Wednesday night was a big night for Lehigh Valley IronPigs manager Anthony Contreras, but he certainly didn’t act like it. The umpires also didn’t show him a lot of respect either. In the first game of a doubleheader against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the IronPigs beat their rival 12-1, upping their overall season record to 63-45. The win made Contreras the winningest manager in IronPigs history with 287 wins since taking over the team for the 2022 season, surpassing Dave Brundage (286-289) who managed the IronPigs from 2013-2016.

As far as the mark, Contreras just looks at it as a number.

“I honestly don’t think about it. People were congratulating me yesterday and you guys (the media) bringing it up were the only reasons why I was thinking about it or even knew it; it’s not something I pay attention to,” said Contreras. “My job is to help develop these guys and make sure they are ready to go to the big leagues.”

In his playing career, Contreras reached as high at Triple-A in the Padres system from 2010-2013. His pro career started in the Giants organization after they selected him in the ninth round of the 2005 Draft and he then moved to the Padres organization after three seasons with Giants’ affiliates.

“When I look at that number I think about all the players I have come across in my career. Now, going on my 11th year of managing, all these wins are contributed to by the players playing well and winning baseball games. I put the lineup together and try to facilitate whatever I can here to make sure that these guys are ready to go and a lot of the wins that happened over the years are memories of that,” said Contreras.

The Phillies have had a number of players move from Lehigh Valley to Philadelphia during Contreras’ tenure and many have been able to contribute. Otto Kemp went from an unheralded prospect at the beginning of the season and has helped the Phillies to win some games.

“There are a lot of stepping stones in minor league baseball that a lot of these guys go through. Specifically with a guy like Otto Kemp, his story is incredible and you always root for those guys that are the underdog,” said Contreras, who is known by A.C. “I feel like I played a small role. I had him for a little bit last year and then to start the season this year and I got to know the person very well. I got to see what he’s about and when you attach that to the player and the talend and everything, you can’t do anything but be proud of where he has come from. It’s a tribute to every single person in this organization. I get the title of manager, but it’s a group effort, the community that has raised Otto and a lot of these guys that go up to the big leagues or were drafted or just coming in from other organizations.”

As luck would have it, in the nightcap of the doubleheader, Contreras argued a call – an obviously bad call – and was tossed from the game in the bottom of the first inning. The umpiring got bad enough that his bench coach “Tank” Adamson was later tossed. It was just one of those nights.