William Contreras caps walk-off homer with epic celebration Brewers fans have to see to believe

The Milwaukee Brewers couldn't generate any offense through the first eight innings of their series finale against the Miami Marlins on Sunday afternoon. The combination of starting pitcher Eury Pérez and relievers Cade Gibson and Michael Petersen held the Brewers to just two hits and zero runs, but that didn't stop the relentless Brew Crew from making the Marlins pay for not building a bigger lead before the ninth inning.

With a 1-0 lead, the Marlins went to closer Pete Fairbanks to close out Sunday's game in Milwaukee. The Brewers, however, immediately put pressure on Fairbanks, as Jackson Chourio led off the final frame with a ringing single to right center. Fairbanks then issued a five-pitch walk to Brice Turang, putting the tying run in scoring position, and the winning run on first. After Andrew Vaughn struck out looking on an elevated slider, William Contreras stepped to the plate with one out and the crowd at American Family Field hoping for some fireworks.

Contreras, who was the only Brewer to play in the All-Star Game this year, started the game on the bench, earning what appeared to be a much-needed off day after appearing in 91 of Milwaukee's first 98 games this year. However, in the seventh inning, Pat Murphy called upon his iron-man backstop for a pinch hit appearance, and though Contreras struck out in that at-bat, he remained in the game for the final three frames of Sunday's matinee. In the ninth inning, Murphy's substitution paid off.

After Fairbanks worked an 0-2 count with two four-seamers over the heart of the plate, Contreras watched a pitch sail over the zone and then fought off an inside slider and a well-located fastball. On the sixth pitch of the at-bat, Fairbanks went to his cutter and left it right down the middle. Contreras didn't miss it, sending the poorly-located pitch 411 feet over the fence in left-center, handing the Brewers a 3-1 victory and a series sweep of the surging Marlins.

For as impressive as Contreras coming off the bench and providing all of the offense for the Brewers in Sunday's game already was, the All-Star catcher added an exclamation point in the form of one of the most legendary bat flips ever seen. Check out Contreras' legendary celebration in the video from the Brewers' social media team below.

William Contreras' epic bat flip puts exclamation point on Brewers impressive sweep of Marlins

"He's learning how to express himself," joked manager Pat Murphy when asked about Contreras' bat flip after the game. On his communication with William throughout the game, in regard to him potentially coming off the bench, Murphy responded, "[William] assumes that Gary's going to catch all nine. He knows we can use him as a pinch hitter, but usually not to go in and catch."

Murphy explained that some of the thought process behind having Contreras pinch hit in the seventh was that he could potentially get another at-bat in the ninth, but that would of course require him to catch the last two innings, which he was not expecting to do. Contreras navigated those final two frames excellently, as both Aaron Ashby and Grant Anderson both put up zeros in their respective innings of work, which may get overlooked with the heroics in the bottom of the ninth.

Perhaps surprising given Contreras' apparent confidence on the field is what his manager said next. "He's tough on himself...he's a fierce competitor. I'd like to see him believe in himself a bit more. You guys might be surprised by that, but I'd like to see him believe in himself a bit more."

While it may be shocking to hear that the seemingly stoic Contreras needs to believe in himself more, it explains his explosion of emotion whenever he does come through for his team in the clutch. With so much pressure on himself, and such high standards, when he does come through and meet those standards, it's understandable that the result is an outpouring of excitement and energy, the kind that might lead a player to launch his bat in the air in celebration.

In Contreras, the Brewers have a uniquely skilled leader, one who seemingly knows the exact response that each situation calls for. Whether it's firing a ball back to his pitcher after they didn't execute a pitch or going out to the mound to slow things down after a long at bat, Contreras always knows how to respond to the moment. And on Sunday afternoon, the moment called for celebration in an epic way, as the Brewers kicked off the second half with a thrilling sweep of the pesky Marlins.

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