Milwaukee, WI
A Brewer on the Brewers? Hicklen hoping his dream becomes a reality with Milwaukee
PHOENIX – Time will tell on his game. But there’s just no questioning the name.
Of course, we’re talking about Brewer Hicklen, non-roster invitee to major-league spring training with the Milwaukee Brewers.
If ever there were a marketing match made in heaven between player and franchise, this one is it as the 28-year-old native of Huntsville, Alabama, will spend the next few weeks engaged in an uphill battle to earn a spot in a Milwaukee outfield bursting at the seams with talent.
Hicklen already has heard the jokes a bunch, and even he can’t deny the serendipity.
“Yeah, it is pretty cool,” he said. “It’s just a family name. It was my great- great-grandmother’s maiden name, so my mom decided that she liked it. I had never met another Brewer until a couple years ago, and then this past year in Omaha in Triple-A with the Royals I met a baby that was named Brewer because they saw the scoreboard and liked the name.
“There’s some more Brewers out there. There’s not a ton, but it’s pretty a unique and uncommon name and I’m really excited. I hope the marketing team will have a good time trying to put something together if I do something cool.”
Hicklen was known for more than his first name before signing a minor-league deal with Milwaukee in late November.
An accomplished two-way athlete in high school, the 6-foot-1, 220-pound Hicklen carried his dual talents to the University of Alabama-Birmingham, where he played wide receiver on the football team (which disbanded in 2014 but revived in 2016) and hit .308 with a .911 OPS in 107 games for the Blazers over 2016 and 2017.
“I feel like I’m kind of a power-speed duo that you don’t necessarily get,” Hicklen said. “I kind of have that hard-headed, hard-nosed, gridiron way that I approach the game. Any time I’m between the white lines I’m going to put my best foot forward. You never know when your last day is going to be playing this game, so I don’t take for granted any day or any game.”
Hicklen has spent most of his time in minor leagues
Kansas City drafted Hicklen in the seventh round in 2017 and he steadily ascended through the Royals’ minor-league system before making his major-league debut on May 26, 2022 with a start in Minnesota.
Hicklen’s stay was brief, however. He logged four at-bats over six games, was sent back down to Class AAA Omaha and has been seeking a return to baseball’s highest level since.
The Philadelphia Phillies acquired Hicklen for cash last August, but after he played 11 games at Class AAA Lehigh Valley he was cut loose, leading to his signing with the Brewers.
“Any time you get another year to play the game that you’ve dreamed of playing your entire life, it’s a blessing,” said Hicklen, a .262 hitter with 25 home runs, 90 runs batted in and an OPS of .829 in 577 games in the minors. “So, I’m truly excited for a new chapter with the Milwaukee Brewers. I’ve been welcomed with open arms, I’ve met a lot of great people in the organization and I’m excited for new beginnings.”
Hicklen is also realistic about what lies ahead with Cactus League play kicking off Saturday.
Of the eight outfielders in camp, seven are on the 40-man roster and Hicklen isn’t one of them. He’s undoubtedly done the math and knows that, barring a series of unexpected events, that he’s more than likely destined for Class AAA Nashville.
“I think that’s one thing, as you continue to stay in the game longer, you mature and really just focus on what you can control and what you do,” Hicklen said. “That’s something that I’ve developed over the last couple years, is just trying to embrace each and every day for its own and just go out there and get 1% better.
“That’s the only thing that I can control. I just put my best foot forward and hopefully upper management and the front office will make the decision to push me there. But at the end of the day, I can only do my best.”
Manager Pat Murphy was asked, tongue-in-cheek, if Hicklen’s first name had any bearing on his signing.
“He’s an impressive human and an impressive player,” he said. In a camp already full of Murphy-bestowed nicknames, Hicklen already has been dubbed, you guessed it, ‘Bernie.’
“Speed, power. I’m excited about him,” Murphy continued. “I don’t care what the first names are.”
Perhaps the stars will align and Hicklen will make it to Milwaukee. Imagine what a PR bonanza and fan favorite he could end up being.
