The Brewers–Cubs rivalry is a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB)

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

between the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

. Both clubs are members of MLB's

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

(NL) Central Division. The rivalry is also sometimes known as the I-94 Rivalry, because the two teams' ballparks are located only from each other off

Interstate 94 Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern ter ...

(I-94). The Brewers and Cubs have been playing each other in spring training

Cactus League Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring ...

games since the Brewers franchise began as the

Seattle Pilots The Seattle Pilots were an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington, during the 1969 Major League Baseball season. During their single-season existence, the Pilots played their home games at Sick's Stadium and were a me ...

in 1969. However, the rivalry did not begin until , when the Brewers moved from the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

(AL) Central Division to the National League Central. Until then, the Brewers had a rivalry with Chicago's AL team, the

White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The club plays its home games at Rate Fie ...

. The Brewers–Cubs rivalry has been ranked among the best and most competitive in baseball. Conversely, the notion of a rivalry continues to be questioned by Cubs players, who cite the omnipresence of Cubs fans in attendance at games played against the Brewers in Milwaukee. At least 16% of the lift in Milwaukee attendance for Cubs games is attributed to Cubs fans. This is despite the Brewers' efforts to restrict Cubs fans' ability to purchase tickets. In 2023, Craig Counsell left the Brewers to become the Cubs manager. He admitted he may have underestimated the rivalry part of Brewers fans feeling like he just went to “the other side.” While the teams have never met in the postseason, they did play a Game 163 in 2018 to determine the NL Central division championship, which the Brewers won 3–1 at Wrigley Field.

Background

1997–1998: First meetings

The Brewers and Cubs met for the first official time on June 13, 1997, in

interleague play Interleague play in Major League Baseball refers to regular-season baseball games played between an American League (AL) team and a National League (NL) team. Interleague play was first introduced during the 1997 Major League Baseball season. ...

, a 4–2 Brewers victory at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

in Chicago. They met for the first time as division rivals on June 15, 1998, a 6–5 Cubs victory also in Wrigley Field.

1999–2016: Geographic foes and division races

After battling for the NL Central title in both 2007 and 2008, the teams met at

Miller Park American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Located southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 in Wisconsin, Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard, it is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Brewe ...

for the Brewers' home opener in 2009. During the second game of the series on April 11, the Brewers had the highest attendance in

for the rivalry game. During games in Milwaukee, it was sometimes common for there to be many Cubs fans in attendance. This has been largely due to the ticket availability at Miller Park; Wrigley Field has routinely sold out in the past, so it has often been easier and cheaper for Cubs fans to watch games at Miller Park (with

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's ''

Hiawatha Hiawatha ( , also : ), also known as Ayenwatha or Aiionwatha, was a precolonial Native American leader and cofounder of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a leader of the Onondaga people, the Mohawk people, or both. According to some accounts, he ...

'' providing low-cost access between both cities and trains often packed during rivalry games either way), leading Cubs fans to call Miller Park by the derisive nickname of "Wrigley North". During the 2006 season, the Milwaukee Brewers started the "Take Back Miller Park" campaign to regain home field advantage. Since then, the dominating presence of Cubs fans has somewhat dwindled as the Brewers have become more popular with local fans following the sale of the team from

Bud Selig Allan Huber "Bud" Selig (; born July 30, 1934) is an American baseball executive who currently serves as the commissioner emeritus of baseball. Previously, he served as the ninth commissioner of baseball from 1998 to 2015. He initially served a ...

Mark Attanasio Mark L. Attanasio (born September 29, 1957) is an American businessman who is currently the principal owner of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team and the majority shareholder of English football club Norwich City FC. As of 2023, he is worth an ...

