Helena Brewers

Helena Brewers Founded in 1978 Helena, Montana
Team logo Cap insignia
Class-level
Rookie (1978–2000, 2003–present)
Minor league affiliations
Pioneer League North Division
Major league affiliations
Milwaukee Brewers (1985–2000, 2003–present) Independent (1984) Philadelphia Phillies (1978–1983)
Name
Helena Brewers (1987–2000, 2003–present) Helena Gold Sox (1984–1986) Helena Phillies (1978–1983)
Colors
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Ballpark
Kindrick Field (1978–2000, 2003–present)
Minor league titles
League titles	1984, 1995, 1996, 2010
Division titles	1979, 1984, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2005, 2010
Owner(s)/Operated by: D. G. Elmore
Manager: Jeff Isom
General Manager: Paul Fetz

The Helena Brewers are a minor league baseball team in the Pioneer League and are the Advanced Rookie League affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Helena, Montana. The team plays their home games at Kindrick Field; built in 1939, the park currently holds 2,010 fans.

Among the best-known players to play in Helena are Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, who started his career with the Phillies in Helena, Gary Sheffield, who started his career with the Helena Gold Sox in 1986, Jeff Cirillo, who began his career with the 1991 Helena Brewers, and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun.

History

The Helena Phillies joined the Pioneer League in 1978, giving Helena a professional baseball team for the first time in 64 years. In 1984, the Helena Gold Sox won the Pioneer League Championship, a rarity for an independent club. The team hooked on with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1985 and changed its name to the Helena Brewers in 1987. Helena won the PL championship in back-to-back seasons in 1995 and 1996. The franchise moved to Provo, Utah after the 2000 season. In 2003, the Medicine Hat Blue Jays moved to Helena, and the team once again became a Brewers affiliate.

Season-by-season record

Helena Brewers
Year	Regular Season			Post-season
	Record	Win %	Finish*	Record	Win %	Result
1978	30–38	.441	6th	–	–	–
1979	43–26	.623	2nd	0–2	.000	Lost PL Championship vs Lethbridge Dodgers, 0–2
1980	32–38	.457	3rd	–	–	—
1981	22–44	.371	4th	–	–	—
1982	29–41	.414	4th	–	–	—
1983	16–54	.229	4th	–	–	—
1984	44–24	.647	1st	3–1	.750	Won PL Championship vs Billings Mustangs, 3–1
1985	42–26	.618	2nd	–	–	—
1986	38–32	.543	3rd	–	–	—
1987	46–24	.657	1st	1–3	.250	Lost PL Championship vs Salt Lake City Trappers, 1–3
1988	41–29	.586	2nd	–	–	—
1989	38–30	.559	2nd	–	–	–
1990	37–28	.569	3rd	–	–	–
1991	44–26	.629	2nd	–	–	–
1992	50–26	.658	2nd	–	–	–
1993	43–30	.589	1st	1–2	.333	Lost PL Championship vs Billings Mustangs, 1–2
1994	44–28	.611	1st	2–3	.400	Lost PL Championship vs Billings Mustangs, 2–3
1995	49–22	.690	1st	4–1	.800	Won Northern Division Championship vs Idaho Falls Braves, 2–1 Won PL Championship vs Medicine Hat Blue Jays, 2–0
1996	43–29	.597	2nd	4–1	.800	Won Northern Division Championship vs Lethbridge Black Diamonds, 2–1 Won PL Championship vs Ogden Raptors, 2–0
1997	37–34	.521	5th	–	–	—
1998	21–55	.276	4th	–	–	—
1999	47–28	.627	1st	0–2	.000	Lost Northern Division Championship vs Missoula Osprey, 0–2
2000	26–50	.342	4th	–	–	—
2003	48–28	.632	2nd	1–2	.333	Lost Northern Division Championship vs Billings Mustangs, 1–2
2004	39–37	.513	2nd	–	–	—
2005	46–30	.605	1st	2–2	.500	Won Northern Division Championship vs Billings Mustangs, 2–0 Lost PL Championship vs Orem Owlz, 0–2
2006	34–42	.447	3rd	–	–	—
2007	48–28	.632	2nd	1–2	.333	Lost Northern Division Championship vs Great Falls White Sox, 1–2
2008	35–41	.461	6th	–	–	—
2009	32–44	.421	6th	–	–	—
2010	41–34	.421	3rd	4–1	.800	Won North Division Championship vs Great Falls Voyagers, 2–1 Won PL Championship vs Ogden Raptors, 2–0
2011	30–46	.395	7th	–	–	—
Totals	1,215–1,092	.527	–	23–22	.511	4 League Championships
Note: * Finish denotes overall position in the league standings.