“I saw that there’s only a handful of people, I think five or six guys, that have played for a team that (shared) a name,” Hicklen said. “Angels, a guy named Red. Only a handful, so hopefully I get the opportunity to make the opportunity a reality this year.”
MILWAUKEE – A 25-year-old Milwaukee man is accused of shooting another man near a gas station near 14th and North. The accused is Dreaten Burch – and he faces a single charge of first-degree reckless injury.
According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee police responded on Sunday evening, Dec. 8 to a shooting near 14th and North Avenue. Officers spoke with relatives of the shooting victim who came home with a gunshot wound to his face. They believed he had been at a nearby gas station.
That same night, a detective went to Froedtert Hospital where the shooting victim was being treated for his wound. He indicated he “exchanged words with the driver of a white vehicle, then ran west on North Avenue and got shot in the face as he ran,” the complaint says. The victim said he did not see who shot him.
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Milwaukee police responded to the Citgo gas station near 14th and North and reviewed surveillance video showing the suspect and victim. The complaint says the “video shows that at about 5:31 p.m., a man walks into Citgo, then leaves and walks through the parking lot. At about 5:33 p.m., a white vehicle turns into the parking lot and appears to nearly strike the man in the parking lot, who has to avoid the vehicle. The vehicle parks, then a suspect exits the driver’s door, then heads in the same direction as the first man.”
Investigators found a casing and unspent cartridge northeast of the intersection of 14th and North. Police “later found additional surveillance video showing the man and suspect heading to this location, and showing the man returning to the white vehicle,” the complaint says.
Investigators reviewed photos of the suspect vehicle. They also queried the Flock Safety database and found a matching vehicle within three days of the incident. Officers had previously stopped the vehicle — and identified the driver as Dreaten Burch.
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Burch was arrested on Dec. 9. When police tried to question him about the shooting incident at the gas station, Burch “said he may have been at the gas station and may have been in the car, but he didn’t know about anything else,” the complaint says.
Burch made his initial appearance in Milwaukee County court on Saturday, Dec. 14. Cash bond was set at $10,000.
Matt Yeazel brings you Bucks in 6, a 6-minute recap of Milwaukee’s 112-101 over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night despite Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard being out with injuries.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Bobby Portis replaced Giannis Antetokounmpo in the starting lineup and scored a season-high 34 points, leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a 112-101 victory over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.
Khris Middleton had 18 points, six rebounds and eight assists for the Bucks, while Portis finished with 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Antetokounmpo (back spasms) missed his third game of the season and the Bucks also played again without Damian Lillard (right calf strain) after winning the NBA Cup earlier this week.
Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers said Lillard could play Monday against Chicago.
Rookie Ryan Rollins started at point guard in Lillard’s absence and contributed 14 points in 31 minutes. Center Brook Lopez also had 14 and Gary Trent Jr. had 15 points and seven rebounds.
Middleton played for the second straight night after scoring 14 points in 19 minutes at Cleveland on Friday. He continues to get into shape after missing the first 21 games following offseason surgery on both ankles.
Jordan Poole scored 26 points and Bilal Coulibaly had 20 points and 11 rebounds for Washington.
“We Got This Garden” hosts event for area kids to pick gifts for family members
MILWAUKEE – The holidays came early on Milwaukee’s north side on Saturday, Dec. 21
At “We Got This Garden” near 9th and Ring, kids were able to pick out gifts to give to a parent, guardian, or other family members.
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“Around this time of the year, parents, guardians loved ones – they want to make their kids feel as special as they can,” said Meg Bruzan, team leader with We Got This Milwaukee. “We thought it would just be really great for kids to be able to give back a little bit to those families that do so much every single day of the year.”
The event was new this year. It was made possible due to donations, which the organization accepts online.
In the summer, “We Got This Garden” welcomes neighborhood kids to learn the basics of gardening – and earn some money in the process.
Data shows that the 53206 area is one of the most incarcerated ZIP codes in the nation. There are also health and poverty concerns.
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