Red Sox's Willson Contreras Draws Fast Comparisons to Boston Legend

Willson Contreras could make a lot of fast friends if he carries over the momentum of his first home run swing for the Boston Red Sox.

Contreras sent an opposite-field blast into the bullpen at JetBlue Park on Tuesday, signaling that he could hit some rare right-center gap home runs at Fenway Park this year. The good vibes from that blast far outweighed the Red Sox's eventual 16-7 loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Willson Contreras’ first home run in a Red Sox uniform! pic.twitter.com/xGvCUHZ42s
— Red Sox (@RedSox) February 24, 2026

That swing also drew more than a few comparisons to a Boston legend who did as much damage to that right-center gap as anyone in the history of America's oldest major league ballpark.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Willson Contreras evoking Manny Ramirez memories

Red Sox color analyst Lou Merloni wasn't the only person to notice that Contreras' home run swing looked an awful lot like 12-time All-Star Manny Ramirez, but he was the only person who could ask Contreras directly about that comparison before the game on Tuesday had even finished.

When Willson Contreras went deep to right-center yesterday, it brought back memories of Manny Ramirez and JD Martinez for me.

It was really cool to hear @LouMerloni talk to him about the Manny comp with his mechanics: “He was the greatest hitter I saw growing up.” pic.twitter.com/YWGLDepuyL
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) February 25, 2026

"A couple of people told me that when I finish high on a homer, that I look like Manny Ramirez," Contreras responded. "I love when they say that, because it's really fun to be compared with a Hall-of-Fame type career.

"To me, he's the greatest hitter that I saw growing up, so I'm a really big fan of him. He knows that. We spent some time together with the (Chicago) Cubs back in 2015. We've been in touch."

Merloni quickly seemed to realize that he might be setting Contreras a higher bar to clear in year one with the team than was possible, because he was quick to separate the swing from the statistics in a Wednesday follow-up tweet.

"I'd just to get ahead of the commentary," Merloni wrote. "He is not Manny Ramirez. I would never put that on anyone. I don't expect him to hit 35 (home runs) and drive in 135. BUT his swing does look a lot like his. Hands, leg kick, high finish. Fans are going to like him."

Ramirez's complicated Boston legacy will always be defined the winning and the big home runs, even if not everything was perfect off the field. Even being able to invoke just the occasional memory of "Manny being Manny" should help Contreras become a Boston fan favorite.