2, in 11 innings, stateside press was awed by his performance.8 Milton H. Jamail noted that it “may have been the most widely seen tryout camp in the history of baseball.”9 A 56-minute rain delay and demonstrations by Cuban exiles (including one who ran onto the field in the fifth inning and tussled with a Cuban-born umpire) marred the second game, held in Baltimore on May 3, 1999. While Contreras struggled (three runs, two earned, in 1 1/3 innings), the Cuban team outslugged the Orioles, 12-6.

Contreras was constantly approached by well-meaning agents as well as charlatans. He was stoic in his determination: “For this sum ($50 million), not any other, would I turn my back on my family, on my people, or on my homeland? I have a lot of respect, confidence, and admiration for Fidel.”10 El Comandante had a soft spot for his bronze titan and gifted him a Peugeot 406, a veritable luxury in 1990s Cuba, when the island’s economy sputtered after the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the disappearance of economic subsidies.

Although officially the Cuban socialist government believes in equality, athletes receive “considerations” for their feats. Contreras, who lived in a “sports hotel” (essentially a dormitory), was promised a home but it was much delayed. Additionally, it was in dire need of repairs, and for two years he waited for the promised assistance. When his car broke down in the summer of 2002, Contreras asked sports Minister Humberto Rodríguez for money to pay for its repairs. Not only was the plea rebuffed but Rodríguez nonchalantly told Contreras to find his own way home. The humiliation was too much to bear for a proud man who had nothing left to prove in amateur baseball.

Contreras resolved to defect but was torn about losing the support of his countrymen: “Cubans love baseball and I would see how not the people but the government would insult those who ‘deserted’ via the state media.”11 Before he departed for Saltillo, Mexico, for the American Series in October, his father told him to stay loyal. He could not tell his family, an unfathomable burden.

On October 1 Contreras tossed a complete-game, six-hit, one-run victory against the Dominican Republic.12 Only he knew it would be the last of his 14 wins for the national team. Contreras and coach Miguel Valdés eluded their chaperones at their hotel and traveled over 1,300 miles to Tijuana, near the US border. They hid for a week amid rumors that Castro was offering a reward for his kidnapping and return to the island.

By then news spread quickly in Cuba, and the government bitterly castigated its one-time star. Contreras spoke with his siblings over the phone but was concerned about the reaction of his wife, Miriam Murillo-Flores, and his father. The elder Contreras assuaged him: “You were my José in Cuba and you will be my José in the United States.”13

Had Contreras stayed in the United States, he would have been subject to a nine-month wait before the amateur draft. By moving to Nicaragua, he was deemed an international free agent. Teams skipped the traditional tryout and jumped into negotiations. Agent Jaime Torres counseled his client to be calm, but the pitcher, who had earned $1 a month in Cuba, could hardly believe his ears. When Torres rebuffed Pat Gillick’s Toronto offer, Contreras screamed. “I jumped from the chair. … I asked ‘Jaime, what did he say?’ … He told me to remain calm, but I answered, ‘How can I be calm? I heard $19 million, and that’s the same in English, Spanish, or Russian!”14

The acrimonious bidding war led Boston Red Sox President Larry Lucchino to comment, “The evil empire extends its tentacles even into Latin America” as the Yankees signed Contrera to a $32 million, four-year contract.15

Introduced to the New York press in early February, Contreras sought to avoid politics and concentrate on baseball: “I could talk about Cuba. I could talk about Cuban baseball, but I am not here as a politician, to talk about politics.”16 During a difficult spring training (10.38 ERA),17 Orlando Hernández counseled him “Don’t read the New York press too much or else it’ll drive you crazy.”18 As if the tabloid frenzy were not enough, his father, Florentino, suffered a stroke in Cuba, and Contreras did not see him again before his death in 2004.19

Contreras debuted in the major leagues on Opening Day, March 31, 2003, against the Toronto Blue Jays. He relieved Roger Clemens and allowed a leadoff double to Eric Hinske to start the seventh inning but struck out Orlando Hudson, Chris Woodward, and Ken Huckaby to escape the jam. In the eighth inning, he left the bases loaded with two outs. Two runs scored, charged to Contreras, but the Yankees won, 8-4.

