The Milwaukee Brewers Are World Series Champions
For the first time in the history of the franchise, the Milwaukee Brewers clinched the title of World Series Champions, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5. Bob Uecker, somewhere, must be smiling.
Despite being known as a small-market team playing a more conservative style of baseball, the Brewers just completed an incredibly dominant postseason run in Major League Baseball.
To kick it off, let’s look at how Milwaukee surged through the playoffs. After finishing the regular season with a league-best record of 103 wins, which was three ahead of the formidable Los Angeles Dodgers, they concluded the playoffs with an impressive 11-2 record. The Brewers lost only one match in the National League Division Series (NLDS) against the San Diego Padres, swept the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series (NLCS), and dropped just one game to the Rays in the World Series.
In the history of the MLB since the division series was introduced, only two teams have recorded a better playoff run than this Brewers team: the 2005 Chicago White Sox and the 1999 New York Yankees, both of which went 11-1, achieving a winning percentage of .917.
By achieving an 11-2 postseason record, the Brewers entered an elite group alongside the 2022 Houston Astros and the 1998 Yankees, with a winning percentage of .846.
Milwaukee also made history by sweeping the Dodgers. As noted by Jayson Stark, they became only the fifth team to win 100 games during the regular season and then defeat the reigning World Series champions afterward. The list includes notable teams like the 2018 Boston Red Sox, the 2009 Yankees, the 1968 Detroit Tigers, and the 1942 Cardinals.
The Brewers finished strong, going 16-2 in their last 18 games, 19-3 over 22 games, and an impressive 40-14 in their final 54. Remarkably, they lost only five games since Labor Day. Just to emphasize, that date was September 7, if you’re curious.
Pitching was a critical factor for Milwaukee in October. As pointed out by the talented Sarah Langs, the Brewers managed to limit their opponents to no more than four runs in each of their 13 playoff games, a feat shared only by the 1990 Cincinnati Reds and the 1983 Baltimore Orioles since the playoffs were expanded in 1969. The bullpen also shined, throwing 118 innings (55.1% of total innings, ranking as the fourth most in playoff history) while holding opponents to a mere .173 batting average and achieving an ERA of just 1.38. These are exceptional figures, second only to the 2022 Astros.
During their playoff journey, the Brewers enjoyed a run differential of +26, though some of their matches were tightly contested, which is something to note. A blowout win of 10-1 against the Rays in Game 3 might skew that statistic somewhat.
What stands out is how Milwaukee handled adversities in those nail-biting games. Stark highlighted that in seven of their 13 playoff games, the Brewers immediately responded by scoring after allowing the opposing team to either tie or take the lead. Only three teams did so more often, but they needed 16 games to achieve it.
And perhaps the most astonishing statistic of all? The sweep of the Dodgers in the NLCS.
Following a narrow 2-1 victory in Game 1, Milwaukee unleashed a barrage of 19 runs over the next three games against the Dodgers, outscoring Los Angeles (the second-best team in the majors) by a combined 19-10.
“This group of guys right here, the 2026 team, will be remembered forever — and they deserve that because they were a team,” said manager Pat Murphy after the game. “They’re not worried about their own stats. No one cares about that. They care about coming together and winning tonight.”
The Brewers didn’t just win on Wednesday night.
They’ve been winning all season long, through the fall, and all the way through the playoffs.
And now they proudly wear the title of World Series Champions.
