2011 was a magical year for the Milwaukee Brewers. Doug Melvin assembled an outstanding group of pitchers and his club rode superstar-level performances from Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder to a franchise-record 96 victories. The Brewers made their deepest postseason run in a generation, walking off the Diamondbacks in five games in the divisional series before bowing out in the NLCS after six hard-fought games with St. Louis.
But 2011 was also the end of an era. Fielder hit the free agent market after Milwaukee’s run concluded and the franchise has not played October baseball since. Sure, there has been four winnings seasons in the last seven (2012, 2014, 2016, 2018), but fans around the Cream City have endured more heartbreak than joy.