Matt Erickson’s path from Appleton West to the top of the baseball world just got a new chapter.
The former Appleton West standout served as the third base coach for the 2026 World Series champion Milwaukee Brewers, putting him right in the middle of the club’s title run as it finished off the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-1, in Game 5 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. on Wednesday night. The win gave Milwaukee its first championship.
Erickson was on the field for plenty of the small moments that shaped the season’s biggest nights - flashing signs to runners, sending a player home on a close play at the plate, or meeting teammates with a high five after a momentum-changing home run. It was a front-row seat to a Brewers season that ended with history.
His baseball story started long before Milwaukee’s title push. At Appleton West, Erickson was a three-sport standout in baseball, football and basketball. On the diamond, the left-handed hitting shortstop and second baseman played an aggressive style and helped lead Appleton West to two WIAA Division 1 state championship game appearances, winning the title in 1991 and finishing second in 1994.
The numbers from his prep career still stand out. According to the Fox Valley Association’s records, Erickson finished with a single-season batting average of .609 as a senior in 1994 and a career batting average of .552.
His next stop came when the Brewers drafted him in 1994, though he chose to play at the University of Arkansas instead. After college, the Florida Marlins picked him in the seventh round of the 1997 MLB Draft, and he spent seven years in their organization before being released after the 2003 season.
That didn’t end his connection to Milwaukee. In December 2003, Erickson signed with the Brewers as a minor-league free agent, worked his way up, and made his MLB debut on July 9, 2004. He played four games in the majors over a nine-day span before being sent back down, but he did collect his lone hit off Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux in a series against the Chicago Cubs.
Erickson’s playing career later wrapped up in the Arizona Diamonbacks’ minor-league system in 2007, and he quickly moved into coaching. He joined the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers as hitting coach in 2008, later became manager from 2011-2021, and then moved to the Brewers’ major league staff in 2022 as an infield instructor and assistant hitting coach.
Before this season, he was elevated again, taking over as third base coach - and the job put him in the middle of Milwaukee’s championship season.
“To be born and raised in Appleton and to be a Wisconsinite through and through, I'm definitely a Cheeser," Erickson said in an interview with CBS58-WDJT TV Sports Director Lance Allan. "So being a fan, getting the opportunity to put on the uniform as a player, get that cup of coffee in the big leagues, get a hit off of Greg Maddux, and now be a part of probably the best Brewer stretch in the organization's history, is something I'll cherish forever. Hopefully, there is more to come and this is just the beginning of something really special in Milwaukee."
Erickson is also part of a rare Wisconsin-born group, one of four natives to play his entire major league career with the Brewers, joining Jim Gantner, Jerry Augustine and Willie Mueller.
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