BREWERS HISTORY

The team was purchased on April 1, 1970 by an ownership group headed by Milwaukee auto dealer Bud Selig. The team was renamed the Brewers to honor Milwaukee's beer-brewing traditions. The Milwaukee Brewers is a Major League Baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1969 as Seattle Pilots, the Milwaukee Brewers are among the five teams in the Central Division of the National League (NL). The Brewers play their first game on April 7 as a member of the American League West before 37,237 enthusiastic fans at County Stadium as Lew Krausse drops a 12-0 decision to Andy Messersmith and the California Angels. Milwaukee Brewers were moved from the American League to the National League in 1998 during baseball's realignment in order to make sure that each league had an even number of teams. Major League Baseball wished to keep interleague play in designated blocks during the season. Making both leagues equal in size would have meant that each league would have 15 teams, an odd number. In turn, this would have required that single interleague games be scattered throughout the season. Therefore, it was decided to have a 16-team National League and a 14-team American League. The team moved back to Milwaukee and changed its name before the 1970 season. The Milwaukee Brewers have their home arena at Miller Park, located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The stadium was first opened on April 6, 2001 and has a seating capacity of 43,000 fans. Built at a cost of $310 million, the Miller Park is a replacement for the Milwaukee Country Stadium. During the 1970s, Milwaukee had young talented players and some veteran know-how. Robin Yount became the Brewers’ starting shortstop at age 18, Aaron retired from the team in 1976 with a record of 755 home runs, 41 more than Babe Ruth. In 1978, George Bamberger took over as the manager of the team and strengthened the offense including first baseman Cecil Cooper, infielder Paul Molitor, and outfielder Ben Oglivie. In 1979 outfielder Gorman Thomas leaded the AL with 45 home runs and Cooper posted his second season with a .300-plus batting average playing for the Brewers. In 1982, the Brewers played their first World Series, but lost to the St. Louis Cardinals. The team won the American League Pennant in 1982. Yount had led the American League in hits and doubles and also won the AL MVP award. Pitcher, Don Sutton also joined the team and made the pitching staff more strong. In 1998, the Brewers switched from the Central Division of the AL to the Central Division of the NL. In the Hall of Famers, the Brewers have Henry Aaron, Hugh Duffy, Rollie Fingers, Paul Molitor, Don Sutton and Robin Yount. Robin Yount ranks first in the teams history with 3,142 career hits. Milwaukee Brewers players wear uniform of colors white, blue and gold with the word "Brewers" printed over a baseball which is inside a circle with the word "MILWAUKEE". On April 2, 1998, the Brewers earn their first ever victory in the National League with a thrilling 8-6, extra inning win highlighted by a Jeromy Burnitz grand slam in the 11th inning. The Selig family's ownership of the Brewers is the longest continuing ownership in the majors now. Wendy Selig-Prieb, Bud's daughter, is now CEO. However, on January 16, 2004, Selig announced that he was putting the team up for sale, and had retained a New York firm to handle the deal. In September of 2004, it was announced that the Brewers had reached an oral agreement with Los Angeles investment banker Mark Attanasio to purchase the team for US$180 million. The Milwaukee Brewers home ballpark is Miller Park. The uniform Colors for the Brewers are midnight blue, white, and gold.