Category: MLB

After preventing the sweep on Tuesday, the Rays faced a massive challenge in surviving another game. The 12-inning affair burned out both teams’ bullpens making their starting pitcher selections crucial to making it through Game 5, and the Brewers were running out their ace in Jacob Misiorowski. Opposite him would be Tampa’s ace in Drew Rasmussen, but he was on a day shorter rest after starting Game 2 as opposed to Misiorowski opening up the Fall Classic in Game 1. The leash was noticeably shorter on the Rays’ side, and as it turned out things went south quickly once they dug into their bullpen.

World Series Game 5

Milwaukee Brewers 4, Tampa Bay Rays 1
(Brewers win series 4-1)

Milwaukee went down 1-2-3 against Rasmussen to start the game, but had better luck in the second inning. Brice Turang hit a one-out double and Sal Frelick was hit by a pitch to put runners on for Cooper Pratt, who singled right up the middle to plate Turang. Pratt ended up gifted the Rays an out trying to take second base on the relay throw, and the Brewers couldn’t make it a crooked number because of that, but they still struck first. As it turned out, it would take a while for Tampa to respond.

The Miz worked around two-out baserunners in the first and third inning to coast into the fourth, where he faced a jam after hitting Liam Hicks. Chandler Simpson singled and a fielding error on Frelick moved both runners into scoring position with two outs, but Misiorowski got Ben Williamson to ground out to strand them both. By that point, Kevin Cash had tested his ace’s arm enough and decided to go to his bullpen to start the fifth inning. He brought in Kevin Kelly, who got the first out before a barrage of three straight singles scored a second run. The wheels were starting to fall off of the AL Champions, and the sixth only brought more problems.

Garrett Cleavinger was summoned to get the final out of the fifth and stayed out to start the sixth. He hit Christian Yelich to put the leadoff man aboard, and William Contreras made him pay with a loud double that bounced off the left field wall bringing in Yelich. Turang singled to put runners on the corners, and Cash made another move to the ‘pen calling on Tyler Wells, but the fires were too tough to put out. Pratt lifted a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0, and Milwaukee was well on their way to the title.

Misiorowski continued cruising throughout this, and though he wasn’t racking up strikeouts the Rays couldn’t do anything with what he was offering. At 86 pitches, the Miz got the second out of the sixth inning but felt something funny on his delivery, prompting the training staff to come out. It turned out he was cramping, and though he’d try to shake it off they ultimately pulled him after his warmup pitch looked off. JoJo Romero entered and finished the inning, putting them nine outs away from the Commissioner’s Trophy. The final line on Misiorowski was 5.2 innings, two hits, one walk and two strikeouts with no runs allowed — far from what most would’ve predicted, but had he not cramped up he probably could’ve kept pitching into the seventh with excellent results. The likely NL Cy Young Award winner didn’t have the flashiest postseason performance, but he saved his best for the finale.

The march to closing the game out continued with Romero to start the seventh, and though Contreras allowed a man to reach on an error Abner Uribe took the baton and doused the embers of a rally. Then it was time for Trevor Megill to enter for the final six outs, and he got through the eighth with ease. The ninth proved a little more stressful, as Tampa got doubles from Hicks and Simpson to finally plate a run, but it was too little too late. Richie Palacios grounded one to second, Turang tossed it over to Jake Bauers in time at first, and the celebration was on.

The Brewers are your 2026 World Series champions, and the season is at an end. Contreras was named World Series MVP for his marvelous performance on both sides of the ball, including eight hits with four RBI throughout the five games. Oh, and congrats to old friend Gary Sánchez (his backup) on winning a ring!

Now that the offseason is in full effect for everyone, the looming specter of the CBA negotiations and a lockout are moving from the horizon to the forefront. It’ll likely be a long time until we can feasibly talk about moves being made, rosters being finalized, and the gathering of players towards Florida and Arizona once more. Strap in folks, this winter will be a long one.

I was doing the dishes the other day and listening to a hockey game featuring the Columbus Blue Jackets, and I couldn’t help but wonder, “Who the heck is a fan of the Blue Jackets?” If you live in central Ohio, I suppose you have a reason due to geography. But, how fervent could that fan base be, given what they have (or, more accurately, haven’t) done on the ice?

