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About
Milwaukee Brewers Baseball |
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The team was
purchased on April 1, 1970 by an ownership group headed by Milwaukee
auto dealer Bud Selig. The team was renamed the Brewers to honor Milwaukee's
beer-brewing traditions. The Milwaukee Brewers is a Major League Baseball
team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1969 as Seattle Pilots,
the Milwaukee Brewers are among the five teams in the Central Division
of the National League (NL). The Brewers play their first game on
April 7 as a member of the American League West before 37,237 enthusiastic
fans at County Stadium as Lew Krausse drops a 12-0 decision to Andy
Messersmith and the California Angels. Milwaukee Brewers were moved
from the American League to the National League in 1998 during baseball's
realignment in order to make sure that each league had an even number
of teams. Major League Baseball wished to keep interleague play in
designated blocks during the season. Making both leagues equal in
size would have meant that each league would have 15 teams, an odd
number. In turn, this would have required that single interleague
games be scattered throughout the season. Therefore, it was decided
to have a 16-team National League and a 14-team American League. The
team moved back to Milwaukee and changed its name before the 1970
season. The Milwaukee Brewers have their home arena at Miller Park,
located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The stadium was first opened on April
6, 2001 and has a seating capacity of 43,000 fans. Built at a cost
of $310 million, the Miller Park is a replacement for the Milwaukee
Country Stadium. During the 1970s, Milwaukee had young talented players
and some veteran know-how. Robin Yount became the Brewers’ starting
shortstop at age 18, Aaron retired from the team in 1976 with a record
of 755 home runs, 41 more than Babe Ruth. In 1978, George Bamberger
took over as the manager of the team and strengthened the offense
including first baseman Cecil Cooper, infielder Paul Molitor, and
outfielder Ben Oglivie. In 1979 outfielder Gorman Thomas leaded the
AL with 45 home runs and Cooper posted his second season with a .300-plus
batting average playing for the Brewers. In 1982, the Brewers played
their first World Series, but lost to the St. Louis Cardinals. The
team won the American League Pennant in 1982. Yount had led the American
League in hits and doubles and also won the AL MVP award. Pitcher,
Don Sutton also joined the team and made the pitching staff more strong.
In 1998, the Brewers switched from the Central Division of the AL
to the Central Division of the NL. In the Hall of Famers, the Brewers
have Henry Aaron, Hugh Duffy, Rollie Fingers, Paul Molitor, Don Sutton
and Robin Yount. Robin Yount ranks first in the teams history with
3,142 career hits. Milwaukee Brewers players wear uniform of colors
white, blue and gold with the word "Brewers" printed over
a baseball which is inside a circle with the word "MILWAUKEE".
On April 2, 1998, the Brewers earn their first ever victory in the
National League with a thrilling 8-6, extra inning win highlighted
by a Jeromy Burnitz grand slam in the 11th inning. The Selig family's
ownership of the Brewers is the longest continuing ownership in the
majors now. Wendy Selig-Prieb, Bud's daughter, is now CEO. However,
on January 16, 2004, Selig announced that he was putting the team
up for sale, and had retained a New York firm to handle the deal.
In September of 2004, it was announced that the Brewers had reached
an oral agreement with Los Angeles investment banker Mark Attanasio
to purchase the team for US$180 million. The Milwaukee Brewers home
ballpark is Miller Park. The uniform Colors for the Brewers are midnight
blue, white, and gold.
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Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Web Site |
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