Milwaukee Brewers
| Milwaukee Brewers | |||
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| Established | 1969 | ||
| Based in Milwaukee since 1970 | |||
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| Retired numbers | 4, 19, 34, 42, 44 | ||
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| Major league titles | |||
| World Series titles (0) | None | ||
| NL Pennants (0) | None | ||
| AL Pennants (1) | 1982 | ||
| NL Central Division titles (0) | None | ||
| AL East Division titles [1] | 1982 | ||
| Wild card berths (1) | 2008 | ||
| Owner(s): Mark Attanasio | |||
| Manager: Ken Macha | |||
| General Manager: Doug Melvin | |||
The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The team is named for the city's association with the brewing industry and plays its home games at Miller Park.
Originating in Seattle, Washington, as the Seattle Pilots, the club played for one season in 1969 before being acquired in bankruptcy court by current MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and then moved to Milwaukee. The Brewers were part of the American League from their creation as an expansion club in 1969 through the 1997 season, after which they moved to the National League Central Division. Milwaukee had previously been a National League city when its team was the Milwaukee Braves (1953–1965).
In 1982, Milwaukee won the American League East Division and the American League Pennant, earning their only World Series appearance to date. In the Series, they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, four games to three.
In 2008, the Brewers achieved their first postseason berth in the 26 years since their World Series appearance as the wildcard team in the National League. They were eliminated in the NLDS by the eventual World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies. They have had only 3 playoff berths in their 40 year history.
Franchise history
Seattle (1969)
The Brewers were born at the 1967 Major League Baseball winter meetings as the Seattle Pilots, owned by former Cleveland Indians owner William R. Daley and former Pacific Coast League president Dewey Soriano. They entered the American League along with the Kansas City Royals as part of a hasty round of expansion triggered by the Kansas City Athletics' move to Oakland. Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri had threatened to have baseball's antitrust exemption revoked unless Kansas City was promptly granted another team.[2] They were originally slated to begin play in 1971, but Symington would not accept the prospect of having Kansas City wait three years for another team and pressured MLB to have the Royals and their expansion brethren (the Pilots and the National League's San Diego Padres and Montreal Expos) ready for play in 1969. Until a new stadium (what would become the Kingdome) was ready, the Pilots would play at Sick's Stadium, the home of the city's longtime PCL franchise, the Seattle Rainiers.
Manager Joe Schultz actually thought they could finish third in the newly formed, six-team American League West even though they had been badly outdrafted by the Royals. However, to the surprise of almost no one outside Seattle, the Pilots were terrible. They won their very first game, and then their home opener three days later, but only won five more times in the first month and never recovered. They finished last in the West with a record of 64–98, 33 games out of first.
However, the team's poor play was the least of the Pilots' problems. The team's ownership was badly undercapitalized; Soriano hadn't been able to afford the franchise fee and had to ask Daley to help pay it. In return, Daley got 47 percent of the team's stock—the biggest single share—and became chairman of the board. Also, Sick's Stadium was completely inadequate even as a temporary facility. While a condition of MLB awarding the Pilots to Seattle was that Sicks had to be expanded to 30,000 seats by the start of the 1969 season, only 17,000 seats were ready because of numerous delays. The scoreboard was not even ready until the night before opening day. While it was expanded to 25,000 by June, the added seats had obstructed views. Water pressure was almost nonexistent after the seventh inning, especially with crowds above 10,000. Only 677,000 fans came to see the Pilots that year; they never attracted a crowd even near capacity. Much of the story of that season is told in pitcher Jim Bouton's classic baseball book, Ball Four.
By the end of the 1969 season, the Pilots were almost out of money, and it was obvious they wouldn't survive long enough to move into their new stadium without new ownership. No credible offers surfaced from Seattle interests at first, however. Under these circumstances, Soriano was initially very receptive to an offer from a Milwaukee-based group headed by car salesman Bud Selig. Selig had been a minority owner of the Milwaukee Braves and had led unsuccessful efforts to keep them from moving to Atlanta, and had been working ever since then to bring the majors back to Milwaukee. During Game 1 of the World Series, Soriano agreed to sell the Pilots to Selig for $10 million to $13 million (depending on the source). Selig would then move the team to Milwaukee. However, under strong pressure from Washington state officials, MLB asked Soriano to try to find a local buyer first. Unfortunately, one local deal collapsed when the Bank of California called a loan for startup costs, and another bid was turned down out of concern it would devalue the other teams. With no other credible offers on the table, the owners approved the sale to Selig's group. Selig had already announced plans to rename the team the Brewers, a name that had been used by past Milwaukee baseball teams dating to the 19th century (most notably by a very successful minor league team that played there from 1902 to 1952). However, legal action kept Selig from formally taking control, and dragged out through the winter.