By mid-April, Contreras’s 10.80 ERA prompted the Yankees to send him to the minor leagues. GM Brian Cashman noted, “We can’t afford for long stretches of time to provide the learning curve at the major-league level. If it’s best for him to go down, so be it.”20 After merely six games (2-0, 41 strikeouts, seven walks in 27 2/3 innings), Contreras rejoined New York but a sore shoulder sidelined him most of the summer. He finished the season with a 7-2 record, one hold, one blown save, and a 3.30 ERA. More importantly, the Yankees won 13 of his 18 appearances.

Contreras did not pitch in the AL Division Series against the Minnesota Twins and struggled against the Red Sox in the Championship Series (four appearances, 5.79 ERA) and the Marlins in the World Series (four games, 5.68 ERA). Pressed into emergency relief in Game Five after starter David Wells suffered back spasms, he allowed four runs in three innings and took the loss.

Contreras was uncomfortable in the bullpen: “All my career, I was a starter. … When I went to the bullpen to relieve, I thought it would be easy, but it wasn’t. I thought I’d throw two innings and just try to get outs. I did that, but it wasn’t that simple. To prepare yourself psychologically, it’s not the same. To prepare yourself physically, it’s not the same.”21

A revamped Yankee starting rotation in 2004 opened a spot. Contreras contributed eight victories in 18 starts, but puzzled pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre with his inconsistency: “From the windup, I’m really happy with him,” Stottlemyre said. “From the stretch, he still rushes a little bit.”22 Contreras acknowledged that he “would go to the mound and (I) would load myself up with too many thoughts. … In the past, I was never like that.”23

Contreras, in fact, battled more than just hitters. It had been more than 18 months since he had last seen Miriam and daughters Naylenis and Naylan. Contreras would “come (home) after a game and often cry. I’d come back to an empty sofa, an empty house.”24 As is customary when athletes desert, the Castro government made life difficult for relatives left behind. Contreras bitterly remembered that “[t]hey were making life very difficult, accusing her or just thinking of leaving. They threatened not to give her an exit visa for five years, and I’m sure they threatened to put her in jail on whatever trumped-up charges they could come up with.”25 Contreras believed Castro himself was behind the decision: “I think he’s disappointed in the decision I made, and he’s taking it out on my family. It bothers me. During eight years, I gave all I had to the team and the country. If (the Cuban government) thought about that, they would think to release my family.”26

In June 2024 Miriam, the girls, and 18 other Cubans escaped on a speedboat that landed on Big Pine Key, about 100 miles southwest of Miami.27 At the time, under the so-called “wet foot, dry foot” policy, Cubans who reached the mainland would be allowed to apply for political asylum, while those intercepted at sea would be returned to the island. The reunited couple welcomed a third child, José Florentino, in 2006.

On June 27, 2004, with his wife and daughters in attendance, Contreras pitched six shutout innings in the Yankees’ 8-1 victory over the New York Mets. Catcher John Flaherty remarked, “It actually seemed like he was having more fun doing his job today. Obviously, his family has a lot to do with that. But there have been more smiles in that corner the last three days than we’ve seen in the last year and a half.”28 Ominously, Torre told reporters, “When things aren’t going well, there’s a tendency to think of all the bad things in your life. That’s a huge thing that hadn’t been settled. Now it has been. That should help. But he still has to go out and pitch.”29

The Yankees traded Contreras to the Chicago White Sox on July 31, 2004, for Esteban Loaíza. Cashman was diplomatic: “José Contreras has a great deal of talent and a ceiling, and you see it and you get excited. But we just felt that, right now, in our situation, Esteban Loaíza would be more reliable for us in accomplishing what we’re trying to accomplish.”30 The New York Post, not known for its tact, proclaimed, “[T]he Yankees got rid of a big headache. … This club has designs too grand to keep playing camp counselor to Contreras. … And he still is battling all kinds of cultural and language differences, even with his wife and children now by his side.”31 Few questioned the decision-maker: “George (Steinbrenner) got tired of Contreras, plain and simple,” wrote one newsman.32

