Photo by Gregory Harutunian
Brewers Fan Keeping Score
As the Brewers careen into the waning days of the regular season schedule, with a playoff berth assured, fans at American Family Field cheer for their team while still finding topics to debate. Even at a condiment table.
“Ketchup? On a hot dog? You put ketchup on a hot dog?”
The Brewers lost 10-2 Wednesday night in a divisional game against the second-place St. Louis Cardinals. Pitcher Brett Anderson started, allowed six runs and six hits, before leaving in the second inning. It was over, but fans kept yelling support.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, a pinch hitter batted in the pitcher’s slot, meaning another change in hurlers. There was no activity in the bullpen. One out went, two outs, and still no relievers were throwing. Then, with the side retired, all eyes were on the bullpen … no one was up. Fans wondered what manager Craig Counsell was doing?
The answer was sending outfielder Jace Peterson to the mound for the ninth inning. He had already been moved from the outfield to second base, amid swapping of players and positions that night. His first two pitches to Cardinals shortstop Edmundo Sosa were lobbed over the plate for strikes. The third pitch was thrown at 85 MPH, low and outside, catching a corner of the plate for a strikeout.
Every pitch he threw, the crowd was with him. Although there were some tense moments, he finished the night with a line of one inning pitched, one hit allowed, and one strikeout. Peterson got a standing ovation from what was left of nearly 29,000 people.
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Keeping up with the position and players changes, 77-year-old Charles Hefferer is a practitioner of the scorecard. Scorekeeping is a lost art form with a language all its own: 1B (single), BB (walk), K (strikeout), F9 (fly out to right field), GO6-3 (groundout shortstop to first base), and more. It is likened to scoring a game of bowling, by hand, frame by frame, on paper … now it’s done automatically and projected overhead.
Fans from all Over
Hefferer learned how to do it at an early age and never quit. He and his wife, Margaret, drove from Zion, IL to attend the previous night’s game. “He’s attended ballgames in all the parks, even ones that are knocked down,” she said. “He needs to do the Dodgers in L.A. and was going to do it last year. The pandemic closed fans off, so we’ll make plans. The Brewers are doing great, I always enjoy watching them.”
Fans come from all over to marvel at the design of a domed structure, the field’s open sight lines with good seats anywhere, Bob Uecker broadcasting games, and the team too.
“I’ve been to 25 games this year, with my uncle,” said Jennifer Ashley. “The first two months, they were so-so, but we could see them getting better each game. When August started, they turned great with Rowdy Tellez and Edwardo Escobar. It’s fun!” Dr. Thomas Rudd, another IL native, was even more impressed. “They are like a machine and aren’t very exciting. They are like the Yankees. They just win.”
The Brewers have new T-Shirts, with a new motto: “Built For October.” The squad is also ticking down the number of games left in the season to collect a National League Central Division crown, even if by attrition.
“If they’re ever going to win the World Series, this is the year,” said Ashley. “All the pieces to the puzzle are right there.”