The matter still hadn't been resolved by the end of spring training, leaving new manager Dave Bristol and the players unsure of where they would play. The team's equipment sat in Provo, Utah while the drivers awaited word to drive to Seattle or Milwaukee. After the state filed an injunction to stop the sale on March 17, Soriano and the Pilots filed for bankruptcy to forestall any more legal action. After general manager Marvin Milkes testified that the Pilots didn't have enough money to pay the players, the bankruptcy judge granted the Pilots' filing on April 1 and ruled the move to Milwaukee in order. MLB would not return to Seattle until 1977, when the Mariners entered the AL, along with the Toronto Blue Jays.
1970–77: Early years in Milwaukee
With less than a week to go before the start of the season, there wasn't nearly enough time to order new uniforms. As a result, the Brewers were forced to replace the Pilots logos with Brewers logos. In fact, the outline of the old Pilots logo was clearly visible on the Brewers' uniforms. They were also forced to assume the Pilots' place in the AL West (where they would stay until 1972, when they moved to the AL East).
Under the circumstances, the Brewers' 1970 season was over before it started, and they finished 65–97 (a one-game improvement over 1969). They would not have a winning season until 1978. Those years, however, were not without their highlights. For instance, in 1973 the team introduced its popular mascot, Bernie Brewer. A year later, the Brewers engineered a trade that brought Hank Aaron back to Milwaukee, a move which gave the team instant credibility. Selig also began acquiring many players that would become long-standing fan favorites, including Robin Yount, Jim Gantner, Stormin' Gorman Thomas, Don Money, and Cecil Cooper.
1978–83: The glory days
The Brewers finally arrived in 1978, when they won 93 games—a healthy 26-game improvement over 1977. They finished 6.5 games out of first—the first time a Milwaukee-based team had been a factor in a pennant race since the Milwaukee Braves finished second in the National League in 1960. The next season, Milwaukee finished second in the East behind the Baltimore Orioles on the strength of their home run power, led by Cecil Cooper, Ben Oglivie (who led the league in homers in 1980 along with Reggie Jackson), and Gorman Thomas (whose 45 home runs in 1979 was the Brewers' single season home run record, until Richie Sexson tied the mark in both 2001 and 2003; Prince Fielder surpassed the mark with 50 home runs in 2007). After finishing third in 1980, the Brewers won the second half of the 1981 season (divided because of a players' strike) and played the Yankees in a playoff mini-series they ultimately lost. It was the first playoff appearance for the franchise.
In 1982, the Brewers won the American League pennant. The team's prolific offensive production that season (they led the league in runs and home runs) earned them the nickname Harvey's Wallbangers (a play on the drink Harvey Wallbanger and the team's manager Harvey Kuenn). In the 1982 American League Championship Series the Brewers defeated the California Angels three games to two and became the first team to win a five-game playoff series after trailing two games to zero. The Brewers then played the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series where they started out strong, taking the first game of the series 10–0. Unfortunately, future Hall-of-Famer Rollie Fingers had been injured before the postseason, and relief pitching became a problem for the Brewers. St. Louis eventually triumphed in the series, winning four games to three.
During the 1980s the Brewers produced three league MVPs (Rollie Fingers in 1981 and Robin Yount in 1982 and 1989) and two Cy Young Award winners (Rollie Fingers in 1981 and Pete Vuckovich in 1982). Yount is one of only four players in the history of the game to win the MVP award at two positions (shortstop, then center field).
1984–93: Rollercoaster, riding the highs and lows
Following their two playoff years, the club quickly retreated to the bottom of the standings, never finishing higher than fifth (out of seven) in their division from 1983 to 1986. Hope was restored in 1987 when, guided by rookie manager Tom Trebelhorn, the team began the year with a 13-game winning streak. Unfortunately, they followed that hot start with a 12-game skid in May. But "Team Streak" eventually posted a strong third-place finish. Highlights of the year included Paul Molitor's 39-game hitting streak and what is still the only no-hitter in team history, pitched by Juan Nieves on April 15.
On that day, Nieves became the first (and so far, only) Brewer and first Puerto Rican-born Major Leaguer to pitch a no-hitter, defeating the Baltimore Orioles 7–0 at Memorial Stadium. The final out came on a climactic diving catch in right-center field by Robin Yount of a line drive hit by Eddie Murray. The game also was the first time the Orioles were no-hit at Memorial Stadium. Yount later recalled at a Brewers banquet that he didn't have to dive to catch the line drive hit by Murray but figured ending the game with a diving catch would be the icing on the cake for Nieves' no-hitter.
