SEATTLE -- Brewers phenom Jacob Misiorowski’s sudden fame means he gets recognized everywhere.
Even in the toilet paper aisle.
“Someone posted me on Twitter going to Target,” Misiorowski said while recapping his All-Star break, brief as it was. “I was buying toilet paper and breakfast sausage and some kid walked up to me and was like, ‘Can I take a selfie with you?’ I said, ‘OK, come on.’ And it was posted on Twitter. You can see my shopping cart on Twitter.
“I’m like, what happened if I was buying something [embarassing]?”
Such is life when you’re setting records for the quickest ascent from Major League debut to pitching in the All-Star Game like Misiorowski did last week, only a few days beyond his one-month anniversary as a big leaguer. Instead of relaxing at his Milwaukee apartment and ordering Chinese food for four straight days as he’d planned, he enjoyed the chaos of a whirlwind trip to Atlanta for the Midsummer Classic, followed by a one-day stop back home before the Brewers departed for the start of their second half.
With such a quick turnaround, Misiorowski had a short window to run errands. He’s learning that even trips to the store can be a public event.
"He’s doing pretty well so far” with all the attention, Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “The Japanese media in Los Angeles wanted to know about two things: [Shohei] Ohtani and The Miz.
"I’m just happy for the kid, that he's getting these opportunities. But we'll see how he handles it. I think good, because he's really a genuine dude, a grounded guy."
Like they did for veteran right-hander Brandon Woodruff as he continues his comeback from shoulder surgery, the Brewers made sure to build in a breather for Misiorowski by pushing him to the second series coming out of the break. The Brewers took care of business at Dodger Stadium by sweeping the Dodgers for the second time in two weeks, and Woodruff kept it going Monday as Milwaukee won its 11th straight to claim first place in the NL Central. Now it's up to the rookie to extend the streak.
Misiorowski said he looks at his scoreless inning in the All-Star Game as an 18-pitch bullpen session – albeit one in which he topped 102 mph. His strategy, he said, was, “take the ball and throw.”
With such a busy All-Star “break,” did he get any chance at all to reset the body?
“I don’t think I really need it,” Misiorowski said. “[That’s why] you get into shape for the season. I feel like sometimes you come back from the break and you’re sluggish, almost. Because you’re not used to it. I think it’s good that I got loose. I think that will help.”
He will be pitching on a familiar mound on Tuesday night. After putting himself on the prospect map during the 2022 MLB Scouting Combine in San Diego by hitting triple digits, he took a huge leap during the 2023 All-Star Futures Game by getting up to 101.2 mph in a scoreless inning.
But that’s nothing compared to what he’s experienced so far in the Majors. In five starts, Misiorowski has already set a modern era record for the most hitless innings to begin a career (11), outdueled All-Stars Paul Skenes, Clayton Kershaw and Joe Ryan and, while pitching opposite Kershaw in his final start before the break, struck out 12 Dodgers.
That’ll get you noticed around town.
Misiorowski chose one word to describe his All-Star experience: “Crazy.” But he meant it in the best possible way.
Now it’s back to work. Misiorowski knows that some kind of innings limit looms on the horizon, but that’s a problem for a later date. His aim for the second half is simple.
“Just keep doing what we’re doing,” Misiorowski said, “and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”