Brewers Players Pick Up The Tab For Fans

With his affable personality. dedication to environmental causes and acting ability — not to mention his abilities on the field — Brent Suter was already one of the more popular members of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Friday night, that popularity spiked to the status of a local legend when he performed perhaps the most noble act one can in the city made famous by beer:

He picked up the tab for everyone at Saz’s State House, a well-known Milwaukee bar and restaurant that is roughly a Suter fastball from American Family Field that he and his wife, Erin, visited frequently during their time with the Brewers.

“We have the best fans in the world so this is a great way for us to give back and say thank you,” the left-handed pitcher said from St. Louis, where the Brewers were preparing to take on the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

The Brewers have been doing this all season, picking one bar every Friday night that the team is on the road. While the team announces the player footing the bill ahead of time, the location is kept under wraps.

Saz’s manager Tabitha Donohoe said she was given a heads-up earlier in the week by members of the Brewers’ marketing staff and kept the secret until a little after 7:30 p.m. Friday when she announced Suter’s gesture flanked by the team’s famous Racing Sausage mascots.

“We’re big supporters of the brewers. They supply a lot of business to us — and hopefully we do for them as well,” Donohoe said. “It’s a natural fit and it was pretty awesome.”

Reigning Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes was the first, surprising fans at a jam-packed Leff’s Lucky Town in Wauwatosa the night before the Brewers played their delayed Home Opener with Christian Yelich doing the same a week later at Jack’s American Pub on Milwaukee’s East Side.

Right-handed starter Freddy Peralta covered the bill for patrons at 4th Base in West Milwaukee on May 6 and outfielder Lorenzo Cain followed suit on May 13 when he picked up the tab at Milwaukee Q.

Along with doing something nice for their fans, the promotion also gives the team a chance to support local small businesses, many of which have shuttled their patrons too and from Brewers games for decades.

“The last couples years have been tough for everyone,” Burnes said. “In 2020, we weren’t able to have fans and last year, fans were limited early on so it’s one of those things, you want to give back to the community.”