By: Big Rygg

When the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks entered the Major Leagues in 1998, there was a bit of a problem when it came to lining up the divisions and leagues. Prior to the expansion there happened to be 28 teams with 14 in each league. Forcing those counts into odd numbers for each league wasn’t going to work without either one team in each league sitting at all times or Interleague Play all the time.

Clearly, those options weren’t options at all and therefore a team had to switch leagues to make it work. The Milwaukee Brewers of the American League were the sacrificial lamb, so to speak, and made the transition from American League club to National League club to begin the 1998 season.

It has been a long and most times difficult journey in the National League for the Brewers. They broke into the National League with a 74-88 record and struggled for the majority of the next 10 years, only reaching a .500 or better mark once in their first eight years in the senior circuit. The only 100-plus loss season in franchise history (2002) has come since the move as well.

Recent history has been a bit more favorable to the Brewers’ fortunes (including a post-season appearance following the 2008 campaign) but the ultimate prize has escaped this franchise’s grasp.

All of the above leaves the Brewers to focus on other kinds of accomplishments, including one counting statistic of which they are on the precipice.

The Milwaukee Brewers are on the verge of their 1,000th victory as a National League entity. They’ve lost over 1,300 games since dropping the DH, so this will be a most welcome achievement.

In light of this forthcoming accomplishment, and with the prized offseason acquisition on the hill tonight in Florida shooting for it, I thought it would be fun to look back at the winning pitchers of the other round numbers in the team’s Win total history. Offered without commentary, please enjoy this look back at a few mentions of Milwaukee Brewers history.

Franchise NL Win #100: Hideo Nomo (recorded as the 26th Win of the 1999 season)
Franchise NL Win #200: Curt Leskanic (recorded as the 52nd Win of the 2000 season)
Franchise NL Win #300: Ray King (recorded as the 11th Win of the 2002 season)
Franchise NL Win #400: Matt Kinney (recorded as the 55th Win of the 2003 season)
Franchise NL Win #500: Doug Davis (recorded as the 20th Win of the 2005 season)
Franchise NL Win #600: Brian Shouse (recorded as the 39th Win of the 2006 season)
Franchise NL Win #700: Yovani Gallardo (recorded as the 64th Win of the 2007 season)
Franchise NL Win #800: Brian Shouse (recorded as the 81st Win of the 2008 season)
Franchise NL Win #900: Chris Narveson (recorded as the 11th Win of the 2010 season)