Columbus entered the National Hockey League in 2000, so this is their 25th season (remember, 2004-05 was completely lost due to a lockout by NHL owners). They have made the playoffs six times, and won a total of two rounds, including in the weirdo 2020 playoff bubble. That’s not exactly inspiring. Pretty “meh,” really.

meh (interj.): an expression of annoyed ambivalence towards an idea, person or situation

That got me thinking…

Research Question

Who is the most “meh” team in Major League Baseball?

Rationale

A “meh” team has given their fans the least to cheer about in recent memory. I think making the playoffs is a good way to quantify this, and a deep playoff run should be worth more to the fanbase than an early exit. So, a method will be established to determine “mehness.”

Methodology

The current set of 30 Major League Baseball teams first took shape for the 1998 season with the addition of the Arizona Diamondbacks and the then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays. That’s 29 seasons including the one just concluded, and holy moly that makes me feel old.

Since a deep playoff run means more to a team’s fanbase than, say, losing in the Wild Card round, point values will be assigned for different playoff outcomes. The Wild Card round in its current form started in 2022; before that the Wild Card was a one-and-done game starting in 2012. (The 2020 playoffs were obviously strange, with all teams having to go through a best-of-three Wild Card round.)

Farthest Advancement in Playoffs	Point Value
Won World Series	5
Won League Championship Series	4
Won Division Series	3
Lost Division Series but Won Wild Card (if there was one)	2
Lost Division Series but got a Wild Card bye	1
Lost Wild Card	1

You don’t want to penalize teams for not taking part in something they either didn’t have to, or for something that did not exist at the time. I think this covers all the possibilities.

Data was from Baseball Reference, of course, and errors may have been made. If I shorted your favourite team, I apologize.

Results

Franchise	Points
Yankees	70
Dodgers	50
Atlanta	44
Astros	44
Cardinals	44
Red Sox	42
Phillies	28
Cleveland	27
Giants	26
Cubs	25
(Devil) Rays	23
MLB AVERAGE	22.6
Brewers	20
Rangers	20
Tigers	19
MLB MEDIAN	19
Twins	19
Mets	19
Diamondbacks	18
Angels	18
Padres	18
Athletics	13
White Sox	13
Blue Jays	13
Royals	11
Mariners	11
Rockies	9
Expos/Nationals	9
Orioles	8
Marlins	8
Reds	6
Pirates	4

Conclusion

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been the most “meh” team in Major League Baseball in its current form.

Discussion

Here are a few things that jumped out at me while gathering and analyzing the data.

• The Dodgers really didn’t have a lot of playoff success until about 2010. They’d get in but almost always flame-out right away. Had they not learned how to spend oodles of money yet? Sheesh. Even so, it wasn’t until 2020’s short season that they finally broke through.
• The only teams above the Tigers in points that have not won a World Series are Cleveland and the Rays.
• And about those Tigers: right at the median number of points. Half the teams are above them, half are below. (The Yankees skew the average upwards.)
• The National League Central contains the bottom two teams.
• The Marlins are the lowest team on this list to have won a World Series in this time-range. So, they don’t make the playoffs often, but when they do, they might just win it all.
• Philadelphia kinda snuck up on me. They’ve had some decent teams recently, and they won it all once. The 2008 World Series championship came amid a pretty good run with a strong rotation. Still a bit surprised they finished that high.
• I’m also surprised the Rockies were as high as they were. They made a World Series but they’ve been miserable in recent memory.
• Bob Nutting needs to sell the Pirates. Bob Castellini in Cincinnati? You’re on thin ice.
• If there are any other Bobs that own MLB teams, you better watch your back too.

Does anything else jump out at you? Is my methodology flawed? Is there something I forgot? Feel free to leave a comment.

