headtopics
As the San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers face off in the National League Division Series, a different kind of rivalry is unfolding—one built on mutual respect rather than animosity. While the Padres' rivalry with the Los Angeles Dodgers is famously intense, their relationship with the Brewers is more akin to that of distant relatives. Both franchises were born in 1969, and that shared history was evident as fans mingled outside Petco Park before Game 3 on Tuesday night.
Among the crowd were Johnny Cummings of Chula Vista and Ryan Harris of Oostberg, Wisconsin—former roommates who have stayed close over the years. When the series shifted to San Diego, Harris bought tickets for $350 each, flew in, and made sure Cummings could join him. "Hey, he's not a Dodgers fan," Cummings joked, wearing a brown Padres jersey. "Everybody hates the Dodgers."
Harris, sporting a pinstriped Brewers jersey, became an unofficial ambassador along the third-base concourse, exchanging high-fives and fist bumps with anyone wearing Milwaukee gear. "I hope so," Harris said with a smile when asked if he was enjoying the camaraderie.
Padres fans, however, had mixed reactions when they spotted Adam Guenther of Arcadia, Wisconsin, wearing a pinstriped Brewers jersey with "Chourio" on the back. Jackson Chourio, the Brewers' outfielder, had given Milwaukee a 2-0 series lead with a game-winning single off closer Mason Miller on Sunday. Guenther, walking with his brother-in-law Andrew Poirier, a San Diego native, was stopped as they headed toward the Padres Team Store. "That's what I would say," Poirier remarked. "Growing up in San Diego, we were very similar to the Brewers in a lot of ways."
Both franchises have long been categorized as small-market teams, facing similar challenges in competing over the years. Their Hall of Fame franchise players—Robin Yount for the Brewers and Tony Gwynn for the Padres—both wore No. 19. "So there's also that," Poirier added. Guenther noted that while most people wished him luck, one fan dressed as a Friar told him to "eff off." "There's always one in the crowd," Guenther said.
In some ways, Milwaukee and San Diego could be sister cities. Padres organist Bobby Cressey played the theme from Laverne & Shirley an hour before the game, a nod to the 1970s sitcom set in Milwaukee. The show's matriarch, Mrs. C, was played by Marion Ross, a San Diego State graduate who also attended Point Loma High School, where she was part of the Class of 1947 alongside Yankees postseason hero Don Larsen.
Other connections abound: Brewers manager Pat Murphy spent several years in the Padres organization, including as manager during the second half of the 2015 season. Padres Hall of Fame closer Trevor Hoffman finished his career in Milwaukee, and Padres broadcaster Tony Gwynn Jr. began his playing career there. "They are some of the most genuine people you'll meet," Gwynn said before the game. "It was my first experience of being recognized when you're doing normal stuff, like going to the grocery store, and them being genuinely happy they got a chance to see you, whether you won or lost. I thought that was super cool."
Gwynn also has one of the more memorable moments in Brewers-Padres history: his triple off Hoffman infamously prevented the Padres from clinching a playoff spot in 2007. "That's a bigger deal for San Diegans than it is for them," Gwynn said. "We were just happy to finish .500 that year. They don't think of it the same way Padres fans do. I still hear about that."
The most grief for someone with Milwaukee connections belongs to former Brewers owner Bud Selig. In 2014, the Padres named the courtyard area behind the Western Metal Supply Co. building the Selig Hall of Fame Plaza, honoring Selig as he prepared to retire after nearly a quarter century as commissioner. The Padres ostensibly honored him for his role in helping the ballclub during its 1993 fire sale and its push to build a downtown ballpark. At the ceremony, former Padres president and CEO Mike Dee said, "It's tough to find something to give someone who has the experience and background he does. I think at this point in his career, his legacy speaks for itself. But to commemorate it here today was not only fun for us, but important for us to do."
Padres fans thought otherwise, and thousands signed a petition in protest. Selig's name was nowhere to be found when the Padres opened their Hall of Fame plaza two years later. A search Tuesday for a plaque bearing Selig's name came up empty. Maybe it was hidden behind a potted plant.
The people who should really be miffed at Milwaukee—and Selig—are in Seattle, which got an expansion team in 1969. The Pilots played one year in Seattle, ran into financial difficulties, were bought out of bankruptcy, and moved to Milwaukee the following season. Selig was awarded the franchise six days before opening day in 1970. Equipment trucks supposedly idled along a highway in Utah waiting for instructions to drive either to the Pacific Northwest or the Midwest. Milwaukee players initially wore Seattle Pilots uniforms with the logos removed because there wasn't time to get Milwaukee Brewers uniforms made. Seattle got the Mariners seven years later in a settlement of a lawsuit brought against MLB by the state of Washington over the Pilots' departure.
When the Brewers did get their uniforms, it was cool and clever how the MB logo on Milwaukee's hats and shirts looks like a glove with a ball in it. "It only takes them knocking us out of the playoffs to develop a disdain for them, I'm sure," Gwynn said, noting the tripwire in Saturday's opener adds to the fire. "Those things build those kind of rivalries. They conjure up those kind of feelings."
Originally reported by headtopics.