Bill Madden: Brewers make Milwaukee famous for old-time baseball

Milwaukee’s baseball landscape shifted after Pabst Co., parent of Schlitz, announced in May it would stop producing Schlitz beer—ending a “177 years” run marketed as “the beer that made Milwaukee famous.” Five months later, the Milwaukee Brewers have taken the branding spot as “the team that made Milwaukee famous,” following their first World Series title and first Milwaukee world championship since the 1957 Braves. The team won with a 19th-ranked payroll of $146 million and a roster built from eight draftees, 14 trades, and four lesser-known free agents. Manager Pat Murphy, 67, emphasized an old-school, team-first approach, including benchings of Cooper Pratt on Aug. 25 and William Contreras on Sept. 25 for baserunning and hustle mistakes.