This post was written before we knew the outcome of Game 5 of the World Series. Did the Brewers close it out for their first championship? Did the Rays stave off elimination for one more day? Do we still have baseball to watch, or is the encroaching dread of the lockout the only thing on the horizon? You, dear future reader, know the answers to all of these questions and more! Lucky you.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• The MLB Player’s Association named Zack Wheeler as their recipient of their Player’s Choice award for National League Comeback Player of the Year.
• Top prospect Aidan Miller is pain-free and falling in love with baseball again while playing in the Arizona Fall League.
• The Inquirer continues their series looking at the 2027 outlook for each of the Phillies position groups, this time with the infield. ($)

MLB news:

• Mark Walter is reportedly dead set on retaining ownership of the Dodgers “no matter what” as he and his businesses come under federal investigation. ($)
• Teruaki Sato figures to be a big name this winter, as the Japanese star will enter the free agent market along with NPB counterpart Shugo Maki. What exactly can we expect from the pair as they make the transition to MLB? ($)
• Yankees legend Jorge Posada believes the team needs a strong voice on their coaching staff but doesn’t believe he is “welcome” around the club.

Hello, friends.

There are now 146 days remaining until the next scheduled Orioles game. In a bit more than a month, the owner lockout will hit and things will be uncertain until a labor agreement is reached.

There will be no more MLB games to divert us in the meantime. The World Series is over as of last night. The Brewers weren’t able to close out the Rays with a sweep on Tuesday night, but they still were plenty able to end the thing before there was much in the way of suspense. Behind their hard-throwing ace Jacob Misiorowski, Milwaukee finished off a dominant romp through the playoffs by taking Game 5 of the World Series and with it, this season’s championship. It’s the first time in Brewers franchise history that the team has won it all.

The Brewers, in a lot of ways, are a demonstration of the importance of getting as many bites at the postseason apple as you can. They made it into the postseason all but one year going back to the 2018 season. After a hard-fought seven-game NLCS against the Dodgers that year, they had a whole lot of early exits while waiting for a year where everything broke their way. That finally happened in 2026.

It’s not like it was a surprise to have things break Milwaukee’s way. This was not a fluke team that snuck into the postseason. The Brewers had the best regular season record, with more wins even than the two-time defending champion Dodgers. They showed how this year was going to be different by sweeping those Dodgers, the same team that swept them in the NLCS a year ago. They faced the AL’s best regular season team in the World Series and they trashed those guys.

Still, this wasn’t guaranteed. Even regular season success doesn’t guarantee postseason success. The Brewers had to do a lot of things right once they got into October, and for the duration of this month, that’s what they’ve done. They earned this title. And now the Orioles have the fifth-longest championship drought among MLB teams, behind the Guardians, Padres, Mariners, and Pirates.

In the meantime in Birdland, it’s been all new general manager Jared Banner all the time over the course of this week. That’s not so much because Banner is everywhere as it is that Banner had his introductory press conference earlier in the week and there are no other new inputs, so reading the tea leaves from that presser is all that there is to do.

I think it would be better for the Orioles if something like this had happened a year ago, if Mike Elias had recognized his 2025 plan was flawed and he was going to need to make some changes to get better outcomes. To be at least a little fair to Elias, he did try different things last offseason. The signing of Pete Alonso, the trade for Shane Baz, even the trade of Grayson Rodriguez were all breaks from how he’d done things before. It was not enough.

In the waning weeks of the regular season, there were signs that more changes were coming. Front office personnel were shuffled around or out of the organization entirely. We’d heard the story before about the Orioles looking into hiring a general manager and they didn’t do it. This time, they’ve done it.

Banner and Elias both are saying all the right things so far. There’s no guarantee that it’s going to work. I do think that at a minimum, we can say that it will fail while trying something different. In a few more days, we’ll start to see what kind of roster plan they try to put into place in the month of November before the lockout hits.

Orioles stuff you might have missed

New GM brings an added voice and some breathing room for Mike Elias (Baltimore Baseball)
One of the quotes from the presser that sticks with me is highlighted here, where Elias directly said he’s putting Banner in charge of areas where “I think he’s better than me.”

Elias admitted his faults. Can Jared Banner fix them? (The Baltimore Sun)
Elias ate a big serving of humble pie in making this hire. Everybody has nice things to say about Banner. On the other hand, everybody had nice things to say about Craig Albernaz, and look where that got us.

