A Complete History of Milwaukee Brewers Managers

The Milwaukee Brewers began play in 1970, but the team originated in 1969, when the Seattle Pilots became an American League expansion team. After one year, the Pilots' owners declared bankruptcy and, in the spring of 1970, the Pilots became the Milwaukee Brewers. Including Pilots manager Joe Schultz, the Pilots/Brewers have employed 20 managers. Let’s meet them!

Joe Schultz (1969 Seattle Pilots)
Managerial Record: 64-98

Schultz was a coach for the St. Louis Cardinals before being named manager of the newly formed Seattle team. The Pilots won their first game and three out of the first four and were tied for first with fellow expansion team Kansas City and the California Angels at that early juncture. Things went downhill after that, and the Pilots finished sixth (last) in the AL West with a record of 64-98.

Fun Fact: Schultz was notorious for his cussing and saying, “Let’s go pound some Budweiser.” Schultz, with his German heritage and love for beer, would have been a perfect fit in the Brew City.

Dave Bristol (1970-72)
Managerial Record: 144-209

Bristol was named the Pilots' manager after the 1969 season and managed the team during spring training in 1970. After Major League Baseball, lawyers, and owners straightened out the Pilots' bankruptcy in late March/early April, the team became the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers won 65 games in their inaugural season and 69 times in the second year. Bristol only lasted 30 games in his third season before being dismissed.

Fun Fact: In 1957, the 23-year-old Bristol began his managing career with the Class D Hornell (NY) Redlegs in the New York-Pennsylvania League. After nine years in the minors, he became the Cincinnati Reds skipper in 1966.

Roy McMillan (1972)
Managerial Record: 1-1

McMillan was one of Bristol’s coaches in 1972, and when Bristol got fired, McMillan took over as the interim manager for two games. The Brewers split the pair of contests before Del Crandall took over in late May.

Fun Fact: McMillan attended the same high school (Bonham, TX) as ex-Brewer pitcher Danny Darwin (1985-86). McMillan was a two-time All-Star and Gold Glove shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds in the late 1950s. He also played for the Milwaukee Braves from 1961-64.

Del Crandall (1972-75)
Managerial Record: 271-338

Crandall was another ex-Brave who also played for or managed the Brewers. The old catcher won 150 games in his first two full seasons as a manager for the Brewers, including Robin Yount’s rookie campaign in 1974. In his final season, he was fired before the final game of the year. Management kept quiet, but players suspected either injuries or lack of discipline and motivation were determining factors.

Fun Fact: In 1949, he became the youngest starting catcher in baseball history at age 19 for the Boston Braves. Crandall was also named to 11 National League All-Star teams and won four NL Gold Gloves. Crandall also worked as a color commentator for the Brewers from 1992-94, and he filled in for Bob Uecker on the radio broadcasts in 1991.

Harvey Kuenn (1975, 1982-83)
Managerial Record: 160-118-1
Postseason Record: 6-6

Kuenn took over the last game of the season in 1975 after Crandall was dismissed. In 1982, he took over for Buck Rodgers, who was fired in early June. Kuenn was initially expected to be the interim manager until a replacement could be found. At some point, the ‘interim’ tag was removed as the Brewers went 72-43-1 the rest of the way. They beat the California Angels in the ALCS and went on to face the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, their only Fall Classic appearance to date. The Brewers won 87 games in 1983 but finished only fifth in the AL East. He was fired after the season.

Fun Fact: Kuenn and his wife, Audrey, owned Cesar’s Inn, a tavern in West Allis that was a gathering place for Brewer players in the early 80s. Kuenn was initially married to 1954 Miss Wisconsin, Dixie Ann Sarchet, but they divorced in 1971. The nickname for the 1982 team was ‘Harvey’s Wallbangers’ because of its home run prowess.

Here is a photo taken in Cesar's Inn, moments after the Brewers' Game 7 loss.

