Background and career
José Ariel Contreras Camejo (born December 6, 1971) is a Cuban former professional baseball pitcher, who played in the Cuban National Series (CNS), Major League Baseball (MLB), and internationally for the Cuban national baseball team. He also played in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) for the Chinatrust Brothers. Contreras played for Pinar del Río Vegueros of the CNS, and competed for the Cuban national team in the Summer Olympics, the Pan American Games, the Baseball World Cup, and the 1999 exhibition series against the Baltimore Orioles. Recognized as the best Cuban baseball player, Contreras defected from Cuba in 2002. Contreras signed with the New York Yankees of MLB after defecting, and played for them in 2003 and 2004. He also played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox (2004–2009), Colorado Rockies (2009), Philadelphia Phillies (2010–2012), and Pittsburgh Pirates (2013).
In addition to his time with the Cuban national team, Contreras pitched for the Pinar del Río Vegueros of Cuba's Cuban National Series. In his last season in Cuba (2001–2002), he went 13–4 with a 1.76 ERA and 149 strikeouts. Contreras was named Cuban Athlete of the Year on three separate occasions. In March 1999, Contreras pitched for the Cuban national baseball team against the Baltimore Orioles in an exhibition series at Estadio Latinoamericano in Havana. Contreras pitched eight shutout innings and struck out ten. It was then that Major League scouts took notice of the Cuban pitcher. "After the Orioles game, [Contreras] was the man in Cuba," said Joe Kehoskie, at the time an agent for Cuban defectors.
Contreras defected from Cuba in October 2002 while pitching for the Cuban national team during the Americas Series in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. Contreras's defection set off a media frenzy, as he had been considered a loyalist and had shown no prior interest in leaving for MLB. "He had been the poster boy for Castro's sports for some time," said Kehoskie. Days after his defection, Larry Lucchino, then the president of the Boston Red Sox, said Contreras would be "a number two or number three starter in the big leagues."
The Yankees signed Contreras to a four-year, $32 million deal on December 26, 2002. Contreras went 7–2 and posted a 3.30 ERA in 18 games (nine starts), but he spent two months on the disabled list with a subscapularis strain, had four stops in the minor leagues, and was in and out of the bullpen. As a starter, Contreras was 6–1 with a 2.34 ERA. Out of the bullpen, he was 1–1 with a 7.43 ERA. His best game occurred on September 23 at U.S. Cellular Field, in which he shut out the White Sox for eight innings while striking out nine. Contreras appeared in eight postseason games, pitching 11 innings total, with a 5.73 ERA striking out 17. The Yankees inserted Contreras into the starting rotation from the start of the 2004 camp, but he was inconsistent. Contreras was optioned to the minor leagues for approximately a month (May 5 through May 21). His best start occurred on June 27, against the New York Mets. He struck out ten batters, but what was more important to him is that for the first time since being in Cuba, Contreras got to pitch in front of his ex-wife, Miriam and daughters, Naylan and Naylenis.
On July 31, 2004, Contreras was traded to the White Sox for pitcher Esteban Loaiza. Contreras pitched inconsistently for the White Sox, up until the end of the season. On the last day of the season, he threw eight innings of two-hit baseball against the Kansas City Royals, earning his 13th win of the season. He finished with a 13–9 record, a 5.50 ERA, and 150 strikeouts in 1701⁄3 innings between New York and Chicago.
The 2005 season began with mixed results for Contreras. Contreras started the season with five consecutive no-decisions and an ERA of 3.04, but pitched poorly after that until the All-Star break, with a 4–3 record. The first game after the break (July 14), Contreras pitched extremely well, beating the Indians 1–0. Contreras won his last eight starts. With the help of fellow Cuban Orlando Hernández, Contreras began dropping his arm angle during his delivery. Contreras also contributed the three postseason victories that tied Andy Pettitte for the most second half victories in the Major Leagues with 11, and he threw his first Major League complete game against the Minnesota Twins, on September 23. Contreras finished the season 15–7 with a 3.61 ERA in 32 starts, along with 154 strikeouts in 2042⁄3 innings.
