A friend of mine asked me over the weekend who I prefer the Brewers face in the first round of the playoffs.
The Brewers will face the winner of the NL East. The Atlanta Braves are currently in the driver’s seat, the Philadelphia Phillies in striking distance.
Give me the Braves all day long.
For me, an NLDS match-up between the Brewers and Braves has nothing to do with head-to-head record or matchups. It has everything to do with history…and spite.
Milwaukee adored the Braves in the 50’s and 60’s.
As a teenager, my Father would ride his bike from Jackson Park Boulevard in Wauwatosa to Country Stadium to catch a glimpse of Warren Spahn, Eddie Matthews, Johnny Logan and Ernie Johnson.
If you lived in Milwaukee or Tosa, the players were your neighbors.
The Braves delivered Milwaukee it’s only World Series in 1957 and never had a losing season. When the team was sold to a Chicago-based group in 1962, the Braves days were numbered in Milwaukee. In 1966, the Braves played their first season in Atlanta, and Milwaukee was left without a team.
Playing and beating the Braves in the NLDS will do nothing to erase history, but it could heal the wounds – still open for some – from the team’s departure nearly 60 years ago.