Alex Grammas (1976-77)
Managerial Record: 133-190

Grammas, a longtime Cincinnati Reds coach, was tabbed as the Milwaukee manager in November 1975, replacing Del Crandall. Grammas was signed to a three-year contract by owner Bud Selig, who said, “We got the top man available.” Unfortunately, the Brewers won 66 and 67 games respectively in the two seasons under Grammas. Two years after he signed on as the manager, he was fired by the Brewers.

Fun Fact: Grammas returned to Cincinnati as a coach in 1978, and after Reds manager Sparky Anderson became the Detroit Tigers manager in 1980, Grammas joined his coaching staff. After being released by the Tigers after the 1991 season, Grammas retired from baseball.

George Bamberger (1978-80, 1985-86)
Managerial Record: 377-351

‘Bambi’ was the pitching coach for the Baltimore Orioles from 1968-77 and became the Brewers manager in January 1978. “Bambi’s Bombers’ won 93 games in 1978 and finished third in a tough AL East. The following year, the Brewers won 95 games and finished second. Bamberger suffered a heart attack in spring training before the 1980 season and underwent multiple bypasses. Buck Rodgers began the season as the interim Brewers manager, but Bamberger returned in early June and piloted the team to a mark of 47-45 before stepping down in early September. 

Bamberger returned to the Brewers' helm in 1985 and lasted through most of the 1986 season, resigning in late September. “I got tired of the travel and being away from my family,” said the 61-year-old Bamberger.

Fun Fact: In 10 years as an Orioles pitching coach, Bamberger had 18 pitchers reach the 20-win mark, an important milestone back in the 60s and 70s. 

Buck Rodgers (1980-82)
Managerial Record: 124-102
Postseason Record: 2-3

Bob ‘Buck’ Rogers had a unique stint as a Brewers manager. In 1980, he filled in for George Bamberger when ‘Bambi’ was on the shelf after multiple heart bypasses and finished the season after Bamberger resigned in September. In 1981, a baseball strike shortened the Brewers season to 109 games and ended with a loss to the New York Yankees in a five-game ALDS. The following season, the Brewers stumbled to a 23-24 record before Rodgers was dismissed in favor of Harvey Kuenn. Rodgers’ win percentage of .549 is the third-best in Brewers history for managers.

Fun Fact: Rodgers spent four years as the California Angels manager and seven seasons with the Montreal Expos. Rodgers was a good pitcher at Prospect (OH) HS, throwing six no-hitters.

Rene Lachemann (1984)
Managerial Record: 67-94

Lachemann became the Brewers' skipper in October 1983 when Harvey Kuenn was let go by the Brewers. Lachemann had lost his job in Seattle four months earlier after the M’s had lost eight straight contests and 15 of their last 18. The following season wasn’t much better for ‘Latch,’ as the Brewers won only 67 and lost 94, finishing in seventh place in the AL East. Lachemann was fired at the end of the season and would be replaced by George Bamberger beginning in 1985.

Fun Fact: Lachemann, whose career record showed 428 wins and 560 losses, was ejected only six times in that 988-game span.

Tom Trebelhorn (1986-91)
Managerial Record: 422-397

Trebelhorn had been a coach for Rene Lachemann in 1984 but was let go after the season, along with four other coaches. ‘Treb’ had managed Triple-A Vancouver in 1985 but was reassigned after the season. After third-base coach Tony Muser was burned badly in a clubhouse explosion in spring training, Trebelhorn filled in for him. When Muser returned, Trebelhorn stayed with the team as a third-base coach and took over for George Bamberger in late September when ‘Bambi’ resigned. Trebelhorn led the Brewers to a 6-3 mark and was named manager on October 1.

The following season, the Brewers went 91-71 but finished third in the AL East, seven games back of Toronto. In the four seasons that followed, the Brewers never won more than 87 games, and Trebelhorn was dismissed in early October 1991 by new general manager Sal Bando.