Although heartbroken about the trade, Contreras understood the rationale, saying, “Any team would have traded me for two sacks of oranges because I was not doing well.”33 Contreras was warmly welcomed by his new White Sox teammates, and despite his uneasiness, he shared a tequila shot with manager Ozzie Guillén the night before his first start.34 Guillén told him, “I’m sticking with you because you are going to give me what I need,” boosting his confidence.35

Contreras was 4-1 in August for the White Sox despite allowing 15 earned runs in 38 1/3 innings. He struggled in September (three losses, three no-decisions) before an impressive eight scoreless innings against the Royals in the season finale.

Orestes “Minnie” Miñoso, Chicago’s Cuban ambassador, was a huge supporter. When Contreras first met him, “I started crying. It was history. That smile too. I will never forget that smile. Minnie is our Jackie Robinson. He was one of the first Latinos in the big leagues.”36 While in the United States Miñoso is rightly recognized as a pioneer, Cubans on the island were admonished for mentioning his name: “It was a crime to watch (major-league) baseball. I learned about (Miñoso, Luis Tiant, Atanasio “Tony” Pérez) when I got here in 2002.”37

Though not seen as preseason favorites, the 2005 White Sox won an AL-leading 99 games and 11 more in the postseason. Starters Mark Buehrle (16-8), Freddy García (14-8), Jon Garland (18-10), and Contreras (15-7) reached double-digit victories and Orlando Hernández added nine.

On August 9 Contreras handcuffed the Yankees in seven innings, yielding only three singles and two walks for a 2-1 victory. Derek Jeter noted, “Contreras (has) done it for us before. He pitched well. … He didn’t do it as consistently as he probably would have liked to, but he’s got great stuff and he mixes it up.”38 Contreras began to throw side-arm more often: “I had that angle in Cuba, but I hadn’t thrown with it much here. Being around El Duque (Hernández) so much, I’ve gotten to work at it and gotten results from it.”39

After an August 15 loss against Minnesota to drop his record to 7-7, Contreras won his next eight games and was named the AL Pitcher of the Month for September. To Contreras “[T]he biggest adjustment was the strike zone. It’s larger in amateur (Cuban) baseball. I also had to study the hitters, which I didn’t do in Cuba. There, I knew what I had to throw. … But here (in the majors) there are 30 teams, and sometimes they call up someone from Triple A and you wonder where he came from.”40 His streak couldn’t have come at a better time. Chicago’s 15-game lead over Cleveland in the Central Division had shrunk to a mere game and a half by September 24.

Contreras was superb in the postseason and started each series opener. He allowed two runs in 7 2/3 innings against Boston in the Division Series. In the Championship Series against the Angels, he lost the first game, 3-2. After the White Sox hurlers tossed three consecutive complete-game victories, Contreras won the clincher, 6-3, going the distance despite an hourlong rain delay in the fifth inning. After the interruption, Contreras retired the last 12 Angels in a row. He won Game One of the World Series as Chicago swept Houston.

Contreras said of the Windy City: “Chicago is home. … I feel like this is where I belong, and this is my forever home.”41 Among his professional feats, “the best moment was 2005, when we won the World Series. … It’d been 89 years since the city had last won, and we were able to win with a team no one thought was capable.”42

Contreras started strong in 2006. He won his first nine decisions and was named the AL Pitcher of the Month for April. His July 14 loss snapped a streak of 17 consecutive victories that dated back to the prior August. Although he missed two weeks in May with a pinched nerve in his right leg and his ERA increased to 4.27, Contreras won 13 games and was named to the All-Star Team, his sole appearance in the midsummer classic. Pitching coach Don Cooper marveled: “I’ve never seen anyone improve that much. Thank God he did, because we’ve all got rings.”43

Contreras regressed in 2007 (5.57 ERA, 10-17) and 2008 (7-6, 4.54 ERA). He struggled in 2009 (0-5, 8.19 ERA) and was briefly demoted to the minors. Upon his return, he won two straight starts (16 shutout innings) but by the end of August, he fell out of favor with a 5-13 record and a 5.42 ERA.

