Great joy followed by bitter disappointment.
That’s probably the best way to describe the 2021 season for the Milwaukee Brewers, who overcame so many obstacles to run away with the National League Central Division only to take the offensive with a massive pratfall in the end and find themselves in four games the NL Bow Division Series to the Atlanta Braves.
It is always difficult to fall into the postseason, be it at the beginning or at the end. But this hurt a little more because the Brewers thought they had the guns, especially the pitch, to run well into October. The World Series was the goal, not the NLDS.
“This year the disappointment for all of us is, frankly, a little bigger than before, even after some of our tougher exits,” admitted David Stearns, president of the baseball business, at his end-of-season media session. “And that’s not bad.
“That means we had really high expectations here this year. That means we thought we had a really good team. We had a really good team. We had a team that played at a very high level for a long time. And when all of these things happen and the season ends (as it did), it hurts. “
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As a whole, it’s impossible to fret about a 95-67 record, just one win less than the franchise record. But considering the Brewers were 89-55 on Sep 13 and ran 6-12 the rest of the way, 7-15 including the NLDS, it’s fair to ask what went wrong in the end.
After the Brewers increased their lead in the division to 14 games with a three-game sweep in Cleveland September 10-12, which included the franchise’s first no-hitter in 34 years, the Brewers seemed particularly aggressive on the gas admit. They regrouped to win a disappointing New York Mets team in their final home series to win the division and then made the decision to look to the results in a 5–1 final to St. Louis and Los Angeles to rest.
Atlanta’s pitching undoubtedly had a lot to say about it, but the Brewers lost their mojo somewhere between mid-September and the postseason and never looked the same. With 48 strikeouts in the four NLDS games, there were too many non-competitive at-bats.
“Every time you get to the playoffs in this league, you’ve had a successful season because it’s really hard to get to the playoffs,” said Stearns. “This is a successful season with a very disappointing ending. That’s how I would characterize it.
“It’s great that our expectations and emotions as an organization are tied to more than just reaching the playoffs. That means we’ve made tremendous strides as an organization, and I’m really proud of that. I think everyone involved with the organization should really be proud of it.
“With these increased expectations and the added emotional involvement, if you don’t make it, it’s difficult, and that’s what we’re all feeling right now. But it was a successful season. We have overcome a lot this year.
“We won 95 games, we won the league pretty practically and that is what will ultimately be remembered for this team.”
The 2021 Brewers in particular will be remembered for having the best pitching staff in franchise history from top to bottom. After decades of failing to produce enough self-made pitches to really make a difference, the poor appeared en masse, including the “Big 3” of starters Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta.
These pitchers, along with fellow starters Adrian Houser and Eric Lauer, and relievers like Josh Hader and Devin Williams, will remain under contractual control for years to come, giving the Brewers a chance to stay competitive in the postseason. So they made it to the playoffs for four consecutive seasons, making this the Golden Age of Brewers Baseball. By comparison, they made the postseason four times in their first 47 seasons.
With Christian Yelich and Keston Hiura offensively back on track to join a solid core of returning players, there’s no reason the Brewers can’t make it to playoff baseball for five straight years.
“I am very optimistic about where we are as an organization and I am confident about the future of our team,” said Stearns. “That doesn’t mean it’s easy. I think that’s important to repeat. It’s really hard to get to the playoffs. That is why we enjoy it whenever we do and try to remember it.
“It will take a lot of work to get back to where we were, and we understand that. I think we can. We have done it before and I think we will do it again. But we don’t take these runs for granted. And we understand what lies ahead of us now, to return to the point we were at, and do everything we can to overcome it. “
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