Fun Fact: Trebelhorn was the youngest manager in Brewer history in 1986 at just 38 years old. In 1987, he finished second in the AL Manager of the Year voting.

Phil Garner (1992-99)
Managerial Record: 563-617

Garner was hired after the 1991 season, following Tom Trebelhorn’s firing. GM Sal Bando and Garner played together in Oakland in the early 1970s. The Brewers won 92 games in ‘Scrap Iron’s’ first season, falling four games shy of Toronto in the AL East. Garner finished second in the AL Manager of the Year race. Unfortunately, his teams never won more than 80 games over the next eight seasons, and he was fired in mid-August by Bando, who then resigned and was reassigned as a special assistant to then-Brewer president Wendy Selig-Prieb.

Fun Fact: Garner’s tenure of eight campaigns is second behind Craig Counsell’s nine seasons, and his win total of 563 is also second to Counsell’s 707 victories.

Jim Lefebvre (1999)
Managerial Record: 22-27

Lefebvre was the Brewers' hitting coach in 1999 and took over as manager on an interim basis after Phil Garner was let go. Although his record was dismal, the Brewers did win 13 of their last 20 games to end the season on an ‘up’ note. ‘Frenchy’ was replaced by former fellow Dodger Davey Lopes in November.

Fun Fact: Lefebvre conducted hitting clinics in Europe in the early 2000s and served as manager of the China National baseball team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and the 2008 Olympics.

Davey Lopes (2000-02)
Managerial Record: 144-195

Lopes managed the Brewers in their final season at Milwaukee County Stadium and the first year in Miller Park. Unfortunately, neither team was very good as they won 73 and 68 games respectively. After a 3-12 start in 2002, Lopes was relieved of his spot on the bench and was replaced by Jerry Royster.

Fun Fact: Arguably the best second baseman in Los Angeles Dodgers history, Lopes was a four-time NL All-Star, won a Gold Glove award, and had two stolen base titles. He had a total of 557 steals in his 16-year career.

Jerry Royster (2002)
Managerial Record: 53-94

The 2002 Brewers, under Davey Lopes and Royster, were the worst team in franchise history, losing 106 games. An 8-19 record in September all but sealed Royster’s fate, and he was dismissed on October 2, one day after meeting with Brewers GM Doug Melvin. Royster had been criticized for his perceived ‘kid-glove’ treatment of outfielder Alex Sanchez. The manager stated that the rookie’s ego was too fragile to handle criticism.

Fun Fact: Following Jim Lefebvre and Davey Lopes, Royster was the third straight former Los Angeles Dodgers infielder to be handed the reins of the Milwaukee manager’s job.   

Ned Yost (2003-08)
Managerial Record: 457-502

Yost was named manager just before Halloween 2002 despite having no managerial experience. Yost, a former Brewers catcher, had been an Atlanta Braves coach for 11 seasons. The first two years under Yost were subpar, with 68 and 67 wins respectively, before the team won 81 games in 2005. 

In 2007, the Brewers won 83 games, finishing two games behind the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. The Brewers were battling for a playoff spot in September 2008, but amazingly, Yost was fired with 12 games left to play, despite a team record of 83-67. The Brewers had lost 11 of their last 14 games, and as GM Doug Melvin said, “We just felt a managerial change at least gives us a chance to see if we can turn it around.” Dale Sveum took over as interim manager, and the Brewers won seven of their final 12 games, squeaking into the postseason for the first time since 1982.

Fun Fact: Yost was a backup catcher for Milwaukee from 1980 to 83. In Game 158 of the 1982 regular season with the AL East crown on the line, Yost hit a three-run homer in the top of the ninth at Fenway Park to send the Brewers past the Boston Red Sox, 6-3. It was his only HR of the season.