The White Sox traded Contreras on August 31, 2009, to the Colorado Rockies for minor leaguer Brandon Hynick. For the Rockies, Contreras contributed 17 strong innings (3 runs, 17 strikeouts, 8 walks) in seven games during the stretch run. The surprising Rockies finished 92-70 but lost in the Division Series to the Philadelphia Phillies. Contreras tossed two innings in the postseason (two walks, three strikeouts, one run) but Colorado declined to offer him a contract for 2010.

Philadelphia was impressed by the 37-year old’s performance and signed him in February 2010. As a middle reliever, Contreras was 6-4 in 67 games with a 3.34 ERA and tossed four scoreless innings in the postseason, but the Phillies lost to the World Series champion San Francisco Giants. Contreras returned to Philadelphia in 2011 (3.86 ERA) and 2012 (5.27 ERA) in 34 games and won his last major-league decision on May 16, 2012, against the Chicago Cubs. Pitching against the Miami Marlins, he suffered a torn ulterior cruciate ligament and a torn flexor pronator tendon in his pitching elbow in a game on June 1 that was his last appearance with the Phillies.44 He underwent Tommy John surgery shortly thereafter.

Contreras signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates on February 23, 2013. He was released after seven games (five runs in five innings). Though he inked a deal with the Boston Red Sox the next day, he struggled in Triple-A Pawtucket and was released.

In 11 years in the major leagues, Contreras pitched in 299 games (175 starts, 78-67). Although his 4.57 ERA, 4.29 FIP, and 100 ERA+ reflect an average performance, one must consider that he debuted in the major leagues at age 31 after many years of overuse. He was better in the postseason (4-3, 3.49 ERA, 38 strikeouts, 11 walks in 49 innings). Contreras also played in Mexico, Taiwan, and the Dominican Republic.

In 2024 Contreras and his second wife, María Isabel Silva, lived in Atlanta with their teenage son, Joseph, a coveted baseball prospect who played in the 2024 Double Duty Classic, a showcase of the nation’s best inner-city baseball talent.45 (The name honors Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe, a Negro League player who would routinely pitch both games of a doubleheader.)

Contreras is also a proud stepfather to Walter Lenys and Kevin, María Isabel’s children from a prior relationship. In 2024 the elder Contreras also played in the Cooperstown East-West Game, a tribute to the pioneers that included 30 former big-leaguers.46

Contreras has served as an assistant to the White Sox general manager and mentors young Cuban talent, such as Yoán Moncada, Luis Robert, Bryan Ramos, and Oscar Colás.47 In his free time, he helps aspiring young hurlers through Contreras 52 Pitching & Consulting. More than a business, he considers it a calling: “Baseball has given me a lot.”48 His desire to “pay it forward” was shaped by his relationship with Miñoso.49

Last revised: March 1, 2025

Acknowledgments

José Contreras for graciously agreeing to a phone interview with the author on October 10, 2024.

Michael Marsh for sharing his research on José Contreras with the author.

Don Zminda, whose contacts with the Chicago White Sox helped the author connect to José Contreras.

Sources

Besides the sources referenced in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

Unless otherwise noted, quotations are from the author’s telephone interview with José Contreras on October 10, 2024.

Notes

1 “The Global Game Podcast: Episode 1,” World Baseball and Softball Confederation, April 16, 2021, https://open.spotify.com/show/4yY2L3mJmPzuFT3aGkypFe.

2 “Capítulo 30: José Contreras,” Modo Béisbol, July 31, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PFVn_aOux4

3 Daniel de Malas, “Nunca antes contando: Mano a mano con José Contreras, de Pinar a Chicago,” FepCuba Canal Oficial de YouTube, July 4, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8yjLdw1QNo.

4 “Estadísticas José Contreras,” Béisbol Cubano, accessed October 6, 2024, https://www.beisbolcubano.cu/estadisticas/Jugador?idJugador=3201.

