Former Phillie José Contreras shares the dugout with his son, a rising pitching prospect

Joseph Contreras has grown up watching his father, José, pitch. He remembers the back end of his dad’s MLB career in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and his final playing days in the Mexican Baseball League. Joseph loved every second of it.

He traveled to different cities, clubhouses, and ballparks to see his “best friend” play. His favorite games of his dad’s to watch are from before he was born, but he can recount them as if he was there.

“In 1999 he pitched against Team USA, and that was when he was nicknamed ‘The Bronze Titan,’” Joseph said. “He pitched eight innings against the Dominican Republic, and then the next day — on one day of rest — pitched against Team USA.”

José struck out 13 batters and allowed four hits through eight innings for Cuba to beat the United States and win a gold medal in the Pan American Games. Joseph said his other favorite is Game 1 of the 2005 World Series. José started for the Chicago White Sox, who swept the Houston Astros.

“That’s probably the best game he’s pitched in the major leagues,” he said.

Those moments have served as motivation in his own baseball journey. The 17-year-old, who’s a senior at Blessed Trinity Catholic High School in Roswell, Ga., has followed in his dad’s footsteps as a righty pitcher and is a top prospect in the Class of 2026. He plans to make his college decision — between Auburn, Clemson, and Vanderbilt — this fall. He also could get drafted in July.

His game this summer, which he spent competing on the Phillies scout team, is a big reason why.

Joseph was named to the Perfect Game All-American Team East, which will face Team West on Sunday at Petco Park in San Diego. The All-American Classic features the top 60 high school baseball players in the nation, and José won’t just be there supporting his son. He’ll share the dugout as a coach for the East team.

“Seeing my dad play and seeing how much fun he had with his career, that’s why I felt like I always got into the game of baseball,” Joseph said. “His career definitely inspired me to play.”

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José Contreras spent 11 seasons in the majors, which included three seasons with the Phillies (2010 to 2012) under Charlie Manuel, who used to call José “Big Truck” because he drove an enormous truck to spring training every day. After being released by the Pirates in 2013, the now-53-year-old spent three years in the Mexican and Chinese professional leagues.

Joseph always had a glove and ball in hand, but it wasn’t until age 9 that he competed on his first local Little League team in Fort Myers, Fla., where his family lived during José’s final stint in Mexico.

The main reason he retired from baseball in 2016 was for his son.

“It changed my life because before I was homeschooled,” Joseph said. “He retired from Mexico, I was like, ‘I want to play baseball. I want to go to school like my friends. I don’t like being homeschooled.’ As soon as I told him that, he’s like, ‘OK, I completely understand. Then this is my last game.’”

There was little hesitation. José was proud of what he achieved in his pro career, and it was time to turn his focus to Joseph. When Joseph was 11, the family moved to Georgia for baseball. By age 12, Joseph was playing for some of the best teams in the country, including the East Cobb Astros.

Entering his freshman year of high school, Joseph didn’t make the varsity baseball team. It crushed him. But it also helped him grow as a pitcher.

“That was kind of like the last thing that propelled me to start going to the gym, start building the body that I needed to play at the next level,” he said. “My dad and I, we always work out pitching. We would work out every day. Then the gym part, the lifting part, I work out with a football coach. I also worked out with a mental strength coach. … and this year, I started doing Pilates.”

His development was noticeable, too. While his fastball is between 94-98 mph, Joseph says, the best part of his game is his ability to read hitters — since he used to be one — and being comfortable with throwing all of his pitches.

This past season, he showed off some of those abilities as he helped Blessed Trinity Catholic to its first state championship since 2015. “It was the greatest moment of my life,” he said.

“Before the playoffs started, my dad gave us a big speech because he won the World Series,” Joseph said, “and he was like, ‘In 10 years or the 20-year reunion, you guys will come back. You can look at the field and look in the gym and see that 2025 banner and know that was me. I did that.’ That really fired us up.”

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Joseph has shared the dugout with his dad before. He enjoys being coached by him.

At times, the younger Contreras has felt the weight that comes with wearing his last name, but when he’s having a bad game or practice, he recalls what his dad grew up telling him.

“This was never a short race. It was always a marathon,” José said through his son’s translation.

And one day, he hopes to carry a legacy of his own in the majors.

“It’s really incredible that I have the slightest opportunity to do that, because my dad left some pretty big shoes,” Joseph said. “Apart from being a good pitcher, I just want to follow in his footsteps as a human being because he was more than a good pitcher. He’s a great human.”