ST. LOUIS -- Christian Yelich was curious: What was the early word on how his Players' Tribune essay was being received back in Milwaukee?
He may find out beginning Friday night, when the Brewers return home to play the Tigers on the final weekend of the regular season. Yelich delivered a call to action of sorts in his essay published Wednesday, urging the Miller Park faithful to turn the volume up another notch as the Brewers push for the National League Central crown.
Here's some of what he wrote:
I guess that isn't really much of a favor at all considering that you guys already do that anyway. But you know what I mean -- make it even LOUDER than normal. Don't hold anything back. And then, you know, we'll feed off that energy and, well.…
Let's just see what happens, Milwaukee.
We may not be a team overflowing with superstars, and we may not be on national TV all the time or get all the headlines or whatever, but I know we have something special here. And it's largely because none of that stuff matters to us.
All we do is go out, grind and hustle, and compete like there's no tomorrow.
But like I said before: We need you.
All of you.
"You want everybody to be fired up and excited about what this team is doing and going through," Yelich said. "You want everyone to feel a part of it, because like I said in the article, we feel like we're an extension of the city of Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin, and all the Brewers fans.
"I'm not saying they weren't fired up throughout the year, that the place wasn't loud, but hopefully it's an exciting atmosphere and there are a lot of memories to be made of not only us, the players, but the fans as well."
The Brewers are expecting crowds near 40,000 on Friday and Saturday, and in the mid-30,000 for Sunday's finale. They are 10th in the Majors in average home attendance at 34,856 per game through the first 78 home contests, just behind the Red Sox and about 3,000 fans per game ahead of the 11th-ranked Nationals.
While it remains to be seen whether Yelich's piece spurs any last-minute sales, Brewers manager Craig Counsell gave it high marks.
"What was so cool about it [is] that's Christian. That's who he is," Counsell said. "He's real. It was perfect because it was real. If you want to know about Christian Yelich, read it because that's who he is."
The process of penning the piece, Yelich said, spanned the past two weeks, including putting his initial thoughts down and then making a series of edits. The finishing touches were applied Tuesday before Yelich added to his NL MVP Award credentials by hitting a three-run triple and a three-run homer in the Brewers' 12-4 win over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
The essay was published Wednesday morning, and in it Yelich shares insight into the team's clubhouse culture, his take on the Brewers-Cubs rivalry and an anecdote about his first days with the team. Days after the Brewers acquired him in a blockbuster trade with the Marlins, Yelich was on owner Mark Attanasio's private jet, traveling from Southern California to Milwaukee for the Brewers' winter fanfest. Along the way, they stopped in Scottsdale, Ariz., to pick up Hall of Famer Robin Yount and legendary broadcaster Bob Uecker.
Yelich wrote that it felt like a "Brewers legends trip."
"Hopefully everybody enjoys it," Yelich said. "It's a little bit of an insight into this team, this clubhouse, what we've experienced throughout the year, and what we're looking forward to going forward."