The Milwaukee Brewers named designated hitter Christian Yelich the first official captain in franchise history Saturday, adding a “C” to his jersey during the club’s final regular-season series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The announcement came before Saturday night’s game at American Family Field, after players met as a group to make the designation official. Milwaukee already had won Friday’s series opener 8-4 and then beat St. Louis 3-2 on Saturday for its major league-leading 102nd victory.
The team posted the news itself: “OUR CAPTAIN 🫡 Tonight and going forward, Christian Yelich will become the first player in franchise history to don the Captain’s “C” on his jersey.”
Yelich, 34, is in his ninth season with the Brewers. The move put him in rare company around the league.
Yelich becomes one of three active captains in MLB, with the Yankees’ Aaron Judge and the Royals’ Salvador Perez.
Yelich did not accept the title without a condition. According to Pat Murphy, Christian Yelich had one request when he learned the Brewers wanted to name him captain. He wanted the blessing of Robin Yount, “because in Yeli’s mind, Robin is the first captain.”
“Robin agreed wholeheartedly,” Murphy said.
Yount spent his entire 20-year career in Milwaukee, won two American League MVP awards and anchored the only Brewers club to reach the World Series, in 1982. He remains the franchise leader in hits, games and RBIs. The Brewers had never previously given a player the formal captain’s letter.
Murphy said the title simply confirmed what the clubhouse already treated as fact. Yelich was not in Saturday’s starting lineup and went 0 for 2 after entering as a pinch-hitter, wearing the new mark on his uniform.
His 2026 numbers have been modest by his own standard. Through 116 games he is hitting .236 with 12 home runs, 58 RBIs and a .697 OPS. Those figures sit well below his peak seasons, but they have not changed how teammates and coaches describe his role.
Milwaukee acquired Yelich from the Miami Marlins after the 2017 season. In 2018, his first year with the Brewers, he won the National League MVP award after batting .326 with a .402 on-base percentage, .598 slugging percentage, 36 home runs and 110 RBIs.
The club then signed him to a nine-year, $215 million extension in March 2020 that runs through 2028, with a mutual option for 2029. Since joining Milwaukee he has produced 27.6 bWAR, an .847 OPS, 186 home runs and 616 RBIs.
Over a 14-year major league career that began with Miami in 2013, Yelich has a .282 average, 245 home runs, 909 RBIs, an .829 OPS and 45.2 bWAR. He is a three-time All-Star, three-time Silver Slugger and two-time batting champion.
The captaincy arrives as the Brewers close the strongest regular season in club history. Milwaukee is 102-59, has won four straight NL Central titles and holds the No. 1 seed in the National League. That seed brings a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
The regular season finale is Sunday at 2:10 p.m. CDT against the Cardinals. After that, the Brewers will wait for the Wild Card round to finish. Game 1 of the National League Division Series is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 3, at American Family Field against an opponent still to be determined.
Brice Turang supplied Saturday’s biggest swing, a two-run homer in the fifth inning that put Milwaukee ahead 3-2. The bullpen then threw six hitless innings. The Cardinals finished the night 77-84 and have been eliminated from postseason contention.
The Brewers have reached the playoffs in eight of the past nine seasons and have six division titles in that span. Naming a captain late in September does not change the standings, but it puts an official stamp on the veteran who has been in the middle of that run since 2018.
Yelich will carry the letter into October as Milwaukee prepares for another deep postseason push.
