Miller Park is getting a big new addition next year. In a move that will probably anger the type of parent who complains when schools hand out participation trophies, the Brewers announced that they are building a “Wall of Honor” outside the stadium’s Hot Corner entrance.
The wall will host plaques honoring retired Brewers who meet any of the following criteria: 250 appearances as a pitcher; 1,000 innings pitched; 2,000 plate appearances; winners of a MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year or Fireman of the Year award; managers of a pennant-winning team; members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame who played for or managed the Brewers; and individuals memorialized with statues on the Miller Park Plaza.
Dozens of players meet that criteria or will meet that criteria when they retire, including greats like Hank Aaron, Jeff Cirillo, Rollie Fingers, Paul Molitor and Robin Yount, as well as more modest inclusions like Chuck Crim, Rob Deer, Bill Hall, Bob Wickman and Pete Vukovich. What’s that old adage about belonging to any club that would have Rob Deer as a member?
As Adam McCalvy reports, the idea came from Craig Counsell, who was inspired by a similarly undiscerning wall in San Francisco’s AT&T Park honoring figures who shaped the Giants but couldn’t be named by Ken Burns off the top of his head. “Counsell thought the idea would play in Milwaukee, where the Brewers’ Walk of Fame has in recent years become a most difficult club to crack,” McCalvy writes.
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Of course, Counsell, with his 2,063 plate appearances, qualifies for the wall, though McCalvy notes that the former infielder abstained from setting the induction criteria.
The inaugural 58 Brewers and executives will be inducted into the wall on June 13 before the team’s game against the Reds. It will be the closest Mike Fetters ever comes to his Babe Ruth moment.
