The Brewers' NL Central reign continues with third straight division title

If you started watching Milwaukee Brewers baseball in 2018, another National League Central division title may seem no big deal. It may feel like an accomplishment that the team takes home every year when the leaves start to change. You would be forgiven if you've come to expect the Brewers to be atop the NL Central standings at season's end, because since 2018, the Brew Crew has taken home a division title in five of eight seasons. They've made winning the new norm, after collecting just two division titles in their first 49 years of existence.

However, if you're among the bullish Brewers fans that remain confident in the smallest market team throughout each offseason, you may also encounter some backlash. Every offseason, a majority of baseball fans seem to forget just how proven the Brewers' recipe for success truly is, pointing to the departure of a major free agent or a blockbuster trade that saw a big name exit Milwaukee as a reason to expect the Brew Crew's reign to come to an end. From projection models predicting the Brewers to have a sub-.500 record, to the national media doubting the team's ability to remain competitive, the scrappy Brewers with their meager payroll continue to prove everyone wrong.

On Sunday afternoon, the Brewers placed a cherry on top of what has potentially been their most odds-defying season yet. Despite losing to their division foe, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Brewers are once again taking home an NL Central title, thanks to a loss from the second-place Chicago Cubs.

The Milwaukee Brewers are NL Central champions for the third consecutive season

It's an incredible accomplishment no matter how you spin it; winning a division title in Major League Baseball is no easy task. The MLB season is a grueling six-month marathon with hardly any time off. It's filled with highs and lows, frustrating injuries, day games after night games, and poorly timed West Coast road trips, but through it all, for the last three seasons, the Brewers have maintained their approach, they have never wavered from what makes them great, and they've done so unapologetically.

It's taken contributions from unlikely places, resurgent seasons from players who were given up on by other ball clubs, and leadership from players who have been here before. Combine that with unparalleled guidance of Pat Murphy, and a front office that knows how to find value with limited resources, and the result is a special team that continues to prove people wrong.

The season is far from over; the Brewers are about to embark on one of the most anticipated playoff runs in franchise history, and now they will do so as one of the top two seeds in the National League. Not only did the Brewers clinch a division title on Sunday afternoon, but they also clinched a first-round bye in next month's postseason. Don't get it twisted, today was a huge step for the Crew, but there's much more to come for this memorable team.

For now, Brewers fans can rejoice, knowing that their team's dominance of the NL Central continues.