We have reached my favorite part of the baseball season: the postseason. It’s the one time a year anyone who cares an inkling about baseball sits down to watch full baseball games. Fans are just as excited as the players, but no one in baseball is as excited as Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Devin Williams.

Last week, the Milwaukee Brewers clinched the National League (NL) Central division title with a win over the New York Mets. This division is always competitive, and the Brewers climbing to the top was an unexpected twist. Cincinnati started the season red-hot behind the stellar play of outfielder Nicholas Castellanos, but fizzled out as the season went on. The Cardinals started off slow, but a 17-game win streak to end the season landed them in the Wild Card game against the Dodgers. The Brewers were the only team that stayed healthy and consistent all year long, and that is all that was needed in this competitive division. 

After the game, the goggles were out and the champagne was everywhere for the Brew. The team notoriously goes hard in their celebrations, and this celebration was nothing short of wild. However, it got a little too wild for relief pitcher Devin Williams. Williams had a little too much to drink and punched the wall, breaking his pitching hand and causing him to be out for the remainder of the postseason.

Williams, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, is a key part of the Brewers bullpen. This season, he pitched 54 innings with a 2.50 earned run average (ERA) and 87 strikeouts. A consistent arm with this level of production is necessary for any Major League team trying to make it to the World Series. Williams was that for the Brewers, but now, because he partook in a little too much drunken mayhem, his team might not go all the way.

I love watching these celebrations when a team makes it to the postseason. The teams get so hyped, and it gets everyone ready to go even harder in the playoffs. But they need to keep it in check and protect the roster. Yes, it’s Williams’s second year in the MLB. But he is 27 years old. He should know not to get overly drunk and break the thing that makes him money: his hand.  With Williams gone, the Brewers are now down a very good reliever. 

Williams did teach the rest of the MLB a good lesson, as the Giants relievers all bubble-wrapped their pitching hands in celebration of winning the NL West. It’s a shame this happened to Williams right before the biggest stage of his young career, but maybe he’ll find his way back to the postseason with a clear mind and fewer drunk injuries.