As Albert Pujols grinned and rounded the bases at Busch Stadium on Sept. 4 for his 695th career home run – an uncanny, pinch-hit blast that meant his career against the rival Cubs would end on a game-winning homer – Willson Contreras started to see his future from the opposing dugout.
There he was wearing his gear and stepping behind the plate, feeling the pulse of that packed house in downtown St. Louis. To his left he spotted Nolan Arenado, to his right Paul Goldschmidt, and stretched across his shoulders and buttoned down behind his chest protector, he imagined, a Cardinals jersey.