Arizona Complex League Brewers

The Arizona Complex League Brewers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Arizona Complex League (ACL) and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. The are located in Phoenix, Arizona, and play their home games at American Family Fields of Phoenix. Milwaukee fields two squads in the Arizona Complex League: the ACL Brewers Blue and ACL Brewers Gold.

Established as members of the Arizona League (AZL) in its inaugural 1988 season, the Arizona League Brewers played at Compadre Stadium until 1995. Milwaukee did not operate a team in the league from 1996 through 2000, but it returned to play in 2001 at American Family Fields of Phoenix, then known as Maryvale Baseball Park. With the reorganization of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the AZL Brewers became the ACL Brewers after their league was renamed. The Brewers have won four ACL championships, including three consecutive titles in their first three seasons and most recently in 2010.

History

The Arizona League Brewers were one of four teams to compete in the inaugural Arizona League (AZL) season of 1988. The short-season Rookie classification league was created to serve as a developmental league, similar to extended spring training, specifically for recently drafted high school and Latin American players. The Brewers played their home games at Compadre Stadium in Chandler, Arizona. This was the spring training site of the Milwaukee Brewers, who operated the team.

The AZL Brewers' first game was a 13–11 victory over the AZL Mariners/Red Sox on June 23, 1988. Managed by Alex Taveras, the Brewers won the first Arizona League championship with a league-best 40–18 record. Jeff Nate led the Brewers to a second AZL title in 1989, topping the league with a 40–15 mark. They won a third consecutive AZL championship in 1990 with a league-best 36–17 record under the returning Taveras. The Brewers posted winning records in each of their next five seasons, but did not finish atop the league standings.

Following the 1995 season, Milwaukee moved their Rookie affiliation from Chandler to the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League in Ogden, Utah, to escape Arizona's summer heat and provide their players with better working conditions. They returned to operations in the Arizona League in 2001. From this point, they played their home games at Maryvale Baseball Park (now called American Family Fields of Phoenix), Milwaukee's spring training site since 1998.

Unlike AZL Brewers teams from the initial 1988 to 1995 run, those in the second stretch starting in 2001 posted losing records through 2009. Despite the team's results, two Brewers were selected for the Arizona League Most Valuable Player Award during this period: Hernán Iribarren in 2004 and Lorenzo Cain in 2005.

In the 2010 season, manager Tony Diggs led the team to win the Central Division title and a berth in the AZL's limited playoffs. The Brewers defeated the AZL Rangers in a single semifinal game before winning the championship game versus the AZL Reds to earn their fourth league crown. Diggs won the league's Manager of the Year Award.

After this success in 2010, the Brewers returned to posting losing records each season from 2011 to 2016. Rafael Neda's 2017 Brewers qualified for the playoffs by winning the First Half Central Division title, but they were eliminated by the AZL Cubs in the quarterfinal match. No Brewers team has reached the postseason since this most recent appearance.

In 2019, Milwaukee began fielding two Arizona League squads. AZL Brewers Blue and AZL Brewers Gold, named for their major league team's colors, were created to allow ample playing time for the Brewers' large number of recent high school draftees and international signings. Prior to the 2021 season, the Arizona League was renamed as the Arizona Complex League (ACL). In 2022, Brewers Blue outfielder Jace Avina was chosen for the ACL Most Valuable Player Award.

Season-by-season records

Rosters

Blue

Gold

References

{{Arizona Sports

1988 establishments in Arizona
1995 disestablishments in Arizona
2001 establishments in Arizona
Arizona Complex League teams
Baseball teams disestablished in 1995
Baseball teams established in 1988
Baseball teams established in 2001
Milwaukee Brewers minor league affiliates
Professional baseball teams in Arizona