Dale Sveum (2008)
Managerial Record: 7-5
Postseason Record: 1-3

One day, he was a third-base coach. The next day, he was the interim manager. Sveum became manager when Ned Yost was surprisingly fired in mid-September. The team needed a win on the final day to earn a playoff spot and got it behind C.C. Sabathia’s 3-1 masterpiece over the Chicago Cubs. The Brewers fell to the Phillies, three games to one in a best-of-five NLDS. Ken Macha was named to manage the Brewers beginning in 2009, but Sveum stayed on as a hitting coach.

Fun Fact: Sveum, who is a cousin of former All-Star first baseman John Olerud, hit one of the most memorable home runs in Brewers history. On Easter Sunday, 1987, Rob Deer hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to tie Texas 4-4 before Sveum hit the ultimate walk-off, a two-run homer to give Milwaukee their 12^th straight win to begin the season. The Brewers won their 13^th game the next day, and ‘Team Streak’ was born.

Ken Macha (2009-10)
Managerial Record: 157-167

After a successful four-year (2003-06) managing stint with the Oakland A’s in which they won a pair of AL West titles, Macha became Brewers manager before the 2009 season. The Brewers held the top spot in the NL Central for most of May and June, but after a sub-.500 last three months of the season, they ended in third, 11 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals. The Brewers finished with just 77 wins in 2010, and Macha was let go the day after the disappointing season.

Fun Fact: Macha played for four years (1982-85) for Chunichi in the Japan Central League, hitting 82 home runs during that time span after hitting only one HR in 380 major-league at-bats.

Ron Roenicke (2011-15)
Managerial Record: 342-331
Postseason Record: 5-6

The Brewers set a then-franchise record of 96 victories in Roenicke’s first year in 2011 as the Brewers advanced to the league championship series for the first time since 1982. After defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks in the five-game NLDS, they lost in six games to St. Louis in the NLCS. The next three years were a different story as the Brewers never finished higher than third in the NL Central. The Brewers got off to a bad start in 2015, and after a 7-18 start, Roenicke was dismissed as manager in early May in favor of Craig Counsell. 

Fun Fact: Roenicke’s brother, Gary, was a long-time big leaguer, mostly with Baltimore, while Ron’s nephew, Josh Roenicke, was a big league pitcher from 2008-13 for four clubs.

Craig Counsell (2015-23)
Managerial Record: 707-625
Postseason Record: 7-12

Counsell took over for Ron Roenicke in early 2015, and his team went 61-76 in the last five months. After 73 and 86 wins the next two years, the Brewers won 96 games and won the NL Central in 2018. They made it as far as the NLCS, losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games after sweeping the Colorado Rockies in three games. 

From 2019-21, the Brewers made the playoffs each year but never made it past the NLDS. Milwaukee won the NL Central crown in 2021 for the third time. The Brewers won 86 games in 2022 and improved to 92 wins in 2023, winning the NL Central crown for the fourth time. The Brewers lost in two games to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLWC series. 

In November 2023, the Chicago Cubs lured Counsell away from Milwaukee with a five-year, $40 million contract. Since then, Counsell has been booed incessantly whenever he returns to Uecker Field.

Fun Fact: Counsell is the franchise leader for Brewers managers in wins (707), years managed (9), games managed (1,332), postseason wins (7), postseason games (19), and ejections (28).  

Pat Murphy (2024-Present)
Managerial Record: 190-134
Postseason Record: 4-8

The legendary Murphy took over the helm when Craig Counsell defected to Chicago. The Brewers won the NL Central both years that Murphy has been the bench boss. In 2024, the Brewers lost to the New York Mets in three games in the NLWC. In 2025, Milwaukee beat the Chicago Cubs in an exciting five-game NLDS series. The NLCS didn’t end as well as the Los Angeles Dodgers swept Milwaukee in four straight games. Murphy was named the NL Manager of the Year in 2024 and is a finalist for the 2025 award, expected to be announced on November 11.

Fun Fact: Murphy guided the University of Notre Dame to a record of 318-116-1 across seven seasons from 1988-94. He began at Arizona State the next season and coached for 15 years (629-284-1) before resigning in November 2009.