5 Associated Press, “Plus: Pan American Games; Cuba Beats U.S. for Baseball Gold,” New York Times, August 3, 1999, https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/03/sports/plus-pan-american-games-cuba-beats-us-for-baseball-gold.html.

6 “Baseball: Official Report of the XXVII Olympiad-Results,” LA84 Foundation, accessed October 6, 2024, https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll8/id/50011/rec/6.

7 Adam McCalvy, “Baseball’s ‘Miracle on Grass’: An Oral History,” MLB.com, September 27, 2024, https://www.mlb.com/news/featured/oral-history-team-usa-wins-gold-at-2000-olympics.

8 Richard Justice, “Orioles Leave Cuba With a Win,” Washington Post, March 29, 1999: D1, https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/orioles/daily/march99/29/os29.htm.

9 Milton H. Jamail, Full Count: Inside Cuban Baseball (Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 2000), 145.

10 Wright Thompson, “Jose Contreras’ Long Road from Las Martinas, Cuba,” Kansas City Star, March 30, 2003, https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/article73764467.html.

11 Aliet Arzola, “Contra Reloj: José Ariel Contreras, el Titán al descubierto,” OnCuba News, May 10, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9axPOd7U4u8Ierto.

12 Associated Press, “Contreras Confirmed as Defector, Coach Valdés Missing,” ESPN.com, October 4, 2022, https://www.espn.com/oly/news/2002/1004/1441357.html.

13 Thompson, “Jose Contreras’ Long Road from Las Martinas, Cuba.”

14 Alfre Alvarez, “Qué Pasa MLB: José Ariel Contreras: Así fue como me escapé de CUBA para jugar GRANDES LIGAS.” Que Pasa MLB/Amor beisbolero, March 14, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G8UEHLBhkc.

15 Murray Chass, “Baseball: What’s $32 Million More? Yanks Sign Contreras,” New York Times, December 25, 2002, https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/25/sports/baseball-what-s-32-million-more-yanks-sign-contreras.html.

16 “‘El Titán’ llega finalmente al estadio de los Yanquis,” Laredo (Texas) Morning Times (LMT Online), February 5, 2003, https://www.lmtonline.com/lmtenespanol/article/El-Tit-n-llega-finalmente-al-estadio-de-los-10367562.php.

17 Charlie Nobles, “Baseball: Like That, Contreras Ends Talk of Slump,” New York Times, March 15, 2003, https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/15/sports/baseball-like-that-contreras-ends-talk-of-slump.html.

18 Rafael Hermoso, “Baseball: Hernández Counsels Contreras,” New York Times, March 12, 2003, https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/12/sports/baseball-hernandez-counsels-contreras.html.

19 Buster Olney, “Baseball: Yankees React to Contreras’s Slump with Caring,” New York Times, March 10, 2003, https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/10/sports/baseball-yankees-react-to-contreras-s-slump-with-caring.html.

20 “Baseball: Contreras May Go to Minors,” New York Times, April 19, 2003, https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/19/sports/baseball-contreras-may-go-to-minors.html.

21 Bill Finley, “Baseball: How to Get to Rivera? Go Right with Contreras.” New York Times, October 11, 2003.

22 Tyler Kepner, “Baseball: Contreras Trying to Carry On Without Family,” New York Times, June 20, 2004, https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/20/sports/baseball-contreras-trying-to-carry-on-without-family.html.

23 Kepner, “Baseball: Contreras Trying to Carry on Without Family.”

24 Tyler Kepner, “Baseball: A Reunited Contreras Is Ready to Settle Down,” New York Times, June 24, 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/24/sports/baseball-a-reunited-contreras-is-ready-to-settle-down.html.

25 Kepner, “Baseball: A Reunited Contreras Is Ready to Settle Down.”

26 Associated Press, “Contreras’ Family Not Allowed to Leave Cuba,” ESPN.com, February 19, 2004, https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=1739263.