Major Leaguers

The following is a list of Helena players by year that would eventually play in the Major Leagues:
1978 George Bell, Carmelo Castillo, Wil Culmer, Bob Dernier, Ed Hearn, Alejandro Sánchez, Ryne Sandberg
1979 Jay Baller, Roy Smith
1980 Rocky Childress, Darren Daulton, Marty Decker, Ken Dowell, Tony Ghelfi
1981 Johnny Abrego, Charles Hudson, Jim Olander, Jose Segura
1982 Ken Jackson, Lance McCullers, Johnny Paredes, Wilfredo Tejada
1983 Ricky Jordan, Tom Magrann, Tom Newell
1984 Jack Daugherty, John Trautwein
1985 John Jaha, Russ McGinnis, Randy Veras
1986 George Canale, Brian Drahman, Darryl Hamilton, Gary Sheffield, Greg Vaughn
1987 Frank Bolick, Oreste Marrero, Ángel Miranda, Charlie Montoyo, Jaime Navarro, Dave Nilsson, Troy O'Leary, Steve Sparks, Bill Spiers
1988 Bert Heffernan, Mike Ignasiak, Mark Kiefer
1991 Jeff Cirillo, Mike Matheny, Marshall Boze
1992 Bobby Hughes, Danny Perez, Tim Unroe
1993 Brian Banks, Todd Dunn, Danny Klassen, Mark Loretta, Sean Maloney, Greg Martinez
1994 Antone Williamson, Kelly Wunsch
1995 Robinson Cancel, Geoff Jenkins, Mike Kinkade, Mickey Lopez, Greg Mullins
1996 Allen Levrault, Mark Watson
1997 Jason Childers, Matt Childers, Brian Mallette
1998 Bill Hall, Luis Martinez
2003 Drew Anderson, Carlos Corporán, Tim Dillard, Dana Eveland, Vinny Rottino, Mitch Stetter, Ty Taubenheim
2004 Alcides Escobar
2005 Michael Brantley, Ryan Braun, Lorenzo Cain, Darren Ford, Matt Gamel, Angel Salome, Joe Thatcher
2006 Zach Braddock, Cole Gillespie, Taylor Green, Mike McClendon
2007 Dane De La Rosa, Eric Farris, Eric Fryer, Matt LaPorta, Jonathan Lucroy
2008 Erik Komatsu, Lucas Luetge, Logan Schafer, Wily Peralta
2009 Chris Capuano, Khristopher Davis, Michael Fiers

Roster

Helena Brewers roster
Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 19 Jonathan Armold 23 Ryan Fasano 28 Joel Pierce 17 Michael Schaub -- Will West		Catchers 25 Paul Eshleman  2 Emmanuel Quiles Infielders 31 Joe Andrade  9 Adam Giacalone 13 Renaldo Jenkins 18 Andres Martinez 15 Michael Turay Outfielders 11 Yonki Hernandez 22 Ruben Ozuna 37 Joe Pena -- Max Walla		Manager -- Tony Diggs Coaches -- Dwayne Hosey (coach) 24 Elvin Nina (pitching) 7-day disabled list * On Milwaukee Brewers 40-man roster ∞ Reserve list § Suspended list ‡ Restricted list # Rehab assignment Roster updated April 14, 2013 Transactions · Coaching staff → More MiLB rosters → Milwaukee Brewers minor league players

External links

• Official Helena Brewers website
• Helena Brewers statistics at The Baseball Cube
• Ballpark Digest – Helena Brewers