Banner day: Jared Banner aced his first press conference. Now comes the hard part. (Steve on Baseball)
While not making any specific promises about Gunnar Henderson, one thing Banner brought up is how the presumptive NL MVP, Pete Crow-Armstrong, was pretty good last year but still not satisfied, and the Cubs helped him ascend to a new high level. Sounds like a nice concept.

The Orioles must decide if Colton Cowser is their everyday center fielder (The Baltimore Banner)
The outfield free agent market sucks. I have to figure Cowser is the center fielder for 2027 if he is healthy to play. He is another guy who Banner will hopefully be able to help institute some processes that will improve him.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 2013, three Orioles received Gold Glove awards as the winners were announced: Shortstop J.J. Hardy, center fielder Adam Jones, and third baseman Manny Machado. There were three Orioles Gold Glove winners the next year as well, but there hasn’t been multiple winners since then. No Oriole has won a Gold Glove at all since Ramón Urías received one four years ago.

There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2021 pitcher Shaun Anderson, 2012 pitcher Dana Eveland, 2000/2004 outfielder Karim García, 1973-74 infielder Frank Baker, and 1967-71 pitcher Pete Richert.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: painter Bob Ross (1942), Homer Simpson voice actor Dan Castellaneta (1957), actor Rufus Sewell (1967), and actress Winona Ryder (1971).

On this day in history…

In 1888, a treaty signed in Constantinople proclaimed that passage through the Suez Canal would be guaranteed regardless of war or peace. Egypt, which is home to the canal and was then ruled by the Ottoman Empire, was not party to the treaty talks, nor did it sign the treaty. Today, the effects of this treaty are still in force with one exception: Egypt may forbid passage to ships from countries with which it is at war.

In 1914, the conflict we now know as World War I had another escalation, with the Ottoman Empire joining the war on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Exactly five years later, the empire dissolved with the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey, today known as the Republic of Türkiye.

In 1929, a crash on the New York Stock Exchange became what is now recognized as “Black Tuesday,” triggering the beginning of the Great Depression.

**

And that’s the way it is in Birdland on October 29. Have a safe Thursday.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Milwaukee Brewers, their bodies drenched in celebratory liquid, pieces of confetti still clinging to their hair, chugged beers, sprayed champagne, sang, danced and screamed Wednesday night into the early morning Thursday, acting as they were at a fraternity rage party.

Hey, why not?

It had been 57 years, and finally, here they were sitting atop the world, beating the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-1, and winning four of five games in the best-of-seven series.

The Brewers are your 2026 World Series champions.

Hall of Famer Robin Yount, his eyes moist, and his throat raw, was hugging everyone he could find, personally thanking them for bringing home the World Series that eluded him 44 years ago when they lost the 1982 World Series.

“I don’t want to say a weight was lifted off my shoulders,’’ he said, “but this certainly takes the sting off of Game 7 in 1982. It’s been a long time coming. A long time of wondering if it would ever happen.

“There was a lot of disappointment that we didn’t pull it off before, but I’ve always had hope that while I was still here, I would see a Brewers’ team win. They showed the world they can do it.’’

Christian Yelich, the first captain in Brewers’ history, fought back tears talking about what this moment meant for the city of Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin.

“When we got that last out, I blacked out,’’ Yelich said. “I don’t know what happened. Then, when we got on that stage, I was looking up, taking that all in. I’m seeing a stadium with all Brewers’ fans, and we’re sitting on stage that says, 'World Series champions.'

“It felt like a movie honestly. It’s been a long time coming. There’s been some good moments, some tough moments, but it’s all been worth it. I can’t wait to bring that trophy back home to Milwaukee.’’

More: Get Milwaukee Brewers championship gear, books to celebrate World Series win!

Brewers alumni like Hall of Famers Paul Molitor and CC Sabathia, former MVP Ryan Braun, former home run champion Prince Fielder and seven-year Brewer veteran Billy Hall, high-fived and hugged.

Former Brewers GM Doug Melvin and assistant Gord Ash, who ushered in the winning culture in Milwaukee, were giddy taking pictures with friends and family on the field, believing this day would eventually come, and praying they’d still be alive to see it.

