Brewers Fans on the Brink: World Series Dreams Unfold

Segment Spotlight: Quick Hits From Pushing The Odds with Matt Perrault

Brewers Fans Embrace a Surreal Championship Opportunity

For longtime Brewers fans, being 27 outs away from winning the World Series feels surreal. The team has never been known as a big spender, especially since acquiring Rollie Fingers and Ted Simmons in 1980 for a run that nearly ended with a championship in 1982. There is still a belief that Milwaukee might have won that series if Fingers had not been injured.

After years of wondering whether the Brewers would ever get over the hump, fans are watching a young team arrive ahead of expectations. This is not a roster built primarily around older veterans. Players such as Jackson Chourio and William Contreras could form part of the team’s core for the next five years.

Christian Yelich also represents what this team is about. He sparked a wild fifth inning by hustling to beat a force play at second, with the call going to a replay challenge. Seeing the oldest player in the starting lineup race to second embodied the effort Milwaukee has shown.

Pitching coach Chris Hook was identified as the team’s secret ingredient. Despite annual turnover in the bullpen, unfamiliar pitchers continue to deliver phenomenal seasons under his direction. The Brewers have revived numerous pitchers and helped make careers, similar to how the Rays have helped struggling pitchers turn things around.

Green Bay and Milwaukee fans have enjoyed plenty of success with the Packers, while the Bucks won a championship with Giannis. Baseball, however, often felt like it might never produce the same result. The Brewers reached this stage last year before being swept by the Dodgers, and devoted fans knew the young core and highly rated farm system would give the club more opportunities. Even so, it did not feel like this would be the year.