In 1988 the team had another strong season, finishing only two games out of first (albeit with a lesser record than the previous year) in a close playoff race with four other clubs. Following this year, the team slipped, posting mediocre records from 1989 through 1991, after which Trebelhorn was fired. In 1992, reminiscent of the resurgence which greeted Trebelhorn's arrival in 1987, the Brewers rallied behind the leadership of rookie manager Phil Garner and posted their best record since their World Series year in 1982, finishing the season 92–70 and in second place, four games behind that year's eventual World Champion Toronto Blue Jays.
Hope of additional pennant races was quickly dashed, however, as the club plummeted to the bottom of the standings the following year, finishing an abysmal 26 games out of first. Since 1992, highlights were few and far between as the franchise failed to produce a winning season, having not fielded a competitive team because of a combination of bad management and financial constraints that limit the team relative to the resources available to other, larger-market clubs. With new management, structural changes in the economics of baseball, and the advent of revenue sharing, the Brewers were able to become competitive once again.
1994–98: Realignment / "We're taking this thing National"
In 1994, Major League Baseball adopted a new, expanded playoff system. This change would necessitate a restructuring of each league from two divisions into three. The Brewers were transferred from the old AL East division to the newly created AL Central.
In March 1995, two new franchises— the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays—were awarded by Major League Baseball, to begin play in 1998. It was decided to add one new team to each league. However, it soon became obvious that it would be impractical to have an odd number of teams per league: baseball would either have to give teams many more off-days than in the past, or interleague play would have to be extended year-round, or both. In order for MLB officials to continue the existing schedule, where teams play almost every day and where interleague play is limited to a few days per year, both leagues would need to carry an even number of teams. The decision was made to have one existing club switch leagues.[3]
This realignment was widely considered to have great financial benefit to the club moving. However, to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, Commissioner (then club owner) Bud Selig decided another team should have the first chance to switch leagues. The Kansas City Royals of the American League's Central Division were asked first, but they decided not to move over to the National League's Central Division.[4] The choice then fell to the Brewers, who, on November 6, 1997, elected to move to the National League's Central Division. The Diamondbacks joined the NL West and the Devil Rays joined the AL East. Had the Brewers elected not to move to the National League, the Minnesota Twins would have been offered the opportunity next.[5]
Milwaukee had formerly been a National League town, having been the home of the Braves for 13 seasons (1953–65). With the Brewers having joined the National League, it was now necessary for their pitchers to take batting practice, because the NL had no DH rule.
1999–2003: Building Miller Park
Miller Park was opened in 2001, built to replace Milwaukee County Stadium. The stadium was built with $310 million of public funds, drawing some controversy, and is the only sporting facility to have a fan-shaped retractable roof. Miller Park has a seating capacity of seating 41,900 and with standing room 43,000, which is 10,000 fewer seats than County Stadium.
The park was to have opened a year earlier, but an accident during its construction, which resulted in the deaths of three workers, forced a year's delay and $50 million to $75 million in damage. On July 14, 1999, the three men lost their lives when the Lampson "Big Blue" crane, one of the largest in the world, collapsed while trying to lift a 400 ton right field roof panel. A statue commemorating the men now stands between the home plate entrance to Miller Park and Helfaer Field.
The Brewers made renovations to Miller Park before the 2006 campaign, adding both LED scoreboards in left field and on the second-tier of the stadium, as well as a picnic area in right field, shortening the distance of the right-field fence. The picnic area was an immediate hit and sold out for the season before the year began.
2004–present: Attanasio era
2004
On January 16, 2004, Selig announced that his ownership group was putting the team up for sale, to the great relief of many fans who were unhappy with the team's lackluster performance and poor management by his daughter, Wendy Selig-Prieb, over the previous decade. In September 2004, the Brewers announced they had reached a verbal agreement with Los Angeles investment banker Mark Attanasio to purchase the team for $180 million. The sale to Attanasio was completed on January 13, 2005, at Major League Baseball's quarterly owners meeting. Other members of Attanasio's ownership group include private equity investor John Canning Jr., David Uihlein, Harris Turer and Stephen Marcus, all of whom were involved with the previous ownership group led by Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig.[6] Since taking over the franchise, Attanasio has worked hard to build bridges with Milwaukee baseball fans, including giving away every seat to the final home game of 2005 free of charge and bringing back the classic "ball and glove" logo of the club's glory days on "Retro Friday" home games, during which they also wear versions of the team's old pinstriped uniforms.
2005
In 2005, under Attanasio's ownership, the team finished 81–81 to secure its first non-losing record since 1992. With a solid base of young talent assembled over the past five years, including Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, J. J. Hardy and Corey Hart, the Brewers showed renewed competitiveness. Further encouraging this sentiment, the Brewers have hired former stars Yount (bench coach; resigned in November 2006) and Dale Sveum (third base coach), both very popular players for the Brewers in the '80s.