. Through the 2007 and 2008 seasons, the rivalry became more intense with both teams battling for the

National League Central The National League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was created in 1994, by moving two teams from the National League West (the Cincinnati Reds and the Houston Astros) and three teams from the National Le ...

crown, a prize the Cubs eventually claimed both seasons. During 2008, the Brewers had a sellout streak going at the start of a mid-July series at home against the Cubs. The rivalry was less prominent in the early 2010s, as both teams finished well out of playoff contention in 2010, while in 2011 the Brewers claimed the NL Central title and the Cubs struggled to a 71–91 record. After the season ended, former Brewer player, coach and manager Dale Sveum was hired by the Cubs to be their new manager in . The Brewers in 2012, won 13 of 17 games against the Cubs to take the all-time series at 118–117.

2017–present

In 2017, a surprisingly competitive Brewers team led by young prospects and resurgent veterans challenged the defending World Series champion Cubs for the division; the two played in a key end of the season series which led to the Cubs clinching their second division crown in a row, finishing the season 92–70, six games ahead of the 86–76 Brewers. The rivalry reached a pivotal stage in 2018. After narrowly missing the playoffs in 2017, the Brewers made several acquisitions during the off-season. They signed free agent outfielder Lorenzo Cain and acquired former

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

outfielder Christian Yelich in a blockbuster trade. These acquisitions, both occurring on January 25, 2018, helped the Brewers match the Cubs in terms of offensive prowess. During the regular season, the Cubs won eight of first nine meetings, but the Brewers ended up winning the last four series against the Cubs and both teams were tied for first place in the NL Central after 162 games. The teams faced off in a tie-breaker game for the division title. Milwaukee won 3–1, winning the division and securing home-field advantage throughout the National League playoffs. The Brewers also enjoyed a large contingent of Brewers fans at Wrigley Field during this game, which marked a turn in a series where Cubs fans normally "took over" Miller Park. The Cubs were relegated to the Wild Card Game, which they lost to the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

. The Brewers went on to beat the Rockies in the NLDS but lost to the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

in the

NLCS The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a Playoff format#Best-of-seven playoff, best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Major League Baseball po ...

. The two would remain competitive in 2019 and 2020, with the Brewers making the playoffs in 2019 as a wild card and the Cubs winning the division in the Pandemic shortened 2020 season (the Brewers would make the playoffs as a wild card that year). However, it cooled off for a few years following the Cubs' selloff of their 2016 World Series core leading to two under .500 seasons, while the Brewers won the division in 2021 and narrowly missed the playoffs in 2022; however, they never made it past the first round. In 2023, the rivalry came back when this time a young Cubs team led by prospects and resurgent veterans (led by free agent signings Cody Bellinger, Dansby Swanson and Marcus Stroman) challenged a first place Brewers team for the division. The Brewers would win the division, the Cubs would collapse and miss the playoffs, and the Brewers would once again be knocked out in the first round.

