The Brewers attempted with Opening Day 2021 to turn the page from a year we'd like to all soon move past, as the home ballpark was open to fans this past Thursday for the first time in over 18 months. Besides fans being allowed into the ballpark (albeit at 25% capacity), the other noticeable change from last year was the elephant in the room that I have not yet addressed on this blog - the ballpark name change. As of January 1st 2021, the ballpark that I grew up in and have known intimately for 20 years is now knows as American Family Field. I live not too far from the ballpark now and have noticed the the signage getting replaced here and there over the last few months in preparation for Opening Day, and honestly I'm a big fan of the logo. People can say "It will always be Miller Park to me" all they want, but I don't think anybody can objectively deny that the old logo and graphics were horribly outdated. The new refresh using the American Family Insurance logo blended with Brewers colors and an outline of the roof looks stunning on top of the ballpark driving past on I-94, especially at night when it's lit. American Family even went so far as to update Bernie's Chalet as they are really trying to ingratiate themselves to the Milwaukee community. Like I mentioned, the name change has been a polarizing issue in town, and I get it that people hate change and getting rid of tradition, especially in baseball - and I would be the first to admit that I'm generally in that category. But we're not exactly talking about Wrigley Field becoming Caterpillar Field. This is a relatively young park that simply had a corporate naming rights deal expire that I think people will get used to in a year or two, just like every other stadium name change. "AmFam Field" even rolls off the tongue. If 87-year-old and 50-year veteran of the Brewers, Bob Uecker, can get through an entire broadcast without slipping up on the name change, I think we can all manage just fine. If it is still too much to handle, feel free to move to West Milwaukee where the entire city refuses to accept the change and is not changing the name of "Miller Park Way."
Another change for this year that was not insignificant to me is that I was not there! 2021 marked my first Opening Day I did not attend (in which fans were allowed) since 2007, and that year I was finishing my Masters' Thesis en route to the summer ball tour, so I think I had a good excuse that year. It was a really difficult decision for me to not to go this year, much harder than I thought it would be. As Spring Training rolled along I thought I would be fine with it, but when the day actually got here, it really hit me hard that I would not get to be at the ballpark, missing that familiar waft of sausage smoke as you enter the parking lot at 9 AM. Instead, I smelled coffee and tacos as I went to a little taqueria near my house to watch the game. On the bright side, I will say that I feel much better now about attending a game in 2021 than I did 3 months ago. My wife and I have each already received one dose of the vaccine, and I think by mid-summer we will be itching to get out of the house with our newborn so long as virus and vaccine protocols continue improving. So, I am going to return to keeping my "ballgames attended" tally on the blog after a one-year hiatus, but don't expect that number to even creep into double digits this year.
As for the on the field product, it was a pretty disappointing showing all around. I wasn't expecting the team to hit that much as I don't think anybody is. They made the playoffs last year despite their worst team batting average in franchise history, and this year's success is predicated on comeback seasons of about half of the roster, including Travis Shaw who is back now at third base. But what was surprising was the pitching. By and large the pitching is expected to carry us this year, but outside of the masterful performances of Corbin Burnes and Josh Hader, even that was a little shaky. Keston Hiura is also still adjusting to moving to first base, and Lorenzo Cain is still getting his nearly 35-year-old body back into playing shape after opting out last season. It's hard to gauge a season after 3 games against a really good interleague opponent, but it's hard not to have at least a knee-jerk reaction knowing how poorly things went last year. Hopefully 9 games against the Cubs and 3 against the Pirates in the month of April will right the ship. This weekend definitely made me yearn a little bit for the teams of the 1990s and 2000s of my childhood, who might have been horrible but at least they could rake. It's a lot harder to listen to a 2-0 loss than it is a 10-8 loss.
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.
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