The Milwaukee Brewers announced Saturday that Christian Yelich would be the first official team captain in franchise history, but he had one condition before accepting the honor: Hall of Famer Robin Yount had to approve it.

“He had one request that we ask Robin Yount before we do such a thing, and Robin agreed wholeheartedly,” manager Pat Murphy said. “Because in Yeli's mind, Robin is the first captain.”

Yount spent his entire 20-year career in Milwaukee and led the only Brewers team to reach the World Series, in 1982. After Murphy contacted Yount, the franchise legend gave the captaincy his wholehearted approval.

Milwaukee finalized the decision during a team meeting before their penultimate regular-season game against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Brewers had first discussed the idea after someone in the clubhouse brought it to Murphy. The manager then spoke with principal owner Mark Attanasio and president of baseball operations Matt Arnold before presenting it to Yelich.

The 34-year-old will now have a “C” stitched onto his jersey, making him one of only three active MLB players with that designation alongside New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge and Kansas City Royals captain Salvador Perez.

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Although the captaincy is new officially, Yelich has already been viewed as Milwaukee's leader for years. Some teammates even reportedly call him “Cap.” Since joining the Brewers in 2018 in a trade with the Miami Marlins, Yelich has played 1,089 games for the organization, the 13th-most in franchise history. He owns a .277 batting average, .847 OPS, 186 home runs and 616 RBIs during his Milwaukee tenure.

Yelich won the National League MVP Award in 2018 and finished second in voting in 2019 before a foul ball hit his kneecap and ended his season in September. He became a three-time All-Star in 2024 and followed that season with 29 home runs and 103 RBIs in 2025.

Yelich entered Saturday with a .236 batting average, 12 home runs, 58 RBIs, a .697 OPS and 0.2 bWAR.

The Brewers have reached the postseason eight times in Yelich's nine seasons, including six NL Central titles and four consecutive division championships. Milwaukee entered Saturday with an MLB-best 101 wins and had already secured the division title and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.