Milwaukee has got it goin’ on!
Another wild card.
We keep adapting, changing it up, keeping it fresh, throwing a new style… we’re keeping it real!
Our event in Milwaukee was no different. The Milwaukee Brewers were kind enough to donate 60 tickets to Biking for Baseball for us to bring kids and volunteers to a game. Continuing with the Brewers organization, we reserved a patio just outside the ballpark in the parking lot that would serve as our meeting place before the game.
A B4B event primarily consists of a clinic and game. But here in Milwaukee, we were going to try something a bit different. We were going to serve as Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Metro Milwaukee guests! Stephanie, Lee and Sean lead a great program and we were excited to see benefits.
As kids and volunteers began arriving there were several stations set-up around the pavilion.
- A bike station – kids and volunteers could find out what kind of hardware was required to make an 11,000 mile trek
- Poster station – kids and volunteers teamed up to make a poster supporting their favorite player, BBBS, B4B or all of them together!
- Warm-up station – gloves were provided by B4B to kids and volunteers who hadn’t already brought their gloves to warm-up their warms before heading into the game
- Food! – hot dogs, chips, snacks… provided!
After spending some time at the stations, everyone grouped up in a circle to introduce themselves, their match and how long they have been matched up. Kids were the ones to do the introductions. Some were very energetic and some weren’t as keen on the spotlight of having to talk to 60 people. But everyone got through it!
Then B4B stepped into the spotlight and was able to tell the people who are making the difference that they are doing just that… making a difference! Because of the job they are doing, they are setting a great example to others within the community to go out and be a mentor to a child in need. Milwaukee has a great community of mentors involved with their program. Easy to see the connections between Big and Little.
After a bit more mingling outside the ballpark it was about time to head in to Miller Park for our 18th stadium of the tour! It was quite frantic to get everything cleaned up in time and still be able to make first pitch… but we made it! Chase and Adam still haven’t missed a first pitch all season!
Miller Park is nice stadium. In ESPN’s ballpark bracket style tournament earlier this season, fans voted Miller Park as the best stadium in baseball. Wisconsin residents are very active voters, and they definitely rocked the vote on it. Implying that is wasn’t that much of a stretch for Miller Park to be voted the top stadium, ESPN writer Jim Caple writes:
Miller Park’s victory is an upset, but it is hardly the equivalent of Adam Sandler winning an Oscar. That would have been the case had Tropicana Field won, but not Miller Park.
The 11 year-old stadium reminds me of Safeco Field in Seattle, however the retractable roof at Miller Park opens like a fan from a pivot point at home plate. We were lucky to have a nice evening with the roof open because summer nights in Wisconsin feel amazing after putting up with all of the insane heat across the country.
After having arguably their best season in franchise history last season, the Brewers have disappointed fans so far this year. Prince Fielder left to free agency, and the bullpen has been a mess, specifically whoever is pitching with a lead in the 9th inning. The Brewers have blown 21 saves so far this season!
Unfortunately, the Brewers didn’t have a save opportunity to possibly blow the game we went to. The Nationals jumped ahead quickly in the 2nd inning on an Adam LaRoche homer and a bases load triple by Steve Lombardozzi. The Nats played small ball in the 4th inning to score 3 more runs and effectively end the game there. Carlos Gomez added a meaningless home run for the Brewers in the 8th inning so B4B could see Bernie the Brewer slide down the slide in left field. That was the highlight of the game.
Milwaukee is known as the “Sausage Capital of America”*, and the each game the Brewers pay tribute to this history by racing people dressed as giant sausages around the warning track. There are 5 sausages and accordingly to Wikipedia, they are: a bratwurst named Brett Wurst, polish sausage named Stosh, Italian sausage named Guido, a hot dog named Frankie Furter, and a chorizo named Cinco.
*Completely fabricated piece of information! But it should be called that if it already isn’t.