2006
In 2006, the Brewers' play disappointed fans, players, and management. They began the season 5–1 and had a 14–11 record at the end of April. On Mother's Day Bill Hall hit a walk off home run with his mother in the stands, a play that was shown on ESPN throughout the summer. However, soon starters JJ Hardy, Rickie Weeks, and Corey Koskie were lost to injuries, and the Brewers were forced to trade for veteran infielders David Bell and Tony Graffanino. They also suffered setbacks when losing starting pitchers Ben Sheets and Tomo Ohka for a substantial amount of time, forcing Triple A starters Ben Hendrickson, Dana Eveland, Carlos Villanueva, and Zach Jackson into starting roles at different points in the year. Shortly before the All Star break the Brewers climbed to one game above .500, but then lost their next three to the Chicago Cubs and would never return to .500. After the All Star break closer Derrick Turnbow blew four straight save opportunities. This led to the Brewers being far enough down in the standings that management decided to trade free agent-to-be Carlos Lee to the Texas Rangers for closer Francisco Cordero, outfielder Kevin Mench, and two minor league prospects. Cordero replaced Turnbow as the Brewers closer and had immediate success, successfully converting his first 13 save opportunities. On August 24 the Brewers completed a sweep of the Colorado Rockies to climb to less than five games out in both the NL Central Division and NL Wild Card races, but then Milwaukee went on a 10-game losing streak that ended any postseason hope. The Brewers did rebound and play well in September including a four-game sweep of San Francisco, but it was too little too late. The Brewers ended the season with a 75–87 record.
At the end of the season, Attanasio stated that he and General Manager Doug Melvin would have to make some decisions about returning players for the 2007 season. With young players waiting in the minor leagues, during the off-season the key additions were starting pitcher and 2006 NLCS MVP Jeff Suppan, starter Claudio Vargas, reliever Greg Aquino, catcher Johnny Estrada, and returning Brewer Craig Counsell. The Brewers parted ways with 2006 starters Doug Davis and Tomo Ohka, as well as fan favorite Jeff Cirillo, who wanted more playing time with another team.
2007: The return to respectability
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Before the 2007 season, the buzz surrounding the Brewers greatly increased. They were dubbed a "sleeper team" and "contenders in the NL" by numerous sports analysts and magazines. ESPN's Peter Gammons and Dan Patrick both picked The Brewers to beat out the defending champion Cardinals and re-vamped Chicago Cubs to win the NL Central. To celebrate the successful 1982 Milwaukee Brewers team, the franchise decided to have the 2007 season be named as the "25th Anniversary of '82", with more fan giveaways than any other Major League Baseball team except the Pittsburgh Pirates, and more discounts and deals than any other time in Brewers' history.
ESPN.com's lead story on August 29 stated: ".... Then there are the Brewers. The strange, impossible-to-figure-out Brewers. They once had the best record in the majors, were 14 games over .500 twice, and led the division by as many as 8½ games on June 23. Since then, and there's no nice way of saying it; they've reeked.".[7] The Brewers cast this negativity to the side, and rebounded in September. Despite poor performances from the usually steady Chris Capuano and more nagging injuries to Ben Sheets, the Brewers found themselves in a heated pennant race with Chicago's North Siders. The team's playoff drive took a hit late in the year, however, losing three of four games in a crucial series in Atlanta, dropping the Brewers to a season-high 3.5 games out of first. The Brewers won the first two games of their final homestand of the season to pull within two games of the Cubs, but faced a near impossible task with the club's elimination number down to only three and the wild card leading Padres coming to town. The club played well, but the Cubs clinched on the final Friday of the season. On September 29 the Brewers beat Padres 4–3 in extra innings to secure a winning season. The game was tied in the ninth inning by a triple by Tony Gwynn, Jr. in a highlight reel play that was repeated often during the 2007 post season. That win, and the win the next day, by the Brewers kept the Padres from advancing to the playoffs. The irony, of course, being that Gwynn's father was arguably the most popular Padre of all-time, and Tony Gwynn Jr. would later be traded to the Padres in 2009. Milwaukee finished at a respectable 83–79, only two games behind Chicago, the club's best finish since 1992. First baseman Prince Fielder made history in 2007, becoming the first Brewer and the youngest player ever to reach the 50 home run mark in a single season. For his effort, he finished third in the 2007 National League Most Valuable Player voting, garnering 284 total points including 5 first place votes. Fielder was also awarded the Hank Aaron Award for reaching the amazing single year record. Third baseman Ryan Braun was also rewarded for his historic season by being named 2007 NL Rookie of the Year.