And there was Matt Arnold, the Brewers president of baseball operations, who grew up an Oakland A’s fan, and was familiar with all of the heartache of postseason failures, saying he planned to pull an all-nighter.

Sure, why not keep partying until it was time to fly out to Milwaukee for a Friday parade that’s expected to draw 400,000 people, igniting one of the greatest celebrations in Milwaukee history?

“I wish I could keep enjoying myself,’’ Arnold said.

What do you mean?

“I’ve got work to do,’’ he said, without cracking a smile. “I’m not kidding. The offseason starts. We can’t get comfortable. I’m already thinking about what we have to do.

“Certainly, you enjoy these moments, but if you want to do this every year, you’ve got to be on your toes. We got teams that are going to want to hunt us down. If we don’t put in the work now, we won’t be back.

“And we plan to be back.’’

Brewers manager Pat Murphy even brought up ideas for next season before their Game 4 before Arnold jokingly scolded him.

“Can we get one more win, and talk about what we’re going to do next year?’’

So they waited a day.

While the celebration was happening, and champagne was stinging their eyes, the Brewers organization let the world in on a scary secret.

They’re not going away.

They plan on being back.

Again. And again. And again.

“I don’t see why not,’’ said Jacob Misiorowski, who will become the first pitcher to win a clinching World Series game and earn the Cy Young award in the same season since Orel Hershsier for the 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers. “I mean, this is a lot of fun to be winning World Series championships and celebrating popping champagne. Why stop?’’

The Chicago Cubs don’t want to hear this type of talk. Neither do the St. Louis Cardinals. Cincinnati Reds. Or anyone else in the National League Central. Not Atlanta, the New York Mets, or even the powerful Los Angeles Dodgers, either.

The way the Brewers view it, they are in the infancy of a genuine dynasty.

In the words of Brewers closer Trevor Megill, “We’re not going anywhere. We’ll be back. Really, we’re just getting started.’’

Oh yeah, and he provided a little advice to those long-suffering devoted Brewers’ fans.

The next time Cubs’ fans come to Milwaukee, or the next time Brewers’ fans come to Wrigley Field, he told them, don’t hold back.

“Let everyone know in Chicago,’’ Megill said, “we got a ring now.’’

And bragging rights that could last a generation.

The Brewers not only have won as many World Series championships in the last 118 years as the Cubs, but they have completely dominated the division, winning four NL Central titles and five in the last six years.

And why it may be silly to say the Brewers can actually improve after winning an MLB-leading 103 games, with 11 more postseason victories, the truth is that they still are young, talented, have the game’s best farm system and have only one key free agent in first baseman Jake Bauers.

So why wouldn’t they make the postseason an annual get-together, with the same lofty expectations as the Dodgers or Yankees?

World Series or bust!

“You know we’re going to try to improve the team from here,’’ Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said, “which 103 wins and then 11 in the postseason is going to be pretty hard to improve on. But that’ll be the goal.’’

Attanasio, whose team earned about an extra $25 million in postseason revenue by winning the World Series, and is raking in record profits from merchandise sales, surely will see a massive boost in attendance next year. Season-ticket sales are expected to soar from this year’s total of 14,200 total, and for perhaps the first time since 2011, the Brewers could draw three million fans.

So they not only have all of their talent coming back, and a plethora of prospects from baseball’s top-ranked farm system, but they’ll have money if they wish to dip their toes into free agency, too.

Oh, maybe not Tarik Skubal money, but money to fill in a few holes.

“We’re on the right side of ages,’’ Attanasio said. “William Contreras is our [World Series] MVP. He’s 28 years, old, right? That’s peak age. [Center fielder] Garrett Mitchell is 28. Brice Turang is 26. I think most of the other guys are younger.’’

More: William Contreras named World Series MVP after leading Brewers to first title

Yes, like their soon-to-be Cy Young winner who won Game 5; Misiorowski is 24. Like their shortstop who became the first rookie in World Series history to produce six consecutive hits; Cooper Pratt is 22. Like their left fielder who tied Babe Ruth for the most hits in the first four game of the World Series; Jackson Chourio is 22. Like their reliever who had the greatest scoreless streak in postseason history; Aaron Ashby is 28.

