A first championship has a special feel to it.
The Milwaukee Brewers won the World Series earlier this week, giving the franchise its first title. The 2026 team will always be the one that finally got them over the line.
That doesn’t mean Milwaukee hasn’t had plenty of great baseball teams before. The franchise has had its share of stars, including Prince Fielder, who was one of the league’s most feared hitters during his time with the Brewers.
I spoke with Fielder on Friday about watching the current team’s run and about his connection to the club. He also talked about once committing to play college baseball for Pat Murphy at Arizona State.
During the team’s title run, Fielder was asked about the role he and other former Brewers had played in building toward this moment. He was quick to give the current team its space. He acknowledged his own time with the franchise, but said this championship belonged to the players who won it.
That kind of humility is striking in sports. Toward the end of our conversation, I asked what he would remember most from the run. Fielder said he appreciated the warm response from Brewers fans and baseball fans more broadly, especially the way people connected his years in Milwaukee with what Murphy’s team had just achieved.
Sports memories tend to bring people together, and Fielder helped make a few more on Friday as Milwaukee celebrated. He teamed up with Budweiser to share pieces of memorabilia tied to the championship.
It must have been something to receive a keepsake from Fielder himself. That’s the kind of moment a fan would hang on to.
And Fielder knows his own place in Brewers history isn’t likely to be forgotten, either.
