MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers have grown accustomed to clinching playoff berths just about every year, but this latest celebration differed from the rest because it was so unexpected.
“It was like nobody thought we were going to be here today,” shortstop Willy Adames said Wednesday after the Brewers won their third National League Central Division title in four years. “Now we’re here. I don’t know what they’re going to say after this.”
Milwaukee became Major League Baseball’s first team to reach the postseason in 2024 on Wednesday afternoon, when the Chicago Cubs’ 5-3 home loss to the Oakland Athletics enabled the Brewers to wrap up the division crown.
The Brewers’ clubhouse emptied of players with one out to go in the ninth inning in Chicago, a couple of hours before Milwaukee’s scheduled first pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies. A muffled cheer could be heard after the final out when the Brewers won consecutive division titles for the first time in 42 years.
Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said he watched the final outs of the Oakland-Chicago game with longtime Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker, the 90-year-old former MLB catcher.