Oh, and if their rivals aren’t envious enough, Chourio is locked up through 2033, signing an eight-year, $82 million contract. Pratt just signed an eight-year, $50.75 million contract in spring training. Outfielder Luis Lara is in the first year of a seven-year, $31 million deal.

The Cubs and everyone else are going to see these talented, young players in their nightmares for years to come.

While teams are burdened with contracts they want to shed, and aging players who no longer perform to expectations, the Brewers don’t have a single player guaranteed $100 million, with only $55.5 million left in Yelich’s original nine-year, $215 million contract.

“Those are the kind of risks I believe in,’’ Attanasio said. “I believe in business you need to take risks. You don’t take risks, you’re going to be just a middle performer in anything you do.

“We committed $160 million to those three players. Those numbers get thrown around like monopoly money, but for an ownership group like ours, which has one $200 million player, that’s a lot of capital. How we do things in the future, well see, but a lot of teams have copy-catted us now.’’

Indeed, after what the Brewers did this year, we’re going to start seeing teams starting to rely on contract, and less power. We’re going to see teams emphasize speed, and not station-to-station baseball. We’re going to see athleticism and not guys who look as if they play in their Sunday beer league.

“We’re different,’’ said Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff, the longest-tenured Brewer. “We don’t hit homers. We pitch the heck out of it. We play defense. We put pressure on teams. It’s a very refreshing way of playing baseball.’’

And who knows, maybe teams will look for a kid like Pratt, who was in high school just three years ago, and was gulping Fanta orange soda during the celebration while his teammates were dousing him with champagne and beer.

“I got to be careful drinking these,’’ Pratt said, holding up his Fanta, “I might not be able to go to sleep if I have too many.’’

Oh, don’t worry kid, the good folks of Wisconsin will do the heavy drinking for you. They’ll be toasting the arrival of a rookie who was hitting just .238 at Class AA Biloxi in 2025, and raised a whole lot of eyebrows when the Brewers signed him to his eight-year deal this spring before playing a single major-league game.

“I remember when I did it,’’ Pratt said, “and everyone was like, ‘What the heck? Who is this guy? Who the heck is this?’ I’m like, ‘Dang, guys. OK.’

“And then I came up and I started performing and everyone was like, ‘OK. Maybe he doesn’t suck.’”

Hey, when you hit .421 in the World Series, with two doubles, one homer and seven RBI, you’ve got folks wondering what you’ll do for an encore.

“I think he still thinks we’re in extended spring,’’ Woodruff said. “I don’t think he realizes we won the World Series yet.’’

No, it’s sinking in, Pratt says, “I’m a world champion. I might add that in my bio, 'world champion.’ ”

Considering he’s going to be sticking around Milwaukee for quite awhile, why settle for one?

“I’m going to be here for eight more years,’’ Pratt says. “So maybe we’ll win one or two more.”

Maybe, even create an honest-to-goodness dynasty?

“Let’s just focus on tonight,’’ Pratt said. “We’ll focus on next year, next year.’’

Fair enough, with even Yount saying, “I’ve waited 44 years for this. Let me enjoy this one for at least the next 15 minutes.

Yet, while Arnold and Murphy have told their players at the end of each of the last few seasons to remember the pain of their postseason failures, this time, they want them to savor this beautiful feeling of euphoria, making them hungry for a repeat, three-peat, or even a dynasty.

“I can see this team winning a number of years,’’ Megill said. “I hope I’m here for it too. This team means everything to me. I would love to stay here for a long as possible.’’

Considering the Brewers’ superiority, their rabid fan support, their easy travel being in the Midwest, and the chance to play for Murphy, there’ll be plenty of players who will be requesting their agents to put in calls to Milwaukee.

“Once you’re a World Series champion,’’ Attanasio said, “this is forever. I can name all of the World Series champions the last 10 years. I’m not sure I can name all of the runner-ups. Now, we’re a champion.

“People are going to look differently at us now. They can’t take this away from you.’’

Simply, the Brewers are a quiet assassin. They are never favored to win the NL Central, but blow by the Cubs each summer. They’re the ones that stopped the Dodgers’ dynasty. And now, perhaps they’re ready to start one of their own.

