Memorial Day might be a good benchmark for MLB teams, though these Brewers teams changed course thereafter

The common thinking around Major League Baseball is that Memorial Day represents the moment where you know whether or not a team is "for real."

The sample isn't small anymore, and by now you have a pretty good idea what to expect over the next four months. Obviously, that doesn't always prove to be true.

The Milwaukee Brewers, entering a high-profile Memorial Day game in which ex-manager Craig Counsell is coming to town with the Chicago Cubs, have a number of seasons that shifted course after the late-May holiday. The franchise obviously hopes this isn't the year for any sort of switch; the Brewers head into the weekend in first place in the National League Central, just ahead of the Cubs.

In 2022, the Brewers had the best record ever after 50 games but missed the playoffs

In retrospect, missing the 2022 playoffs hurts even more than it did in the moment.

The team was a franchise-best 32-18 after 50 games following a doubleheader sweep on Memorial Day but then finished 86-76, one game behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the last playoff spot. The Phillies proceeded all the way to the World Series.

Milwaukee, with a healthy "big three" in the rotation, famously dealt reliever Josh Hader at the trade deadline, a move that correlated with significant bullpen struggles down the stretch, even with Devin Williams putting up superb numbers.

The offense, as it turns out, was also as good as any Brewers offense by OPS-plus since 1991 — the 2010 and 2009 teams had an identical 103 OPS-plus — though the 2022 team also scored only a mediocre 4.5 runs per game. But could it have made a postseason run?

The 2021 team was just finding itself on Memorial Day and then went on a tear

The 2021 team limped out to a 23-24 start but won its fifth straight game on Memorial Day to surface at 29-25 by day's end. That was just the start of a turnaround galvanized by the late-May acquisition of shortstop Willy Adames, and the Brewers were in the midst of 10 wins in 11 games.

Were it not for a late skid once the division title had been essentially wrapped up, the Brewers would have set the franchise record for wins; as it stood, Milwaukee still went 95-67 before falling in the first round of the playoffs to eventual World Series champion Atlanta.

The 2014 team endured a summer collapse

The 2014 team had exciting outfielder Carlos Gómez and catcher Jonathan Lucroy leading the offense, plus a steady-if-unspectacular rotation that featured four starters who finished the year with ERAs of 3.64 or below.

On Memorial Day, the team lost to fall to 30-22 but then ran its record up to 51-32 before a collapse that played out over the rest of the summer. Milwaukee ultimately finished just 82-80.

The 2011 squad went from floundering to first division title in nearly 30 years

The Brewers were just 21-23 on May 19 but won eight of nine heading into Memorial Day. Though the Brewers lost that day and fell to 29-25, Milwaukee's best days were still ahead of it.

In the summer of Nyjer Morgan and Zack Greinke, the Brewers ultimately set a franchise record for regular-season wins at 96-66, on their way to its first division title since 1982 and trip to the NLCS — where the pesky St. Louis Cardinals ruined everything.

The 2009 team couldn't repeat the previous year's magic

Spirits were high after the previous year's playoff run, and even after three striaght losses, the Brewers had a fun Memorial Day when Bill Hall's single gave the Brewers a 1-0 win in the bottom of the 10th over St. Louis, moving Milwaukee's record to 27-18.

By May's end, the club was 30-20, but the rest of the season was the struggle. Milwaukee finished 80-82 under Ken Macha and didn't have a winning month the rest of the way, including an abysmal 9-17 mark in July.

The 2008 team was barely getting by and then took Milwaukee on the ride of a lifetime

The Brewers won on Memorial Day in 11 innings at Washington in a wraparound series, moving to 24-27 on the year. But the best was clearly yet to come; the Brewers completed an unforgettable trade for CC Sabathia in early July and, despite a September skid, pulled it together for an epic final week that put the Brewers in the playoffs for the first time in 26 years. Milwaukee finished 90-72 before losing to the Phillies in the opening round of the postseason.

The 1992 team went from middling to full-on contention

A 13-10 loss on Memorial Day against the host New York Yankees landed the 1992 Brewers at 20-22, but they rebounded to finish 92-70 and give the Toronto Blue Jays a run for their money in the American League East chase. Alas, the playoff system was a few years away from expansion, leaving this 92-win team on the outside of the postseason.

A true holiday turnaround for the 1982 Brewers

It doesn't get more stark than the Memorial Day turnaround experienced by the 1982 Brewers.

Milwaukee lost in walk-off fashion on the holiday 5-4, and fell to 22-24 when Paul Sena hit a two-run homer in the 11th for the Seattle Mariners, all after Robin Yount had given the Brewers the lead with a homer in the top half.

Manager Buck Rodgers lasted one more game, a 2-1 win over Seattle on June 1, before the club replaced him with Milwaukee-area native Harvey Kuenn. The Brewers won the next four straight and went 20-7 in June on their way to a 95-67 season, a title in the AL East and a win in the ALCS over the California Angels to reach the club's only World Series.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: These Brewers teams changed course after Memorial Day