Beermen Breeze Into Playoffs

by Fergus McGee
Minneapolis Star Tribune
October 2, 2025

With a powerful September during which they won 21 of 27 games, the Beermen cruised into the playoffs a full seven game ahead of Sioux Falls and ten ahead of South Caroline.  South Carolina and Fort Collins will face each other in a one-game playoff for the second wild-card; Sioux Falls captured the other wildcard while Brooklyn cruised to the Estrogen crown.

There were plenty of worries mid-season when the Beermen lost 17 of 25 from mid-June until mid-July.  The hitters weren’t producing and things looked very sticky in the Banned.  But the club won 48 and lost only 24 from that point on.  The pitching stepped it up a notch and the hitting improved marginally enough to bring home the bacon.

The season made for several team highlights that would have been hard to foresee just a few season back:

• 97 wins marks the most ever by the locals dating back to the league’s inception when they were campaigning as the Johnsonville Brats.  The previous high mark was 93 wins way back in 2006.  And this year marks the first time the team has made it to the playoffs two years in a row.  It’s only the third time ever the club will compete in the post season.
• The team drew just a couple of hundred short of 3.2 million fans for the regular season.  That’s an increase of almost 200,000 over last year.  And the league’s fan interest rating index rose to 80 this week, a substantial improvement over the 63 high of last season and just 43 at the start of 2025.

The team’s success lies mainly with its strong six-deep starting rotation.  Shayne Canfield slipped a bit from 19-9 to 15-12, but rookie Antonio De La Cruz more than made up the difference by posting a strong 16-10 record.  All six starters posted ERA’s of 3.75 or less.  And the relief pitching was better than expected, led by a 39-save season (2.56 ERA) by Brazilian Ademar Lagario, still only 22 years old.

Sang Higgins had a disappointing season but still managed to lead the club in HRs with 23.  Thunder Wynkoop added 20 more along 50 stolen bases.  Edgar Gutierrez’s stats were well below his award winning numbers of last year, but he clubbed 22 homers and knocked in a club leading 99 runs.

Now it’s playoff time!  The club will raise ticket process from $13.50 to $14.50 for the playoffs, a modest increase that shouldn’t hold attendance down too much.  No word yet on whether the increase will stay in effect for next season.  Increasing revenue and thereby increasing the team budget remains a priority for the Minneapolis owners.  The front office has some crucial decisions to make regarding optional contract renewals for next year, but those choices can be delayed until after the playoffs.

The club has made a contract offer to John Walko for two more years for somewhat less than he asked.  His decision will be forthcoming soon.