What historical pieces would you like to see on Brewer Fanatic?

[Michael Trzinski]

For the last year, I have been working on the Player Project for the Brewers, writing small 'Wiki-type' bios for past Brewers players. To date, we have about 150 players completed. After the end of the 2025 season, 1,075 players have competed in at least one game for Milwaukee. 

Unfortunately, the traffic for those bios has been a smidge on the slow side, so we are temporarily halting work on the Player Project bios.

That said, I am a huge fan of Brewers history and would like to share it with our readers. What kind of history would you like to see on BF? Memorable games? More about players? 

I like baseball history. I have published one dozen SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) bios on players, including former Brewer Roger Miller, long-time minor league manager Dave Machemer, and also have an upcoming bio scheduled for Brewers announcer Tim Dillard.

I want to keep providing history for the Brewers. 

Let us know what you would like to see!

[Outlander]

I liked the rule 5 articles that you did. I think the Player Project Bios are interesting but there are so many players in Brewers history, many unknown by the general fanbase, so I understand why it might get as much traffic. Kind of like the Rule 5 article, maybe can bring up some of these guys by having a topic that can bring up these historical players without making them the main point of the article. Can always do the often done best players at each position in Brewers history but can also do something like good players that you may not know played for the Brewers(Willie Randoph. Dave Parker, Jesse Orosco, Hideo Nomo, Devon White, Ray Fosse etc), players that received MVP votes but never won with the Brewers(Lo Cain, Pat Listach, Don Money, Larry Hisle, Tommy Harper, Richie Sexson etc.) Cy Young (Mike Caldwell, Teddy Higuera, Dan Plesac, Sabathia, Ben Sheets etc.). Just a thought to have a broader appeal while still writing about Brewers history.

[Austin Tatious]

I enjoy the work in all these forms so I am not picky.  A couple come to mind.  Recalling great times is easier for me.  But I always find the building phases—successful or not—interesting and fun to generate lessons learned.  

First topic.   I’m in my 50’s and the first season I can recall was 1975 but I was young and learning.  Would love to see articles on the 1970-1977 teams before they got on their run.  How they tried different pieces and put them together through trial and error until their core nucleus came together.  Some of the guys who they tried and didn’t last.  Lot of guys came through.  Some didn’t last, Von Joshua and Bernie Carbo.  Other pieces we had high hopes for like Bill Travers.  Then there were the guys who were added one at a time.  Gorman. Yount.  Molitor.  Sixto.  The trade for Cooper.  Then Oglivie.  Getting Caldwell.  

Second.  The other topic would be the draft picks in the 1990s especially pitchers and into the early 2000s when our fortunes turned with Weeks and Fielder, Hardy, Hart, Braun.  All those high picks and electric pitching prospects that didn’t make it.  A review of that and what changed when we started to have success.  

[Turning2]

Not necessarily Brewer specific, but how about a story on the history of the South American winter leagues and how they relate to MLB franchises. Who pays players like Chourio and other established big leaguers when they are playing ball down there? Do those teams need to get permission from the MLB franchise that own the rights to the players? What is the incentive for a team like MIL to risk a guy like Chourio to play over the winter? What happens if a star player gets seriously injured screwing around in a non MLB affiliated league? (or is there some affiliation?) etc etc. Then maybe a list on the top ten Brewers whose MLB careers clearly advanced or benefitted from having played in a winter ball league? 

[Thurston Fluff]

Something from the Sal Bando Wendy Selig-Prieb years just to give us perspective on how far we've come. 

[Samurai Bucky]

I would like to see a history on the ballparks / stadiums in Milwaukee.  My late father knew the Borcherts, but that was after the stadium was removed and the Braves played at old county stadium.  I don' t know where the old Milwaukee Brewers played before they became the Orioles.

[GAME05]

I read "historical pieces" a little differently and think it'd be neat to read old ones from brewerfan.net if they're accessible not just for memory road but to see how right/wrong we were about player assessments.

[Baldkin]

Seasonal recaps of Milwaukee baseball seasons, including the Braves. 

 

I don't really know the highlights of the 1984 season.... Or the 1952 season

[CheezWizHed]

Recapping past trades and the results might be interesting.  

[SomewhereInTime]

I want a full feature piece on the 10 game winning streak in 2003.

[Jim French Stepstool]

On 1/11/2026 at 11:24 AM, Samurai Bucky said:

I would like to see a history on the ballparks / stadiums in Milwaukee.  My late father knew the Borcherts, but that was after the stadium was removed and the Braves played at old county stadium.  I don' t know where the old Milwaukee Brewers played before they became the Orioles.

