“Contreras has the best arm on this team. He just has to trust his arm and not worry about anything else.”
—White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen

“Those pinstripes are pretty heavy. If you make a mistake once, they don’t forgive you.”
—Guillen

“His stuff is as good or better as anyone’s in the game.”
—Former teammate Aaron Rowand

“He’s been a rock.”
—White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper

“What Jose brings to the table is first the power stuff—he can throw 95 and reach back for more—plus the hard splitter.”
—White Sox GM Kenny Williams

“He’s become the pitcher everyone thought he could be.”
—Former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein

“I’ve never seen a better splitter.”
—Teammate AJ Pierzynski

“I am very proud of my son. I will miss him, and he will miss me.”
—Modesta Contreras

“I thought always he would be a good baseball player, but I never thought he’d go so far.”
—Florentino Contreras

“When you leave Cuba like we left, you know you cannot go back. You do not know if you will ever see your family again. That is real, real tough.”
—Teammate Orlando Hernandez