Photo by CRobertson - Getty Images
Steinbrenner Field - 2021
Steinbrenner Field (2021)
The Brewers salvaged a win in the series finale with the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday in what might have been their final chance to win a game in their 58th MLB ballpark.
The Rays hosted this weekend’s series and will host their entire 2025 home schedule at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, normally home to Yankees spring training and the minor league Tampa Tarpons, due to hurricane damage at Tropicana Field. This may be the Brewers’ only visit to that ballpark, as next year’s only interleague series between the two teams will likely be played in Milwaukee and either Tropicana Field or a new home for the Rays may be ready by the time they visit again in 2027.
This is not the first time the Brewers have been the visiting team in another club’s temporary home, and it also almost certainly won’t be the last: They host the Athletics this season but will likely visit them in Sacramento in 2026 and perhaps again in 2028, depending on progress on an anticipated move to Las Vegas. Before those two instances, however, it had been a relatively rare occurrence in franchise history. The last time the Brewers went on the road to a non-primary MLB park was in 2004 when the Montreal Expos played 21 home games at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The following season the Expos moved to Washington and became the Nationals.
Boosting Attendance
The only other such instance in Brewers history, however, is perhaps the most interesting story of the group. Not long after the Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta following the 1965 season and left Milwaukee County Stadium vacant, the Chicago White Sox launched an experiment to see if they could boost their flagging attendance. Despite posting a winning record for 17 consecutive seasons they had seen their attendance drop from a high of over 21,000 fans per game in 1960 to just over 12,000 fans per game in 1967.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
As such, in 1968 they didn’t have a lot to lose when they moved nine home games, one against each American League opponent, up the road to Milwaukee. The 1968 season was a dreadful campaign for the Sox, who dropped from 89 to 67 wins and went through three managers over the course of 154 games. On the field they lost eight of the nine games they played in Milwaukee, but they won at the box office: Nearly 30,000 fans per game paid to see them play in Milwaukee while they only sold about 7,500 tickets per game for their remaining home contests in Chicago. The venture continued into 1969 and expanded slightly, as the American League added two new expansion teams.
One of those teams was the Seattle Pilots, who did not know they were visiting their future home when they played their single game in Milwaukee against the White Sox on June 16 of that season. The Sox scored three in the first inning and five more in the third on their way to an 8-3 victory behind a complete game from pitcher Billy Wynne, who was making his first start for the team.
Prominent Future Brewers
The Pilots used 18 players in that game, including a handful that would go on to be prominent Brewers when the team moved to Milwaukee in 1970:
- Infielder Tommy Harper, who would go on to be the Brewers’ first All Star, batted leadoff for the Pilots that day.
- Mike Hegan, who in 1976 would become the first Brewer ever to hit for the cycle, was the Pilots’ number 2 hitter and right fielder.
- Catcher Jerry McNertney was having the best season of his career behind the plate and would serve as the Brewers’ first Opening Day backstop.
The best player on the field for the Pilots that day might have been first baseman Don Mincher, their only All Star from their expansion season. Mincher contributed to the 1970 Brewers in a different way: The Pilots traded him to the Athletics following the season for a package including future relief ace Ken Sanders and 1970 Opening Day starter Lew Krausse.
With the Rays and Athletics facing uncertain stadium futures it’s possible the Brewers will play a few more games in temporary MLB facilities in the years ahead. It’s unlikely, however, that any of those contests will produce a more unlikely story than the day the Seattle Pilots visited Milwaukee.