2008: The return to the postseason
The Brewers came into 2008 with hopes of ending the team's 26 year playoff drought, adding several veterans to the team in outfielder Mike Cameron and catcher Jason Kendall, as well as relief pitchers Eric Gagne and Salomon Torres. The Brewers started April on a solid winning note, but suffered two big blows in their pitching rotation when Dave Bush was demoted to AAA Nashville, and Yovani Gallardo suffered a potential season ending knee injury. The team dropped below .500 by the middle of May, capped off by a sweep from the Boston Red Sox.
The Brewers rebounded in June as Salomon Torres took over as closer, becoming a big success, and soon climbed back into contention. As June came to a close, the Brewers made their biggest move for playoff contention as they traded 4 prospects, most notably Matt LaPorta, to the Cleveland Indians for CC Sabathia. General Manager Doug Melvin summed up the trade by saying, "We are going for it." The Brewers came into the All-Star break with a 52-43 record, still third behind the Cubs and Cardinals. Ben Sheets was named starting pitcher for the National League in the All-Star game, and Ryan Braun also started at left field. Corey Hart was named to the team in the Final Vote.
The Brewers came out of the All-Star break with a bang as they won their first 7 games back, all of them on the road, sweeping first the Giants and then the Cardinals, taking over first place in the Wild Card standings. The Brewers came into the end of July still in the hunt for the division, but the front running Cubs swept the Brewers in a 4-game set at Miller Park. While the Brewers were still holding on to the Wild Card lead, the division was never seriously challenged for the remainder of the year.
The Brewers came off the sweep from the Cubs with an amazing August, winning 20 of 28 games in the month. Sabathia made history by becoming the first pitcher in over 90 years to win his first 9 games after being traded mid-season. With a steady 5 game lead for the Wild Card, the hope of a playoff spot seemed secured, but the Brewers struggled in September, first getting swept by the New York Mets, and then just over a week later, getting swept in 4 games by the Philadelphia Phillies, losing their lead in the Wild Card. Feeling a change was needed, the Brewers fired manager Ned Yost with just 12 games left in the season, replacing him with Brewers third base coach Dale Sveum. Sveum named Garth Iorg as his replacement as third base coach, and made Robin Yount the new bench coach, replacing Ted Simmons. With the final 6 games at home, the Brewers were stil in the hunt for the Wild Card behind the New York Mets. They first swept the Pittsburgh Pirates, thanks to walk-off home runs by Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun, tying the New York Mets for the Wild Card lead with 3 games to go against the NL Central division champion Chicago Cubs.
The Brewers took the first game thanks to a pinch-hit home run by Rickie Weeks and stellar relief pitching by Seth McClung. The Cubs took the second game, with the Wild Card race still in a dead tie. CC Sabathia was called to pitch his third game in a week, and was stellar, pitching a complete game, while Ryan Braun hit possibly the biggest home run in club history with a 2-run shot in the 8th inning to break a 1-1 tie. The Brewers won 3-1 while the New York Mets lost to the Florida Marlins 4-2, sealing the Brewers the Wild Card spot.
The Brewers finished the 2008 season one game ahead of the New York Mets with a final record of 90-72, and faced the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS. This was the first time the Brewers reached the playoffs since 1982.
The Brewers played their first postseason game in 26 years on October 1. Pitcher Yovani Gallardo made his first postseason start and only his second start since coming off the disabled list in late September. The Brewers lost the first game of the NLDS 3–1 on a dominant performance by Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels. Hamels allowed only 2 hits and struck out 9 Brewers batters in 8 shutout innings. The Brewers mounted a comeback in the 9th inning as closer Brad Lidge allowed 2 hits, a walk, and a run to score. However, Brewers right fielder Corey Hart struck out with runners on second and third to end the game.
The Brewers lost game 2 of the NLDS due to ace CC Sabathia giving up a grand slam early in the game, leaving after 3 and 2/3 innings (his shortest and last outing as a Brewer). The Brewers hosted their first playoff game in 26 years on Saturday, October 4, and won 4–1. However, the Brewers season would come to an end on Sunday as Jeff Suppan allowed three home runs to lose 6–2, eliminating them from the postseason in four games.
The Brewers lost several key players from the 2008 playoff campaign following the season. The 2009 Brewers were without CC Sabathia, Ben Sheets, Guillermo Mota, Gabe Kapler, Ray Durham, Russell Branyan, Salomon Torres, and Brian Shouse. However, the team will have all of its regular 2008 lineup return and added pitchers Jorge Julio, Braden Looper, and all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman. Casey McGehee and Chris Duffy were also added. The Brewers led the NL Central for much of the first half of the season, but finished with the team's first losing record since 2006 at 80-82.
