Brewers Win the WS!

Since they were established in 1969, the Milwaukee Brewers have gone without ever winning a World Series championship.

Until last night.

There must be some big parades and parties in Milwaukee, if not throughout the state. I understand, the Brewers have a strong and supportive fan base. And from what I’ve heard, they’re an excellent organization in terms of how they go about the business of baseball.

So, hurray for the Milwaukee Brewers! This was a long time coming. They began in 1969 as the Seattle Pilots, playing in Seattle for one season (finishing last in the AL-West with a 64-98 record) before moving to Milwaukee to become the Brewers.

There they got to postseason 11 times in previous years (in 1981, 1982, 2008 (WC), 2011, 2018, 2019 (WC), 2020 (WC), 2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025) but never won the championship.

Until last night.

A cute bit of numeric trivia: the Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in game five to win the World Series 4-1. Especially cute, the Rays didn’t score until the ninth inning, so it was close to being a 4-0 game until Chandler Simpson managed to drive in a run with a two-out double.

Tampa was hoping for a rally, but the next batter grounded out and ended the game.

Frankly, the Rays never really had a chance. The Brewers took the first two in Milwaukee, 3-2 and 5-4. They won game three in Tampa Bay 10-1 three in a game that included an eight-run fifth inning (after scoring two in the third). At this point, the Brewers were ahead 3-0, and after that blowout things looked grim for the Rays.

But they managed to stay alive in game four, winning 4-3, the third one-run game in the series. In many regards, the teams were well matched. Pitching, batting, and fielding were generally excellent and fun to watch. That eight-run inning in game three speaks to the role of luck and inches in baseball. Overall, both teams had to work to score.

Which brought us to game five. Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski pitched 5.2 innings, gave up only 2 hits (and no runs), and walked only 1 while striking out 2 (fewer than usual for him). He would have pitched longer, having only 85 pitches, but a leg cramp took him out of the game early.

The bullpen came in and gave up only two more hits, but those led to that ninth-inning run. And good. It would add insult to injury to lose the last game of the World Series in a shutout. (For that matter, I was glad the Rays won a game. Same reason: sucks be swept in the series. Bad enough they lost at home.)

Meanwhile, Brewers batters did damage against all three of the first Rays’ pitchers, scoring 1 in the second, 1 in the fifth, and 2 in the sixth. Rays pitchers were able to hold them scoreless after that.

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The writing was always kind of on the wall. The Brewers finished their season 103-56 (.636) compared to the Rays finishing 98-64 (.605) — winning seasons, certainly, but the Brewers were stronger. And playing in a generally stronger division.

There is also that the Brew Crew sported a .280 batting average over the five games of the series compared to the Rays only managing a .182 batting average. Which led to the Brewers scoring 25 runs on 51 hits compared to the Rays scoring 12 runs on 30 hits.

Their regular season tells a similar story. While both teams had a seasonal BA of .258, the Brewers scored 832 runs and had a +214 run differential compared to the Rays scoring – with a run diff of +86. Runs scored is one thing, but I’ve long thought run differential is a real indicator of a team’s success.

Pitching was generally amazing on both sides. The Brewers’ staff overall (starters and relievers) had a 3.52 ERA and an amazing 0.79 WHIP. The Rays’ staff was comparable (but not quite as good), with a 3.71 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP.

That last stat, the Rays’ WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched), is a key edge the Brewers leveraged. They got on base, and then they scored.

In the regular season, pitching for the two teams was roughly comparable. The Brewers staff had a 3.51 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP compared to the Rays with a 3.70 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. The slight edge of the Brewers shows in the 618 runs allowed, compared to 650 for the Rays. It’s more prominent in the 171 home runs allowed by the Brewers compared to 201 by the Rays.

Bottom line, the better team won.

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This year’s postseason worked out better for me than many recent ones because teams I favored won and teams I didn’t didn’t. I was definitely rooting Brewers, though normally my allegiance would be to the American League team. I have nothing against the Rays or Florida (I’ve been to Tampa and loved it), but the Brewers are neighbors.

Some claim there is an over-the-border rivalry between the Minnesota Twins and the Brewers, but I’ve never seen any sign of it. We’ve only really begun playing them in the modern era with all the cross-league games (number me among those who would do without them).

This postseason, I especially enjoyed (in a schadenfreude way) that Yankees lost to the Rays 0-2, the Dodgers lost to the Brewers 0-4, and the Astros lost to the White Sox 0-2. The Cubs lost to the Padres 0-2, but I favor both teams, so that was a neutral outcome from me. But delighted to see the Yankees, Astros, and Dodgers win zip.

But now baseball is over until next Spring. Mixed feelings. It frees up 3+ hours of TV watching time most nights of the six-month stretch.

But no more baseball for a while.

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I’m planning a write-up of the 2026 Twins season. Which was unspectacular. They finished third in the division with a 77-85 (.475) record. They had a weird season consisting of bouts of brilliance in a stew of mediocrity. The year had its highlights but was generally painful to watch.

Stay batting, my friends! Go forth and spread beauty and light.

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