The Brewers have announced a multi-year extension to retain pitching coach Chris Hook, who would have been out of contract by Thursday. This extension will secure Hook’s presence for a seventh season and beyond. The 56-year-old has been with the Milwaukee organization for nearly 20 years, working his way up from the minor leagues to become pitching coordinator before joining Craig Counsell’s coaching staff during the 2018-19 offseason. When Pat Murphy took over last offseason, he opted to keep Hook in the same role.
The decision to retain Chris Hook is well-founded, as Milwaukee’s recent success has largely been attributed to a strong pitching foundation. Over the past six seasons, the Brewers rank fifth in earned run average and are second only to the Astros in strikeout rate. While it’s difficult to assess how much credit goes directly to Hook, Milwaukee has consistently fielded one of the top pitching staffs in MLB, despite minimal spending on free-agent signings.
This success continued last season despite challenges. The Brewers traded Corbin Burnes and lost Brandon Woodruff for the entire year. With a rotation held together by Freddy Peralta and a mix of other arms, including Wade Miley and Jakob Junis who missed time with injuries, Milwaukee still achieved a 3.65 ERA—fifth-best in MLB. Colin Rea had a career-best year, while 26-year-old Tobias Myers posted a 3.00 ERA over 138 innings after previous struggles in the minors. Trade acquisitions Aaron Civale and Frankie Montas also contributed, with Montas showing a slight velocity increase.
Following another NL Central title, the Brewers have made some adjustments to Murphy’s staff. Last week, they parted ways with co-hitting coach Ozzie Timmons and brought on Al LeBoeuf and Eric Thiesen as hitting coaches.