2009: Missing Playoffs
During the off-season, the Brewers lost C.C. Sabathia when he filed for free agency and signed a lucrative deal with the New York Yankees. Despite the loss of a starting pitcher in Sabathia, the Brewers were able to sign all-time save leader Trevor Hoffman. The Brewers were not able to build on their success from the year prior falling below .500 but were witness to Prince Fielder setting the all-time franchise record for RBI.
2010 to Present
Logos and uniforms
Logos
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| 1970–77 | 1978–93 | 1994–99 | 2000–present | 2006–present (Retro alternate) |
Uniforms
1970–1977
The original Brewers uniforms were "hand-me-downs" from the Seattle Pilots. There was no time before the 1970 season to order new uniforms, so the team simply removed the Seattle markings and sewed "BREWERS" on the front. The uniforms had unique striping on the sleeves left over from the Pilots days. The cap was an updated version of the Milwaukee Braves cap in blue and yellow.
The Brewers finally got their own flannel design in 1972. These were essentially the same as the 1970 uniforms but with blue and yellow piping on the sleeves and collar.
In 1973, the Brewers entered the doubleknit era with uniforms based upon their flannels—all white with "BREWERS" on the front, blue and yellow trim on the sleeves, neck, waistband and down the side of the pants. This is the uniform that Hank Aaron would wear with the club in his final seasons, and that Robin Yount would wear in his first.
During this period, the logo of the club was the Beer Barrel Man, which had been used by the American Association Milwaukee Brewers since at least the 1940s.
1978–1993
The Brewers unveiled new uniforms for the 1978 season—pinstripes with solid blue collar and waistband. The road uniforms continued to be powder blue, but for the first time the city name "MILWAUKEE" graced the chest in an upward slant. In addition, this season saw the introduction of the logo that was to define the club—"M" and "B" in the shape of a baseball glove. The logo was designed by Tom Meindel, an Art History student at the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire. The home cap was solid blue, and the road cap was blue with a yellow front panel. The club would wear these uniforms in their pennant-winning season of 1982.
The road uniform underwent minor changes in 1986: the road cap was eliminated, and gray replaced powder blue as the uniform color. Further modifications were made in 1990—button-up jerseys replaced the pullovers, and a script "Brewers" replaced the block letters.
1994–1999
On January 15, 1994, the Brewers unveiled their first new logo and team colors since the 1978 season in a ceremony at BrewersFest (what was then the winter fan festival). Navy, green and metallic gold replaced the old royal blue and yellow, and Germanic lettering replaced the standard block. The caps were navy (home) and navy with green bill (road), and bore an interlocking "MB" logo. This logo was never very popular with the fans, and was frequently derided as "Motre Bame" for its resemblance to the "ND" made famous by Notre Dame in a similar color scheme.
The addition of green was most prominent in the road uniforms, which featured green piping, belt and stockings on a greenish-gray uniform.
In addition, the 1994 re-design included the first alternate jersey in the club's history: a solid navy jersey with the nickname across the chest above the club's primary logo.
1996 saw a minor alteration to the uniform letters and caps. Green was de-emphasized on the road uniform, replaced by blue trim, belt and stockings. On the cap, a single "M" (white on the home caps, gold on the road caps) replaced the "MB". The uniform trim was thickened and made more pronounced, and the lettering across the chest was made uniform in size.
For the 1997 and 1998 season, insignia commemorating the sesquicentennial of Wisconsin's statehood appeared on the sleeve.
2000–present
In anticipation of the move to Miller Park, the Brewers unveiled completely new uniforms for the 2000 season—solid white with gold and navy trim on sleeves and side of pants, and script "Brewers" across the chest. The all-navy caps bear a script "M" underscored with a sprig of barley.
The city name was taken off the chest of the road uniforms, replaced by the same script "Brewers" as found on the home uniforms. The city name "Milwaukee" appears on a patch on the left sleeve.
Starting in 2008, the Brewers modified their logo on the left sleeve on their uniforms, showing a gold outline of the state of Wisconsin and the cap logo on top of it, showing the Brewers statewide appeal.
For the 2006 season, as part of a "Retro Sundays" promotion, the Brewers unveiled a new alternate uniform for Sunday home games, with the return of the "ball and glove" logo, pinstripes, block letters and classic colors (however, the current jerseys are button-front, not pullover as they were in 1982). In 2007 "Retro Sundays" became "Retro Fridays" and a sleeve patch was added to the alternate uniforms honoring the Silver Anniversary of the 1982 pennant-winning season. It has been speculated on some fansites that the Retro Sundays and Retro Fridays promotions are the Brewers management's way of "testing the market" in anticipation to a full time switch back to the classic uniforms.
