If you asked two separate Brewers fans to reflect on the 2024 season, and one person referred to it as a surprising success, and the other referred to it as a disappointing failure, they'd both be correct. The Brewers were written off and cast aside by just about every publication and pundit in the baseball industry before Spring Training even began, and even I had my doubts. I thought that they'd be better than projected, but certainly not a playoff team on paper. They had a new manager, they had a lineup comprised mostly of 1st and 2nd year players and one notable veteran reclamation project in Rhys Hoskins, and it was difficult to fathom how a rotation that lost 6 starters to either injury or trade (Burnes, Woodruff, Lauer, Miley, Houser, Teheran) would even be able to cobble together enough innings to get through a season, let alone be productive. So the fact that this team managed to win 93 games and basically coast through the division for almost the entire season was nothing short of miraculous. Brice Turang shunned off a sophomore slump and took a major step forward to become a potent leadoff man who was 3rd in baseball in steals and led all defenders at any position in defensive runs saved, which garnered him his first Gold Glove yesterday. Outfielders Sal Frelick (another Gold Glove winner), Blake Perkins (Gold Glove finalist), and Garrett Mitchell seemingly took turns making highlight reel plays in the outfield on a nightly basis and helped make run prevention a key component to the team's success. Newcomer Joey Ortiz, who was the major piece of the Corbin Burnes trade with Baltimore, was a big part of that defense as well, and should slide into shortstop nicely next year when Willy Adames is almost certainly gone. Two of the most encouraging signs for 2025 and beyond were that William Contreras continues to be the best catcher in the game, and Christian Yelich returned to his near-MVP form before a back injury ended his season. Put all of those things together, and you can't help but say that a 6th playoff appearance in 7 years was an unmitigated success. It's approaching the point where it's expected for the Brewers to make the playoffs and the word "dynasty" would not be a stretch, and I never thought I would be saying that in my lifetime.
However, with continued success comes greater expectations, and another first-round exit in the playoffs also makes this season extremely disappointing and a failure to take that next step. Yes, the playoffs are largely a crapshoot, especially given the 12-team format now. Any given team can win on any given day and even the best teams only win 55-60% of the time, which is what makes baseball so great. The Yankees certainly would not have won as many championships as they have if they had to play 4 rounds of playoffs in the 1930s. But you take enough shots and you expect to eventually make one, and that just hasn't happened for the Brewers for whatever reason. They certainly had the offense and bullpen and defense this year to put the pieces together, and it just didn't happen. One of the greatest closers in Brewers history gave up a homer on his signature pitch, to a guy who had not homered off of a changeup nor to the opposite field all year, and sometimes that just happens in baseball. It was gut-wrenching, and it took me a good week to get over the loss, and each year gets harder to take when we don't advance. But I also can't help but be proud of this team, and I try not to take it for granted that I am a fan of a team that has been pretty much continuously competitive over the last 8 or 9 years.
I mentioned Willy Adames earlier, and he is just one of the many looming hot stove questions this team always seems to have. Hoskins picked up his option so that clears up first base a little, but besides Adames' inevitable departure, the biggest story will be whether or not Devin Williams is traded. The team recently declined his $10.5M option, but he is still arbitration eligible for one more season, and he would likely be coveted by a lot of teams. What we would get in return for a 30-year old reliever who recently had back surgery remains to be seen. The Brewers unfortunately for whatever reason seem to have a little bit of a sleazy track record lately for how they're treating their outgoing players - Cain, Burnes, Hader, Colin Rea, and now Williams as recent examples - and are very focused on the bottom line. Which a small market team should always be, but not at the expense of a healthy clubhouse or reputation. Bullpen pieces are a dime a dozen these days, but how hard we go after another infield bat and some starting pitching will be interesting.
Welp, another season in the books, and I'm happy to report that I crossed the "30 games attended" threshold for the first time since I became a parent. Time to catch up on my TV shows for a few months and brush up on my Spanish on the Dominican League broadcasts. Other than that, stay tuned for Tour 2025 news, and only 108 short days until Spring Training!
FINAL 2024 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 7
Peter - 32
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.