"Undaunted" Brewers Continue Pushing Ahead

The yellow signs adorned lockers throughout the Brewers clubhouse on Wednesday afternoon.

Undaunted, read the all-caps heading, followed by a definition beneath the underlined term: Not intimidated or discouraged by difficulty, danger, or disappointment.

Players and coaches sported matching shirts with the word printed across the chest, in the same gold typeface used on the team’s City Connect jerseys. It was the focus of a team meeting held hours before first pitch against the Pirates, who defeated the Brewers 12-2 the night before in a stale showing from a team that has played a lively brand of baseball this year.

The Brewers hold such a meeting every month, Pat Murphy said, to “find out what’s happening on the bus.”

“The people in there,” he elaborated, gesturing from his office chair in the direction of the home clubhouse, “that’s the bus.”

This month’s meeting featured a vocabulary lesson. Where did the shirts and definition sheets come from?

“Out of the dictionary,” Murphy quipped.

The true inspiration, he explained, came from a newspaper story about one of his father’s high school football games. The article used "undaunted" to describe how Ty Murphy ranged to his right under pressure and completed a pass.

“I think it’s a great word to describe how to react to things when you’re disappointed, or you don’t get what you want, or whatever it is,” the junior Murphy said. “You just got to remain undaunted and move ahead.”

It’s a fitting description of how the Brewers have had to navigate the season. They were counted out from afar by many pundits before Opening Day, and have been hit by a barrage of injuries since.

The Brewers haven’t always gotten what they wanted. Most outside noise would have told them they had no business leading the division at the end of the first half. The team has ignored the noise and kept chugging along. They did it again on Wednesday night.

A 3-4 road trip against the Rockies and Dodgers is nothing to sneeze at, but a series loss in Los Angeles followed by an ugly defeat upon returning home can leave a sour taste in people’s mouths. Mounting concerns about the bullpen don’t help.

“We've got to get back to how we win games,” Murphy said after that showing. “It's draining. It's tough.”

The Brewers bounced back the following night with their own blowout win. It continued a season-long trend in which the lows have not lasted long.

Murphy frequently credits the team's clubhouse “pillars” – veterans like Christian Yelich, Willy Adames, Rhys Hoskins, William Contreras, and Freddy Peralta – for that resiliency. Whether he’ll admit it or not, he also sets that tone with his leadership.

“He knows how to get the boys going and, at the same time, keep it nice and chill,” said Sal Frelick, who fell a home run shy of the cycle in the win and made a sliding catch into the wall in foul territory to support another gem from rookie Tobias Myers.

Communication and leadership are the most important responsibilities of a manager--arguably more than strategic decision-making during games. Murphy’s dictionary-aided exercise was the latest instance of him fulfilling those duties.

More challenges and outside distractions are coming the Brewers’ way. The red-hot Cardinals lurk behind them in the standings. Deserving candidates like Brice Turang, Joey Ortiz, Bryan Hudson, and Trevor Megill have not had their strong seasons recognized with All-Star Game selections. The trade deadline is approaching, ushering in a frenzy of rumors and speculation.

The Brewers plan to brush it all aside and keep moving forward, undaunted.

“We’re on the ground level, and just talk about the ground level,” Murphy said. “We don’t try to discuss the MLB workings of what’s going to come, the trade deadline, none of that. None of that affects us. Let’s just worry about this.”