On Wednesday, April 23, Geoff Jenkins, the face of the Milwaukee Brewers for the last decade, will play in Miller Park for the first time in another team’s uniform. Let’s give him the welcome he deserves.

Jenkins, who spent the first 10 years of his major-league career with Milwaukee, signed with the Philadelphia Phillies this offseason. The outfielder epitomized class and effort in the decade he spent with the Brewers. From high-flying home runs into Jenkins’ Jungle to incredible diving catches, Jenkins always put it on the line for the Crew despite never playing for a winning team.

A first-round pick in 1995, Jenkins is near the top of the list of many all-time Brewers offensive records including home runs (2nd), games played (5th), hits (5th), RBI (4th), runs (5th), OPS (3rd), slugging (3rd), doubles (4th), walks (8th), total bases (4th), hit by pitch (1st) and strikeouts (2nd).

But what made Jenkins standout perhaps more than anything is his love for the Brewers, their fans and the city of Milwaukee. Unlike many players during the ’90s and early 2000s, Jenkins actually wanted to be here.

“I’m comfortable here,” Jenkins told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel after signing an extension before the 2004 season. “I just thought the grass wasn’t going to be greener on the other side. I kind of feel like it’s my destiny to be in Milwaukee for my whole career. You don’t see that often anymore.”

After leaving the field at Miller Park to a standing ovation during the last home game of the 2007 season, Jenkins bought a full-page ad in the Journal-Sentinel to thank the fans, an incredibly classy move.

“Over the last 10 seasons I’ve had the pleasure of playing in front of the best fans in the country,” it read. “I thank you for all your support and will always remember my time in Milwaukee. You have made me feel like a part of your community and those memories will last a lifetime.”

In interviews after it was clear the Brewers would not bring him back for 2008, Jenkins indicated he’d like to play for Milwaukee again later in his career or serve as a coach or spring training instructor for the team after he is retired.

Former Brewers like Carlos Lee, Jeromy Burnitz, Brady Clark and even Paul Molitor have returned to Milwaukee to unwarranted boos. When Jenkins returns on April 23, almost 11 years to the day after his Brewers debut in which he hit a home run in his first plate appearance, let’s welcome him the same way he left, with a standing ovation. Come out to the game if you can make it and join us in applauding a true Brewer.

Jenkins may be playing for Philadelphia, but his heart is still in Milwaukee.

To download a sign to print and bring to the game to help welcome Jenkins back, click HERE for the color PDF or HERE for the black and white PDF.

The RFB Crew (minus Bryan) will be in the first row of the Loge level in the right field bleachers showing our support. Hopefully we’ll see you there.

Tags: Geoff Jenkins

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 10th, 2008 at 7:42 pm and is filed under Player Tributes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.