GREEN BAY (WLUK) — Comic book-inspired Brewers trading cards are helping connect police officers with youth across Wisconsin — including right here in Green Bay.
It’s a program that began last year through a partnership between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Milwaukee Police Department. Officers distributed Brewers trading card prints to kids, finding common ground through their mutual love for baseball.
The initiative saw such success last year, officials decided to expand it statewide this season. One of the new agencies getting involved is the Green Bay Police Department.
“We think it’s a great way to partner and engage with our youth,” said Kristopher Thoreson, lieutenant of the professional standards division for GBPD. “We’ll have officers that will have trading cards with them in their duty bags on patrol, and the whole point is to have some youth come up and really connect. and get an opportunity to share some of those cards and then also build some relationships.”
This season’s trading cards will feature some Milwaukee Brewers fan favorites, including outfielders Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio and Sal Frelick; catcher William Contreras and infielders Brice Turang and Joey Ortiz.
The cards are uniquely designed to imitate comic book art, with high-energy colors, popular phrases and a twist on traditional comic onomatopoeia such as “Ka-Brew!”
“It’s really cool to see the clash of the sports and the comic book realm working together to really make a cool opportunity for the youth,” Thoreson said.