27 Jack Curry, “Baseball: Contreras Eager to Pitch With Family on Hand,” New York Times, June 26, 20024, https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/26/sports/baseball-contreras-eager-to-pitch-with-family-on-hand.html.

28 Jack Curry, “Baseball: Contreras’s Big Victory: His Family,” New York Times, June 28, 2004, https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/28/sports/baseball-contreras-s-big-victory-his-family.html.

29 Curry, “Baseball: Contreras’s Big Victory: His Family.”

30 Tyler Kepner, “Unable to Acquire a Cy Young Winner, Yanks Settle for All-Star,” New York Times, August 1, 2004, https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/01/sports/baseball-unable-to-acquire-cy-young-winner-yanks-settle-for-all-star.html.

31 Joel Sherman, “Yankees Sending Jose on His Way; Trade Value: Addition by Subtraction,” New York Post, August 1, 2004, https://nypost.com/2004/08/01/yankees-sending-jose-on-his-way-trade-value-addition-by-subtraction/.

32 George A. King III, “Yankees Deal Contreras to White Sox For Righty Loiza,” New York Post, August 1, 2004, https://nypost.com/2004/08/01/deal-contreras-to-white-sox-for-righty-loaiza/.

33 Scott Merkin, “White Sox Legend Returns to Chicago,” White Sox Beat Newsletter, MLB.com, April 20, 2023, https://www.mlb.com/news/white-sox-legend-jose-contreras-returns-to-chicago.

34 Author’s interview with José Contreras, October 10, 2024.

35 Merkin, “White Sox Legend Returns to Chicago.”

36 José de Jesus Ortiz, “José Contreras Honored by Hall’s Invite to East-West Classic,” Our Esquina, February 15, 2024, https://ouresquina.com/2024/jose-contreras-honored-by-halls-invite-to-east-west-classic/.

37 Clemson Smith Muñiz, “José Contreras: A ChiSox Ambassador with Stories to Tell,” La Vida Baseball, March 27, 2018, https://www.lavidabaseball.com/jose-contreras-cuba-journey/.

38 Tyler Kepner, “Yankees Blinded by Flashy Contreras,” New York Times, August 10, 2005, https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/10/sports/baseball/yankees-blinded-by-flashy-contreras.html.

39 Kepner, “Yankees Blinded by Flashy Contreras.”

40 Daniel de Malas, “Nunca antes contando: Mano a mano con José Contreras, de Pinar a Chicago.”

41 Merkin, “White Sox Legend Returns to Chicago.”

42 Rubén Castro, “José Contreras pensó en el retiro.”

43 Andrew Seligman, “Contreras Finally Displaying All His Talent on the Mound,” Pocono Record (Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania), June 25, 2006.

44 Kevin Cooney, “Elbow Tear Leaves Future in Doubt for Contreras,” Phillyburbs, June 3, 2012, https://www.phillyburbs.com/story/sports/columns/2012/06/03/elbow-tear-leaves-future-in/17856474007/.

45 “Hijo del lanzador Cubano José Ariel Contreras firma contrato con importante agente de MLB,” CiberCuba, April 25, 2024, https://www.cibercuba.com/noticias/2024-04-26-u1-e208933-s27066-nid280996-hijo-lanzador-cubano-jose-ariel-contreras-firma.

46 Dan Cichalski, “East West Classic a True Throwback Celebration at Cooperstown,” MLB.com, May 25, 2024, https://www.mlb.com/news/hall-of-fame-2024-east-west-classic-recap.

47 James Fegan, “White Sox Great José Contreras Mentors Cuban Pitching Prospect Norge Vera: ‘This Is Personal to Me,’” New York Times, November 17, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/2960899/2021/11/17/white-sox-great-jose-contreras-mentors-cuban-pitching-prospect-norge-vera-this-is-personal-to-me/.

48 Author’s interview with José Contreras, October 10, 2024.

49 Tyler Kepner, “Baseball Gets Another Chance to Honor a Legend,” New York Times, November 15, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/15/sports/baseball/minnie-minoso-hall-of-fame.html?searchResultPosition=2.