World Series champion Milwaukee Brewers finally the toast of baseball - USA Today

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — They wanted to roar louder Wednesday evening, but they were wiping their eyes with tears.

They wanted to clap louder, but their hands were busily taking pictures for posterity.

They wanted to call their loved ones, but all lines were busy to Wisconsin.

But, oh, the memories they’ll cherish forever, with half of the sellout crowd of 40,489 at Tropicana Field being Brewers fans to witness the most glorious day of baseball in the history of Wisconsin.

The Milwaukee Brewers are the World Series champions for the first time in their 57-year franchise history.

The Brewers, who reside in baseball’s smallest market, with a payroll dwarfed by nearly two-thirds of baseball, defeated the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-1, winning the World Series 4 games to 1.

“This means everything to the city of Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin," Brewers owner Mark Attanasio told USA TODAY Sports. “I mean, this has never happened. They’ve always been supportive, but now they have something to really celebrate.

“Robin Yount was a Hall of Famer, one of the greatest players of his generation, and he says his only regret was that he never won a World Series in Milwaukee. He wanted this as much as anyone, perhaps more than anyone."

Now, there are no regrets, with Yount finally being able to say he’s a World Series champion, too.

Yount was among plenty of Brewer greats on hand to celebrate with Hall of Fame teammate Paul Molitor, former MVP Ryan Braun and former home run champion Prince Fielder.

It meant everything to their devoted long-tenured employees like Tony Migliaccio, Brewers director of clubhouse operations, born and raised in Milwaukee, and the only person who has been with the franchise since its inception. He began as a 15-year-old bat boy, making $1.76 an hour, became their bullpen catcher, and then became their beloved clubhouse manager.

“This city has spent 44 years talking about the magic of ’82 when we were last in the World Series, with Hall of Famers, Cy Young winners and All-Stars," Migliaccio said. “Everyone was in love with that team. Everyone knows the history of this organization. And now, especially for all of us that have been with the organization most of our lives, this means everything.

“For those of us who have been here during the lean years, you can look back, and know how tough it was. People will never look at this franchise the same way again."

Said former Brewers catcher Bill Schroeder, and now their broadcaster, who has spent 40 years in the organization: “It’s still surreal. I can’t believe it."

Now, they’ll all board planes together Thursday, head back to Milwaukee, for a World Series parade to remember.

The parade has been scheduled Friday in downtown Milwaukee, Brewers officials said, beginning on Wisconsin Ave. and will wind up at the end at the lakefront, with an anticipated crowd of at least 400,000, nearly two-thirds of the city’s population.

Who knows, that 400,000 estimate may be light considering these are the same fans who paid a World Series record $2,338 just to get into American Family Park in Milwaukee for Game 1, and then bought every plane ticket possible from Milwaukee to Tampa to cheer on their beloved team at Tropicana Field.

“It's been awesome to see," Brewers captain Christian Yelich said. “It's been pretty evident this month about how much the fans have gotten behind this team, the fan support that we've had at the road venues, at our home ballpark. People just coming up to you and telling you what the team means to them, and how awesome and how much fun and memories they've made over the years watching the Brewers.

“We don't take that lightly as a team. We understand that when we play well, it creates memories for people and makes people happy."

You want insanity? The Brewers’ watch party back home at American Family Field, where fans can buy $15 tickets to sit with other fans and watch the Brewers’ game on the scoreboard, were being scalped for $850.

And folks didn’t hesitate buying them.

Hey, why not celebrate not only the greatest team in Brewers history, but one of the most dominant postseason teams in baseball history, at least since the divisional era in 1969?

The Brewers nearly ran the table this postseason, going 11-2, losing only one game since Oct. 6, and just five times since Labor Day, 49 days ago.

Winning the World Series, they’ll tell you, wasn’t as easy as it may have appeared. They played three one-run games in the first four games, and were only three outs away from sweeping the Rays until their 12th-inning comeback, but the Brewers, just as they have all season, showed their resiliency.