During the old Brewers one season as an AL team (1901) they played at the Lloyd Street Grounds. Borchert Field existed at the time; I'm not sure exactly why they didn't play there, although Lloyd St was reported to have a larger capacity at the time so that may have had something to do with it. Lloyd St was torn down sometime in the early part of that century. It was between North Ave & Lloyd around 16th-17th Street.

I second the interest in the old ballparks. It's packed away somewhere & I don't remember the title, but local baseball historian Bob Buege wrote a terrific book on the history of Borchert Field.

[Ulice Payne]

Three suggestions.

Braun almost got traded to the Dodgers for Yasiel Puig in 2016.  How close was that to getting done?

The 2022 trade deadline still looks puzzling.  A first place team trading away their closer, and then needing to DFA one of the players they just acquired...  It really looks like there were other deals that fell through leaving Milwaukee holding the bag.  I've always wondered if the mishandling of the 22 deadline resulted in Stearns being set aside but not released, like an unannounced suspension.

Finally, I think a deep dive on the 2008 season would be worthwhile.  The low point in May getting swept in Boston when it's suspected that Yost almost got fired, along with the closed door team meeting that followed; the trade for Sabathia, the firing of Yost with only two weeks to go; the final victory over the Cubs and then waiting for the end of the Marlins-Mets game...  The first Brewers playoff team in 27 years had a lot going on.

[JohnBriggs12]

On 1/15/2026 at 11:18 PM, Baldkin said:

Seasonal recaps of Milwaukee baseball seasons, including the Braves. 

 

I don't really know the highlights of the 1984 season.... Or the 1952 season

I don't remember any highlights in the 1984 season.  Molitor got hurt in the first week and it was all downhill after that.  They were out of the race by Mother's Day.  The most memorable game occurred over 2 days, May 9-10 in Chicago.  I was there on May 9th, and lasted 13 of 18 innings played that day, then returned for resumption of that game prior to the scheduled game that night.  The way they lost that historic 25 inning game was typical of that year's Brewer team.  They took the lead in the top of the 21st on an Oglivie 3 run blast, but a leadoff throwing error by 3B Randy Ready which ended up in about the 6th row behind first base opened the door for a 3 run Sox rally to tie the game in the bottom half and Harold Baines walked it off in the 25th.  Tom Seaver was winning pitcher in 2 games that day.

1952?  No major league baseball in Milwaukee that year.  Braves arrived in 1953.  Was a highlight for me in 52 however.  I was born that season. 

[pitchleague]

How about a “Where are they now?” About former Brewers top draft picks and prospects?  JM Gold, Dave Krynzel, those kind of guys.  It’d be interesting to hear their perspective on being drafted, making the majors (or not), what they did with their bonus money, what they do now, etc.

 

[Underachiever]

On 1/24/2026 at 9:11 AM, JohnBriggs12 said:

I don't remember any highlights in the 1984 season.

I will not allow you to erase the finest season of Jamie Cocanower’s career. 8-16 records don’t happen every year.

[Michael Trzinski]

On 1/11/2026 at 11:24 AM, Samurai Bucky said:

I would like to see a history on the ballparks / stadiums in Milwaukee.  My late father knew the Borcherts, but that was after the stadium was removed and the Braves played at old county stadium.  I don' t know where the old Milwaukee Brewers played before they became the Orioles.

I have started on that...

[Michael Trzinski]

On 1/23/2026 at 12:05 AM, Jim French Stepstool said:

During the old Brewers one season as an AL team (1901) they played at the Lloyd Street Grounds. Borchert Field existed at the time; I'm not sure exactly why they didn't play there, although Lloyd St was reported to have a larger capacity at the time so that may have had something to do with it. Lloyd St was torn down sometime in the early part of that century. It was between North Ave & Lloyd around 16th-17th Street.

I second the interest in the old ballparks. It's packed away somewhere & I don't remember the title, but local baseball historian Bob Buege wrote a terrific book on the history of Borchert Field.

https://sabr.org/bioproj/park/lloyd-street-grounds-milwaukee/

[GAME05]

On 1/23/2026 at 3:07 PM, Ulice Payne said:

Three suggestions.

Braun almost got traded to the Dodgers for Yasiel Puig in 2016.  How close was that to getting done?

Boy, it would be an absolute hoot to interview some past GMs to talk about all the almost-trades us fans never find out about or all the 'almost' ones Selig shot down.