Season-by-season results

, - , , style=";" , Cubs , style=";" , 21 , ''no games'' , style=";" , Cubs, 21 , style=";" , Cubs
21 , Only interleague season , - , , Tie , 66 , Tie, 33 , Tie, 33 , style=";" , Cubs
87 , With MLB's expansion and realignment, Brewers are transferred from the AL Central and are placed in NL Central with the Cubs , - , , Tie , 66 , Tie, 33 , Tie, 33 , style=";" , Cubs
1413 , , - , , style=";" , Brewers , style=";" , 76 , style=";" , Brewers, 51 , style=";" , Cubs, 52 , Tie
2020 , , - , , style=";" , Brewers , style=";" , 98 , style=";" , Cubs, 43 , style=";" , Brewers, 64 , style=";" , Brewers
2928 , , - , , style=";" , Brewers , style=";" , 107 , style=";" , Brewers, 64 , style=";" , Brewers, 43 , style=";" , Brewers
3935 , , - , , style=";" , Cubs , style=";" , 106 , style=";" , Cubs, 70 , style=";" , Brewers, 63 , Tie
4545 , , - , , style=";" , Cubs , style=";" , 107 , Tie, 55 , style=";" , Cubs, 52 , style=";" , Cubs
5552 , , - , , style=";" , Brewers , style=";" , 97 , style=";" , Brewers, 73 , style=";" , Cubs, 42 , style=";" , Cubs
6261 , , - , , Tie , 88 , style=";" , Cubs, 43 , style=";" , Brewers, 54 , style=";" , Cubs
7069 , , - , , style=";" , Cubs , style=";" , 96 , style=";" , Cubs, 42 , style=";" , Cubs, 54 , style=";" , Cubs
7975 , , - , , style=";" , Cubs , style=";" , 97 , style=";" , Cubs, 52 , style=";" , Brewers, 54 , style=";" , Cubs
8882 , Brewers clinched NL Wild Card and first postseason appearance since 1982 against the Cubs in game 162 of the regular season in Milwaukee with a victory along with a Mets' loss. , - , , style=";" , Cubs , style=";" , 107 , style=";" , Cubs, 54 , style=";" , Cubs, 53 , style=";" , Cubs
9889 , , - , , style=";" , Cubs , style=";" , 96 , style=";" , Cubs, 63 , Tie, 33 , style=";" , Cubs
10795 , , - , , style=";" , Brewers , style=";" , 106 , style=";" , Brewers, 81 , style=";" , Cubs, 52 , style=";" , Cubs
113105 , , - , , style=";" , Brewers , style=";" , 134 , Brewers, 72 , Brewers, 62 , style=";" , Brewers
118117 , Cubs hire former Brewers manager Dale Sveum as manager. Brewers win 10 straight home meetings (April 2011 – May 2012). , - , , style=";" , Brewers , style=";" , 136 , style=";" , Brewers, 73 , style=";" , Brewers, 63 , style=";" , Brewers
131123 , MLB realignment results in teams meeting 19 times per season beginning in 2013. , - , , style=";" , Cubs , style=";" , 118 , style=";" , Brewers, 54 , style=";" , Cubs, 73 , style=";" , Brewers
139134 , , - , , style=";" , Cubs , style=";" , 145 , style=";" , Cubs, 82 , style=";" , Cubs, 63 , style=";" , Cubs
148144 , , - , , style=";" , Cubs , style=";" , 118 , style=";" , Brewers, 54 , style=";" , Cubs, 73 , style=";" , Cubs
159152 , Cubs win 2016 World Series , - , , style=";" , Cubs , style=";" , 109 , style=";" , Cubs, 73 , style=";" , Brewers, 63 , style=";" , Cubs
169161 , , - , , style=";" , Cubs , style=";" , 119 , Tie, 55 , style=";" , Cubs, 64 , style=";" , Cubs
180170 , Both teams were 95–67, tied atop the division after 162 games, so they played a tie-breaker game to determine the division champion. The Brewers won the tie-breaker in Chicago, 3–1, to win the division, while the Cubs were relegated to the Wild Card Game. , - , , style=";" , Brewers , style=";" , 109 , style=";" , Brewers, 73 , style=";" , Cubs, 63 , style=";" , Cubs
189180 , , - , , Tie , 55 , style=";" , Cubs, 21 , style=";" , Brewers, 43 , style=";" , Cubs
194185 , Season shortened to 60 games (with 10 meetings) due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. , - , , style=";" , Brewers , style=";" , 154 , style=";" , Brewers, 72 , style=";" , Brewers, 82 , style=";" , Brewers
200198 , , - , , style=";" , Cubs , style=";" , 109 , style=";" , Brewers, 54 , style=";" , Cubs, 64 , style=";" , Brewers
209208 , Last year of 19 divisional games against each other. Balanced schedule starts in 2023 only 13 games against each other. , - , , style=";" , Brewers , style=";" , 76 , style=";" , Brewers, 43 , Tie, 33 , style=";" , Brewers
216214 , , - , , style=";" , Brewers , style=";" , 85 , style=";" , Brewers, 52 , Tie, 33 , style=";" , Brewers
224219 , , - , , style=";" , Cubs , style=";" , 32 , style=";" , Cubs, 21 , Tie, 11 , style=";" , Brewers
226222 , ''Upcoming at Brewers, July 2830''
''Upcoming at Cubs, August 1921'' , - , Regular Season , style=";" , Brewers , style=";" , 226222 , style=";" , Brewers, 118106 , style=";" , Cubs, 116108 ,

References