No drama? No problem. Brewers fans enjoy clinching title early with Cubs loss
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- When baseball fans think of their favorite team clinching a division championship, they probably imagine roaring after recording the final out or a dramatic walk-off win.
Instead, many Brewers fans were in their cars Wednesday when the team clinched the 2024 National League Central crown. They didn't seem to mind.
In the American Family Field parking lots, security hadn't yet opened the gates when the Chicago Cubs lost 5-3 to the Oakland Athletics, guaranteeing the Brewers had won the division for the second straight year and the fourth time in the last seven seasons.
Michael Farringer of Madison said he was five minutes away from the exit when the Cubs game ended, and he was happy to have an angst-free evening at the ballpark.
"My husband was actually cheering for [the Cubs] to win, and I wanted to come in, celebrating the whole night," Farringer said. "Have all the ease, so we just knew we were already winners."
Stephen and Kaleigh Becker from Milwaukee were with Kaleigh's parents, who are longtime season ticket holders. As they made bruschetta skewers, pointing out the tomatoes and basil were homegrown, they savored their team's latest division title coming at their former manager's expense.
"Always a Cubs loss," Kaleigh said of her rooting interests Wednesday.
"Cubs loss and a Brewers win? It would've been cool to see them clinch it here," Stephen added. "But seeing Craig Counsell lose in Chicago is always a good thing to see."
A common theme from fans was they were particularly satisfied with this year's run. Featuring a number of young, homegrown players, the team was largely written off in the spring because of Counsell's departure and an injury shelving closer Devin Williams for much of the season.
"It's especially joyful because nobody thought we could do this," Mary Rose, from Milwaukee, said. "My friend and I? We're die-hards, so to us, we always thought we could do it."
Others, however, were already looking ahead to October. This week's series against the Philadelphia Phillies, who have the National League's best record, and the Arizona Diamondbacks, who eliminated the Brewers from the postseason last year, presented a late-season for the Brew Crew.
Jeff Schleif, from McFarland, said he hoped the Brewers clinching the division before the first pitch meant the team would be loose from Wednesday's series finale against Philadelphia.
"We were hoping they could work for it a little bit, but that's alright," Schleif said. "You know, now we can - maybe the team can come out and relax a little bit and play a good game tonight and pick up a nice win. We need to get ahead of them Phillies."
The pregame clincher did mean teams could get their hands on fresh division champions merch once the gates opened. Patti Lanza from Milwaukee went straight for the shirts. She noticed there were two different styles but said the choice was easy.
"I picked out [the one saying] 'We Own the Central' because the Cubs lost," she said with a laugh.