Yelich, Brosseau spark close friendship in offseason as roommates

Staying together is often a theme for a successful team. It also has helped a couple of Brewers create a very strong bond. Brandon Cruz goes Beyond the Game.

PHOENIX - It’s easy to stay connected with people. Maybe you do it through a postcard. It is a theme for the Milwaukee Brewers year in and year out, and that’s the same case in 2023.

A couple of players stayed connected in the offseason in a much different way.

"Honestly, it wasn’t anything too crazy," said outfielder Christian Yelich. "We just hung out, regular offseason. Had a good time."

Like most offseasons, Yelich went back to southern California to decompress and get away from the game.

"We definitely weren’t thinking about baseball," Yelich said.

"You know, put it on a shelf for a couple weeks," said infielder Mike Brosseau. "Figure out what happened last season and kind of just be a person."

What was different this past offseason was that Brosseau was Yelich’s roommate.

"There’s been a few times he’s let me know, clean up the dishes or something," Brosseau said.

Chores aside, the two, who had grown close during the season, found their time together off the field even more valuable.

"We were just enjoying the offseason and just being friends," said Yelich. "I don’t know how that translates into the season at all or anything like that. Just maybe become friends with guys you spend a lot of time with."

(FOX6 News Milwaukee)

"I think we always had a really good connection," said Brosseau. "I think we kind of just, we’re very similar-minded, both easy-going guys and kind of just go with the flow, but I think you kind of have to when you live with somebody for three months or you go on these experiences. It brings the relationship closer. Super grateful for that."

The three months in southern California were big for Brosseau as he had never spent much time there.

"I loved every second of it," Brosseau said. "The weather overall was huge. I think just being from Indiana, in the offseason, it’s a little bit different. We’re going to go weather, and the cuisine was good. The food was fantastic, so those were two memorable parts of it."

"Yeah, me and Mike had a good offseason," Yelich said.

The memories created a bigger bond that will positively affect them in the clubhouse.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

"I think he’s, obviously, one of my better friends out there," said Brosseau. "So yeah, definitely happy to have him as a locker mate, for sure."

The same can be said for the pair on the field, too.

"I think we can just kind of build off each other, bounce ideas freely off each other," Brosseau said. "There’s no trying to hold back worlds like, you know, save someone’s feeling. Like, he’s going to get on guys when, you know, he sees something that needs to change, and if I’m one of those guys, I don’t think there’s going to be any hesitation."

It’s a connection that looks to only grow stronger in 2023.

"I think it’s just an easy relationship where he’s my brother, and he knows that he’s going to want the best for me," said Brosseau. "I want the best for him, and if there’s something that needs to be said, then there’s no love lost. It’s realizing its appreciation for the other guy and wanting the best for him."

Brosseau and Yelich are hoping that the next offseason starts much later than the last.