When its time for the sausage race, the whole stadium stands up and cheers just as loudly as they did at any point in the game we went to. EVERYONE was into it! When it came time for the seventh inning stretch people didn’t even want to get out of their seats like they do for the sausage race.
Miller Park is a great stadium for kids. They had more kids stuff than any other stadium we’ve been to so far. Besides the normal speed pitch, they had a base running game in which you raced against a lifesize billboard of Corey Hart to second base. There was also a game in which all 5 sausage characters were on separate tracks attached a pedal powered seats in which you can race by pedaling your sausage against 4 others to finish line. Sweet!
The group from Big Brothers Big Sisters Milwaukee had a great time, and we had a great time hanging out with them at the game. It was a memorable experience for us, as we hope it was for the kids!
Gm 1– 4/13 @ Safeco Field – Oakland A’s @ Seattle Mariners
Oakland wins 4-0 (WP – Colon, LP – Hernandez)
Gm 2 – 4/24 @ O.Co Stadium – Chicago White Sox @ Oakland A’s
Oakland wins 2-0 (WP – Milone, LP – Floyd, SV – Balfour)
Gm 3 – 4/27 @ AT&T Park – San Diego Padres @ San Francisco Giants
San Diego wins 5-3 (WP – Luebke, LP – Hacker, SV – Street)
Gm 4 – 5/3 @ Angels Stadium – Toronto Blue Jays @ LA Angels of Anaheim
Toronto wins 5-0 (WP – Morrow, LP – Haren)
Gm 5 – 5/7 @ Dodger Stadium – SF Giants @ Los Angeles Dodgers
Dodgers win 9-1 (WP – Lilly, LP – Zito)
Gm 6 – 5/8 @ Petco Park – Colorado Rockies @ San Diego Padres
Padres win 3-1 (WP – Suppan, LP – White, SV – Thayer)
Gm 7 – 5/12 @ Chase Field – San Francisco Giants @ Arizona Diamondbacks
Giants win 5-2 (WP – Cain, LP – Cahill, SV – Casilla)
Gm 8 – 5/20 @ Coors Field -Seattle Mariners @ Colorado Rockies
Mariners win 6-4 (WP – Beavan, LP – Guthrie)
Gm 9 – 5/30 @ The Ballpark in Arlington – Seattle Mariners @ Texas Rangers
Mariners win 21-8 (WP – Beavan, LP – Holland)
Gm 10 – 6/3 @ Minute Maid Park – Cincinnati Reds @ Houston Astros
Astros win 5-3 (WP Lyles, LP – Arroyo, SV – Myers)
Gm 11 – 6/15 @ Tropicana Field – Miami Marlins @ Tampa Bay Rays
Rays win 11-0 (WP – Moore, LP – Zambrano)
Gm 12 – 6/22 @ Marlins Park – Toronto Blue Jays @ Miami Marlins
Blue Jays win 12-5 (WP – Romero, LP – Sanchez)
Gm 13 – 6/30 @ Turner Field – Washington Nationals @ Atlanta Braves
Braves win 7-5 (WP – Minor, LP – Strasburg, SV – Kimbrel)
Gm 14 – 7/6 @ Busch Stadium – Miami Marlins @ St. Louis Cardinals
Marlins win 3-2 (WP – Nolasco, LP – Westbrook, SV – Bell)
Gm 15 – 7/13 @ Kauffman Stadium – Chicago White Sox @ Kansas City Royals
White Sox win 9-8 (WP – Alexrod, LP – Teaford)
Gm 16 – 7/19 @ Target Field – Baltimore Orioles @ Minnesota Twins
Orioles win 4-3 (WP – Chen, LP – Burnett, SV – J. Johnson)
Gm 17 – 7/24 @ U.S. Cellular Field – Minnesota Twins @ Chicago White Sox
White Sox win 11-4 (WP – Jones, LP – Fien)
Gm 18 – 7/26 @ Miller Park – Washington Nationals @ Milwaukee Brewers
Nationals win 8-2 (WP – Jackson, LP – Gallardo)