With a 9-2 victory on Wednesday afternoon, the Milwaukee Brewers are off to their best 50-game start in franchise history.
The Milwaukee Brewers are firing on all cylinders right now. They’ve won six of their last seven games and eight of their last 10. After an impressive victory over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, their 50-game record is the best in franchise history, at 31-19.
The win puts the Brewers three games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals and 3.5 ahead of the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates in a very competitive NL Central. They are now percentage points ahead of the Atlanta Braves for the best record in the National League.
This year’s Brewers are not the “Harvey’s Wallbangers” of the 1980s, who earned that nickname because of their home run hitting and being managed by Harvey Keunn, who took over for Buck Rodgers during the 1982 season. Kuenn guided the Brew Crew to a 72-43 record and a World Series appearance, which they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
#Brewers win to sweep the Dbacks! Our 31-19 start is our best record through 50 games in franchise history. #ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/p2LS8ECGwD
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) May 23, 2018
The 1982 Brewers had five players with 23 or more home runs, back when home runs weren’t as plentiful as they are today. Gorman Thomas led those Brewers with 39 big flies, and Ben Oglivie had 34. Cecil Cooper hit 32, and Robin Yount had 29. The team had the best offense in baseball, which included 216 home runs, 30 more than the second-place team in the category.
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This year the Brewers offense ranks 23rd in baseball with a 90 wRC+, meaning they’ve been 10 percent below average after league and ballpark effects are considered.
They shine on defense, though, currently second in the league in the Fangraphs metric for fielding. That good fielding has helped their pitchers post the sixth-best WAR in baseball. They are third in baseball with a 3.36 ERA.
As well as the Brewers have played so far, there are some concerns. Despite having the best record in the NL, the Brewers have a +25 run-differential that is sixth in the league.
Run-differential is a good indicator of the caliber of a team. The Brewers’ run-differential suggests they “should” be 28-22 rather than 31-19. A 12-5 record in one-run games has been a big part of their success.
The projections at Fangraphs are not optimistic about the Brewers, projecting them to go 54-59 from this point forward. The big difference is runs allowed. Before today’s game, the Brewers had allowed 3.6 runs per game. Fangraphs projects them to allow 4.6 runs per game over the last two-thirds of the season.
Should the Fangraphs projections prove true, the Brewers would finish with around 85 wins. That would put them six games behind the Cubs and two behind the Cardinals. They would be very much in the mix for a wild card spot with about a half-dozen other teams.
Next: The way-too-early NL All-Star Team starting lineup
Baseball Prospectus is more optimistic about the Brewers going forward. They have them finishing 88-74, just a game back of the Cubs and two ahead of the Cardinals. Whichever source you prefer, or if you have your own ideas about this team, the Milwaukee Brewers look like strong contenders. It should be a fun summer of baseball in Milwaukee.