One game of the 2006 season, July 29, was dubbed "Hispanic Appreciation Night". For this game the Brewers' uniforms replaced the "Brewers" script with a script bearing the word "Cerveceros" Spanish for makers of beer. The uniforms appeared again on September 6, 2008, to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Since 2006, the Brewers have also participated in games honoring the Negro Leagues, wearing throwback uniforms styled after the one-year Milwaukee Bears. Also, the Brewers, in a series against the Atlanta Braves, will wear the uniforms and caps of the Milwaukee Braves.
For the 2010 season the Brewers will be getting a new uniform. An alternate navy blue road uniform with the front script reading "Milwaukee" instead of "Brewers". This uniform will feature the State of Wisconsin patch on the left sleeve. Also for the 2010 season, The Brewers are celebrating their 40th anniversary with a special patch that will be worn on the right sleeve of every uniform except the retro uniform.
Season-by-season record
| Milwaukee Brewers 10-Year History | ||||||||
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| Year | Regular Season | Post-season | ||||||
| Record | Win % | Finish | GB | Record | Win % | Result | ||
| 2000 | 73-89 | .451 | 3rd | 22 | - | - | - | |
| 2001 | 68-94 | .412 | 4th | 25 | - | - | - | |
| 2002 | 56-106 | .346 | 6th | 41 | - | - | - | |
| 2003 | 68-94 | .412 | 6th | 20 | - | - | - | |
| 2004 | 67-94 | .411 | 6th | 37.5 | - | - | - | |
| 2005 | 81–81 | .500 | 3rd | 19 | — | — | — | |
| 2006 | 75–87 | .463 | 4th | 8½ | — | — | — | |
| 2007 | 83–79 | .525 | 2nd | 2 | — | — | — | |
| 2008 | 90–72 | .556 | 2nd | 7½ | 1–3 | .250 | Clinched National League Wild Card Lost NLDS vs Philadelphia Phillies, 3–1 |
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| 2009 | 80-82 | .494 | 3rd | 11 | - | - | - | |
| 10-Year Totals | 741-878 | .458 | — | — | 1–3 | .250 | — | |
Franchise individual records
- Most Home Runs in a season: Prince Fielder, 50 (2007)
- Most RBIs in a season: Prince Fielder, 141 (2009)
- Most Hits in a season: Cecil Cooper, 219 (1980)
- Most Runs in a season: Paul Molitor, 136 (1982)
- Most Stolen Bases in a season: Tommy Harper, 73 (1969)
- Most Strike Outs in a season, Pitcher: Ben Sheets, 264 (2004)
- Most Wins in a season, Pitcher: Mike Caldwell, 22 (1978)
- Best ERA in a season, Pitcher: Mike Caldwell, 2.36 (1978)
- Most Saves in a season, Pitcher: Francisco Cordero, 44 (2007)
Franchise leaders
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; R = Runs; H = Hits; RBI = Runs Batted In; HR = Home Runs; * = current Brewers player
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Awards and honors
Baseball Hall of Famers
Two players have enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame based primarily on service with the Brewers:
Three other Hall of Famers were Brewers at some point in their careers:
- Hank Aaron, OF/DH, 1975–1976
- Rollie Fingers, P, 1981–1985
- Don Sutton, P, 1982–1984
Retired numbers
(1999) Paul Molitor 3B-DH: 1978–1992 |
(1994) Robin Yount SS-OF: 1973–1993 Coach: 2006, 2008 |
(1992) Rollie Fingers P: 1981–1985 |
(1997) Jackie Robinson Retired by Major League Baseball |
(1976) Hank Aaron DH: 1975–1976 |
The number #50, although it has not been retired, has been placed in the Brewers' Ring of Honor for Bob Uecker and his half-century in baseball.
Championships
| American League Champions | ||
| Preceded by: New York Yankees (1981) |
1982 | Succeeded by : Baltimore Orioles (1983) |
| American League Eastern Division Champions | ||
| Preceded by: New York Yankees (1981) |
1982 | Succeeded by : Baltimore Orioles (1983) |
| National League Wild Card Winners | ||
| Preceded by: Colorado Rockies (2007) |
2008 | Succeeded by: Colorado Rockies (2009) |
Current roster
| 40-man roster | Spring Training non-roster invitees |
Coaches/Other | |||||||
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Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
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Pitchers
Catchers
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Manager
Coaches
60-day disabled list
* Not on active roster |
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Minor league affiliations
- For a complete list of all-time affiliates, see List of Milwaukee Brewers minor league affiliates.
