Brewers making ‘Moose’ chief
It sounds, at first, l i ke a long, drawn out “Booooo!”
But look at the name on the scoreboard and it becomes apparent what fans at Miller Park are really chanting. “Mooooose!” Mike Moustakas has been a hit with fans and teammates with the Milwaukee Brewers since being acquired from the Kansas City Royals two-plus months ago. They appreciate his solid third base defence, and his left-handed power stroke was key in getting Milwaukee through the NL Division Series. In the clubhouse, his focused demeanour and extensive postseason experience have made him a source of steadiness for a club playing in the post-season for the first time since 2011.
“Amazing, amazing. He’s a great teammate,” said utilityman Hernan Perez, who has a locker near Moustakas. “He’s been in this situation.”
Moustakas and current Brewers centre-fielder Lorenzo Cain helped Kansas City reach the World Series twice, including their championship run in 2015. Moustakas is one step away from a Series return with Milwaukee. Game 1 of the NL Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers is Friday night at Miller Park.
Moustakas hit .364 in a threegame sweep of the Colorado Rockies in the NLDS with two RBIs. He had a game-ending, two-out RBI single in the 10th inning in Game 1.
Moustakas is hitting .234 with six homers and 17 RBIs in 34 games over eight post-season series.
“But his experience, it’s important. It really is,” manager Craig Counsell said last week. “Making sure we don’t put the result ahead of the process in our at-bats, and I think Moose is doing a heck of a job of that.”
The playoff run in Milwaukee winds down an eventful year for Moustakas.
After setting the Royals’ single-season home run record with 38 in 2017, Moustakas filed for free agency. He rejected a $17.4-million (U.S.) qualifying offer in November. Moustakas never received the multi-year contract he and his agent Scott Boras had anticipated. The Royals signed Moustakas to a one-year, $6.5-million contract in March with a mutual option for 2019.
“It’s definitely been an interesting year, but I’m very happy with the way everything turned out,” Moustakas said last week.