Kirsten Schmitt/Milwaukee Brewers
Despite great work like Travis Shaw’s walk-off two-run homer against the Cubs on Sept. 23, the Brewers couldn’t pull off a wild card berth.
The 2017 Milwaukee Brewers hung in there until Game 161 of a 162-game schedule, when they officially were eliminated from the postseason. That’s pretty impressive for a team that wasn’t expected to finish above fourth place in the five-team National League Central division.
Milwaukee’s 86-76 record — 13 more victories than last season — put them in second place behind the Chicago Cubs, who clinched the division for the second straight year. The Brewers fell one game short of tying the Colorado Rockies for the National League’s second Wild Card spot, which would have necessitated a one-game playoff in Denver.
Credit a young group of players with no sense of nostalgia for the 1982 World Series team and no concept of the term “rebuilding year.” Guys like Eric Thames and Travis Shaw (who each hit 31 homers), as well as Brett Phillips and Domingo Santana, meshed well with the experience of longest-tenured Brewer Ryan Braun (age 33) and other veterans such as Stephen Vogt and Eric Sogard. Pitchers Chase Anderson, Corey Knebel and Josh Hader also deserve a ton of kudos.
At July’s All-Star break, the Crew led the NL Central by 5.5 games, and suddenly this team was a contender. But the Cubs nipped at Milwaukee’s heels during the season’s second half, eventually overtaking the Brewers and never looking back.
After Milwaukee lost three of four to the Cubs in mid-September at Miller Park — a series the Crew needed to sweep — the Brewers set their sights on nabbing that second Wild Card slot.
It’s easy to look back at a handful of games Milwaukee should have won, including a heartbreaking 7-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 30 — the one that eliminated the Brewers from playoff contention after Milwaukee blew a 6-0 lead.
Still, this team exceeded all expectations, except maybe those in the Brewers clubhouse. Manager Craig Counsell, in only his second full season at the helm, created a positive environment in which players knew they could win every time they took the field. And with only four free agents, most notably pitcher Matt Garza, that foundation should remain firm for next year.
No stranger to the postseason himself when he played for the Florida Marlins and Arizona Diamondbacks, Counsell instilled in his players a sense of urgency yet never seemed rattled. Given his grace under pressure and ability to raise the bar for a franchise that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2011, Counsell warrants serious “Manager of the Year” consideration.