“Sometimes the game tests you, sometimes the game makes you want to dig deep,” Yelich said. “Ad it’s all part of the journey, all part of the experience, and that’s part of our story.”

Now, that story can be shouted to the mountaintop, where the Brewers stand alone.

“This is for all of those that implemented and laid the foundation for what winning baseball looks like and what we need to do," said Matt Arnold, Brewers president of baseball operations. “They set those standards. Our guys here are unified and completely bought into what we need to do, the little things to win baseball games. There's no egos in this. Everybody's pulling on the same rope.

“And Milwaukee is huge in all this, man. They're loyal. They show up. They're loud. They care, and they wanted it just as bad as us. It’s been awesome.’’

Jacob Misiorowski, who should be the unanimous Cy Young winner, made sure that there would be no zany comebacks by the Rays this night. He completely suffocated the Rays’ lineup. In the finest postseason start of his career, he gave up just two singles in 5 2/3 shutout innings, departing only after suffering cramps in his right calf, leaving his vaunted bullpen to close out the game.

Just like that, Misiorowski will go down in history as the first pitcher since Orel Hershiser of the 1988 Dodgers to pitch the World Series clinching game and win the Cy Young award.

“He's come a long way since last year when he was a young kid with a lot of ability and a lot of natural talent,’’ Yelich said. “Anybody could see that looking at the radar gun and what he can do. He's come a long way learning himself as a pitcher, and learning how to pitch, and he's still learning in a lot of ways.

But he's matured a bit. He's gotten to know himself a lot. He's gotten confident. And he continues to get better, which is kind of crazy from stuff he's done.’’

There was 22-year-old rookie Cooper Pratt, who became the first rookie to drive in multiple runs in three consecutive World Series game. He was the the youngest player to produce a four-hit game in Game 4, and followed it up with two hits and a sacrifice fly in his first three plate appearances.

“I've been impressed with him all season," Yelich said. “Everybody was really talking about his glove, him coming up, but he can really hit. He's gotten some big hits during the season for us, and postseason obviously had a couple of big ones."

And then, there was catcher William Contreras, who put on a clinic in every phase of the game with Brewers manager Pat Murphy calling him their MVP.

“There is no one more important doing the job for us bigger than William," Murphy said. “He's been incredible. Both sides of it, catches every inning, that’s not easy. He's been incredible, plain and simple.’’

Really, the Brewers outplayed the Rays in every facet of the game. They out-hit them. They out-pitched them. They out-defended them.

“That's a really talented group,’’ said Rays ace Drew Rasmussen, who was beaten twice in the series, in Game 2 and again in Game 5. “In all honesty, they've outperformed us in all three facets of the game.

“I think they've pitched better than us. I think they've done better offensively. And I think they've played better defense than we have. It’s a really talented group. Their decision-making is off the charts.’’

And, oh, don’t forget that killer instinct.

“We're the type of team to step on teams' throats and keep going," Brewers center fielder Garrett Mitchell said. “We're relentless. We don't stop. Especially this time of the year, you never want to let anyone even have a sliver of chance if you don't have to let them.’’

“It makes you smile inside knowing that so many people care and they hang on this," Murphy said. “That's the whole thing about the state of Wisconsin and the city of Milwaukee. It's like these people really identify. They're hard-working people, a lot of them, and this is what they do in life. They do their job, and then they follow their sports teams…

“It's just about the Brewers, it's about the city of Milwaukee, it's about the state of Wisconsin, all coming together. We all play a role. It's wonderful to all be together."

Certainly, it could be a long winter, with a lockout that’s expected to begin Dec. 1, with an indefinite end date, but, oh, will it ever be glorious for the good folks of Wisconsin.

“I think the game's in a great spot right now,’’ Yelich said, “with a lot of people tuned in, a lot of popularity, a lot of great players out there. It would obviously be a shame if we miss time, but we'll have plenty of time this off-season to talk about it.’’

For now, the Brewers have a parade to worry about.

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