A Schelling For Your Thoughts

MILWAUKEE — When the Brewers clinched the National League Wild Card in 2008, third baseman Casey McGehee was in the visiting clubhouse.

After their final game of the season, McGehee and his Cubs teammates packed up as the Brewers and their fans awaited the eventual postseason berth, their first since 1982.

“It sounded like we were in the middle of the infield, it was so loud in the clubhouse,” McGehee said. “Kind of for three years now, I’ve been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to do that again.”

As the Brewers clinched their first division title since 1982 on Friday in similar fashion, McGehee was there waiting with his teammates along the dugout railing as they watched the Cubs defeat the Cardinals.

When they headed into the clubhouse, McGehee finally got that opportunity to be in the middle of the Brewers’ championship celebration.

“It was incredible being in the middle of it, just kind of taking it in. It was unbelievable,” McGehee said. “It was louder and more intense. It was just a madhouse.

“For an hour and a half, it didn’t look like anybody had left. It was cool, it was unbelievable. I can see how that would never get old, that feeling. It was pretty special.”

Fans stuck around Miller Park for hours after the final out Friday night, first to watch the Cardinals’ loss clinch the Brewers’ division title, and then to celebrate with the players.

Center fielder Carlos Gomez shared the champagne with the fans, spraying those who were in the front rows along the right-field line. Later in the night, Brewers owner Mark Attanasio climbed on top of the home dugout to exchange high fives with fans and spray some of them with beer.

It was unmistakable to anyone in attendance how much the club’s first division title in 29 years meant to the city of Milwaukee and the Brewers’ fan base.

“Those of us that maybe didn’t quite know how much it meant to the city, I think last night kind of put that into perspective,” McGehee said. “We all knew it was a big deal.

“Everybody thinks of Milwaukee and Green Bay and all that as kind of the same thing and just being a big football town. But they let us know last night they love some baseball, too.”