Koenig's winding journey to becoming Brewers' 1000th player

This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy’s Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

MILWAUKEE -- Lew Krausse was the first Milwaukee Brewer. He was on the mound at County Stadium on April 7, 1970, throwing the first pitch after the franchise’s last-minute move from Seattle. Fifty-five seasons later, a 30-year-old, journeyman reliever named Jared Koenig was tickled to learn that his arrival marked a milestone.

Koenig became the 1,000th player to appear in at least one game in a Milwaukee Brewers uniform when he covered the final two innings of Monday’s 7-3 loss to the Padres. Fittingly, Koenig made his Milwaukee debut in a game started by Joe Ross, who earlier this season became Brewers player No. 999.

“I think it’s really cool to be a part of that,” Koenig said.

The franchise roster ranges from Robin Yount, who played in a club-record 2,856 games -- a full 1,000 games beyond runner-up Paul Molitor -- to players like Joe Hudson, a pitcher who recorded one out in his lone Brewers appearance before suffering a career-ending injury, and Julio Mosquera, a catcher who logged one plate appearance in 2005 after Damian Miller, one of the Wisconsin natives to play for his home-state team, was injured. Eight years after his previous appearance in the Majors, Mosquera grounded out to end a 12-3 loss to the Yankees at Miller Park and never played in the big leagues again.

The all-time list of Brewers has Hall of Famers -- Hank Aaron was the first former Brewer inducted in 1982, Ted Simmons the most recent in 2020. And it has grinders like Koenig, a left-hander who signed a Minor League deal with Milwaukee in November.

It was a long road to becoming Milwaukee’s Mr. 1,000. Koenig grew up in Northern California idolizing left-handed pitchers like Dontrelle Willis, who briefly was with the Brewers at the end of his career. The White Sox drafted Koenig in the 35th round in 2014 but never offered him a contract, opting instead to dedicate their bonus dollars to sign first-rounder Carlos Rodón. Rodón, in turn, was only available in that draft because he’d turned down a chance to sign with the Brewers when they drafted him out of high school in the 16th round in 2011.

So, Koenig kept working for a chance. His college career continued at Old Dominion University and Cal State-Monterey before he pitched for four different Independent league teams in 2017. You’re forgiven if you’re not familiar with the Monterey Amberjacks of Pecos League, the Salina Stockade of the American Association, the San Rafael Pacifics of the Pacific Association or the Birmingham Bloomfield Beavers of the United Shore Professional Baseball League.

After two more seasons of independent ball (plus a stint in Australia during the U.S. offseason), Koenig landed an opportunity with the A’s organization in late 2019. Just in time to miss a season due to the pandemic.

But since 2021, he’s been on an upward trajectory. Koenig reached the Majors in 2022 with Oakland, logging a 5.72 ERA in 10 appearances, then spent 2023 in the Padres organization before signing with Milwaukee.

“The nice thing about baseball is there’s always going to be guys who show up and show out and get an opportunity,” Koenig said. “You just have to force your way in. I’ve never had an easy route. I kept having to push my way in.

“It’s good. I’m fortunate. I’m blessed. There’s been a lot of things that have gone my way and a lot of things that haven’t, but that’s the story of baseball. That’s how it goes.”

Koenig’s story remains a work in progress. After pitching in consecutive games on Monday and Tuesday, he was optioned to the Minors because the Brewers needed a fresh arm. If that new reliever, Tobias Myers, makes his Major League debut in the coming days, he could be Brewers player No. 1,001.

Koenig returned to Triple-A Nashville intent on working his way back to the big leagues.

“My whole career has been uncertain,” he said before departing. “I’m just going to show up and do what I can to help the team. That’s my goal every day.”