As of the 2009 season, the Brewers have the following minor league affiliates:
| Level | Team | League | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | Nashville Sounds | Pacific Coast League | Nashville, TN |
| AA | Huntsville Stars | Southern League | Hunstville, AL |
| Advanced A | Brevard County Manatees | Florida State League | Viera, FL |
| A | Wisconsin Timber Rattlers | Midwest League | Grand Chute, WI |
| Rookie | Helena Brewers | Pioneer League | Helena, MT |
| AZL Brewers | Arizona League | Phoenix, AZ |
Radio and television
The Brewers' flagship radio station is WTMJ (620 AM). Bob Uecker, a winner of the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame, joined the Brewers in 1970, when the team moved from Seattle, and has been there ever since. Alongside Uecker is Cory Provus, who joined the team's radio broadcast in 2009. Provus, formerly of WGN radio in Chicago, replaced Jim Powell, who left Milwaukee for the Atlanta Braves radio network.
Most of the team's television broadcasts are aired on Fox Sports Wisconsin (FSBREWERS). Brian Anderson, who has worked on The Golf Channel, took over as the Brewers' play-by-play announcer for the 2007 season. He replaced Daron Sutton, who joined the Arizona Diamondbacks in place of Thom Brennaman, now of the Cincinnati Reds. The color commentator is Bill Schroeder, a former major league catcher who played six of his eight seasons for the Brewers. After the 2008 season, Schroeder completed his fourteenth season as the Brewers' color commentator. The 2010 season will be the first year where all of FSN Wisconsin's games are broadcast in high definition.
Since February 2007, the Brewers, FSN Wisconsin, and Weigel Broadcasting came to an agreement to air 15 games and one spring training game over-the-air on WMLW (Channel 41/digital 13/58.2) in Milwaukee each season with FSN Wisconsin producing the telecasts and Weigel selling air time for each of those games [8]; games are added to the schedule depending on weather postponements and pennant race standings. WMLW games are not aired in high definition, owing to that station's low power television status where the station airs all programming in standard definition. Weigel also airs a few broadcasts per year with Spanish language play-by-play on its Telemundo affiliate, WYTU-LD (Digital Channel 63/49.4). Before this, the last over-the-air non-Fox broadcast of a Brewers game was on WCGV in the 2004 season. Games also aired on WVTV, WISN and WTMJ in past years; WTMJ was the original TV broadcaster in 1970.
References
- ↑ In 1981, a players' strike in the middle of the season forced the season to be split into two halves. The Brewers won the division in the second half, but lost the division playoffs to the New York Yankees.
- ↑ The Seattle Pilots—Major League Baseball's First Venture in the Pacific Northwest
- ↑ See also Major League Baseball#League organization.
- ↑ "Brewers switch leagues, join Reds in NL Central". The Kentucky Post (Associated Press) (E. W. Scripps Company). 1997-11-06. Archived from the original on 2005-05-05. http://web.archive.org/web/20050505095313/http://www.cincypost.com/sports/1997/brew110697.html.
- ↑ Pappas, Doug, "News Briefs: Fall 1997", Outside the Lines, Fall 1997.
- ↑ Attanasio seeks more local owners. The Business Journal of Milwaukee, March 18, 2005
- ↑ Wjciechowski, Gene, "Cubs sitting in the driver's seat ESPN.com.
- ↑ JS Online: HR for Brewers' viewers
External links
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| Milwaukee Brewers franchise (history) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Triple-A | Double-A | Class A | Rookie |
| Nashville Sounds | Huntsville Stars |
Brevard County Manatees Wisconsin Timber Rattlers |
Helena Brewers AZL Brewers DSL Brewers |
| AL | East | Central | West |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Orioles | Chicago White Sox | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | |
| Boston Red Sox | Cleveland Indians | Oakland Athletics | |
| New York Yankees | Detroit Tigers | Seattle Mariners | |
| Tampa Bay Rays | Kansas City Royals | Texas Rangers | |
| Toronto Blue Jays | Minnesota Twins | ||
| NL | East | Central | West |
| Atlanta Braves | Chicago Cubs | Arizona Diamondbacks | |
| Florida Marlins | Cincinnati Reds | Colorado Rockies | |
| New York Mets | Houston Astros | Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Milwaukee Brewers | San Diego Padres | |
| Washington Nationals | Pittsburgh Pirates | San Francisco Giants | |
| St. Louis Cardinals | |||
| Postseason: World Series · ALCS · NLCS · ALDS · NLDS | |||
| All-Star Game · World Baseball Classic · MLB awards · Hall of Fame · MLBPA · TV contracts · Timeline of Major League Baseball · MLB logo · Baseball year-by-year · Minor leagues · Federal League · History of baseball · Relocation of the 1950's-1960's · Tie-breakers | |||
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