How will the Milwaukee Brewers fare in 2024 in terms of injury-related days lost so far?

If you're looking for a backstory on the Milwaukee Brewers' 2024 season, you have plenty to choose from: Christian Yelich's season-ending injury, Pat Murphy bursting out of the starting blocks in his new role as the new manager, or a young phenom vying for NL Rookie of the Year honors.

Unfortunately, the sometimes overwhelming number of injuries was another major issue.

Every team has to deal with injuries, it's just part of the game. But the Brewers have suffered one setback after another this year, constantly sending players to the injured list. That led to the team having to completely reshuffle the starting lineup, constantly adding and removing replacements, and, as mentioned, losing their best player, who looked like he used to and was MVP again.

Many Brewers fans feel like their team is particularly hurt by injuries, but most fans probably think that anyway. So what's the truth? Has Milwaukee been more hurt by injuries this season, or does it just feel that way?

Fortunately, there is a way to look up exactly this type of information. Spotrac, a commonly used website for information on player contracts across various sports, also compiles information on injuries, including the number of players injured, the total number of days they missed, and the total value of those days missed.

The big number here is the total number of days missed due to injury, and the Brewers have indeed been hit hard in that regard. Milwaukee's players have missed a total of 1,462 days due to injury in 2024, a number that may not be surprising considering players like Brandon Woodruff and Wade Miley have missed the entire season (or at least most of it), but it's still a hell of a lot.

But it's not the most. The number of days lost due to injury ranks sixth in the MLB. The Dodgers actually have the most days lost due to injury, with 1,811 games, by a long way. They are followed by the Red Sox (1,546), Rangers (1,544), NL Central rival Pirates (1,505) and A's (1,503).

The Brewers have also been hit hard in terms of the number of injuries. Over the course of the season, 24 players were out due to injury, which puts them, along with the Reds, in the third highest number in the league. The Pirates and A's have each lost 25 players.

Hearing all that, it's perhaps even more impressive that the Brewers have led the NL Central nearly from start to finish, hold the largest division lead in all of baseball at 10 games, and are just a few games away from a win in the NL playoffs. Injuries happen, and Milwaukee has handled them as skillfully as anyone.