IN CREPT WILLSON CONTRERAS, closer and closer to home plate, to the point that it started alarming his St. Louis Cardinals teammates. Contreras is in his first season as a first baseman, and even if the situation called for him to crash toward the plate -- eighth inning, 1-0 lead, runners on first and second with no outs and Kansas City's Jonathan India squaring to bunt on the first two pitches -- Contreras stationed himself 51 feet away, like a bunt scarecrow, as if to invite a swing from someone who routinely hits baseballs more than 100 mph.
How defense has turned St. Louis Cardinals into contenders