“They had to beat the Dodgers to get where they needed to go,’’ Yount said. “They finally beat them. They dethroned the Dodgers and took care of business themselves.’’

Yep, did they ever, sweeping the Dodgers with a payroll nearly $300 more than their own, right into the unknown of the 2027.

The Dodgers, barring the implementation of a salary cap in the next collective bargaining agreement, will always have a financial advantage over the Brewers. So will the Cubs, their bitter rivals to the south. Those teams spend plenty of money on free agents, and if they make a mistake, they can cover it up. The Brewers make a big mistake, and they’re doomed for mediocrity.

“We have less margin for error that other teams,’’ Attanasio said. “We can’t afford to get one wrong.’’

These difficult financial decisions have led to the Brewers trading Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes, All-Star starter Freddy Peralta and All-Star closers Josh Hader and Devin Williams, while letting All-Star shortstop Willy Adames depart as a free agent in the past three years.

Yet, all the Brewers have done during this span is win four consecutive NL Central titles, improving their victory total each of the past four years, and earning postseason berths eight of the last nine years.

“They’ve always had challenges of trying to keep their players,’’ Melvin said, “and they’re always going to face those challenges. But maybe getting over the hump changes things.

“There’s really no reason they can’t have a run, but they’re going to have a lot of work to do because when you win, people are going to go after you.’’

So, while the partying went on through the night Wednesday, with Arnold becoming emotional when Attanasio handed him the World Series trophy, profusely thanking him late Wednesday night, Arnold excused himself. He walked out to see his family, and began wrapping his mind around 2027.

“The No. 1 goal is to win a World Series,’’ Arnold said, “but in order to get there, you have to have sustained success. We've been through this a lot, eight out of nine years, but we've had to exit the party early. We learned from those heartaches the hard way.

“Now, I want us to learn from this. Once you taste this, man, you want to be back. I don’t want to be a one-hit wonder. I would hate that.

“Look around, and you feel this, and we are going to do everything possible to be right back here next year.’’

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Inside the Milwaukee Brewers' quest for a dynasty

Welcome, officially, to the offseason. The Rays extended the 2026 MLB season one day with a valiant effort in Game 4 of the World Series, but the Brewers would not be denied. They steadily wore down Tampa Bay in Game 5, and Jacob Misiorowski turned in his finest start of this postseason as Milwaukee secured its first title. It’s well-deserved, the Brewers showing themselves to be the class of the league every step of the way throughout the entire year. Congratulations to Milwaukee!

The offseason is upon us, but we’ll continue trucking along as we head into the great unknown that is this looming labor fight. On the site this morning, Madison recaps Game 5 in St. Petersburg, Andrés writes in praise of Ryan Yarbrough’s solid 2026 campaign. and later Peter profiles Jesse Barfield for our Yankees Birthday series.

Questions/Prompts:

1. If I told you in February that the Brewers would pace the league just about wire to wire and then dominate all the way through the playoffs, how surprised would you have been on a scale from 1-to-10?

2. How did you feel about the excitement level in these playoffs in general? Were there enough thrillers to sustain you, or did the lack of long series demote this postseason in your eyes?

Pain and heartbreak have been the story of baseball in Milwaukee for decades.

Going back to 1958, when the Milwaukee Braves lost the World Series to the New York Yankees, preventing a back-to-back title run. Then, a few years later, the Braves franchise picked up and left for Atlanta. For those old enough to remember, it was devastating. Milwaukee was left heartbroken.

A few years later, in 1970, through the extraordinary efforts of Bud Selig, baseball returned to Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Brewers were born. But for years, the team was terrible. Then young players like Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Gorman Thomas came up through the system and developed into stars.

In 1982, the Brewers finally made the World Series for the first time. They had a great team with multiple Hall of Famers and a 3-2 series lead. But they couldn’t quite finish the job that year. Surely they would be back soon, though, right? Nope. They never made it back. They didn’t even make the playoffs again with that group.

For years, all any Brewers fans have heard about is 1982. The 1982 team gets celebrated consistently; they are the constant historical reminder, the one thing of nostalgia for this franchise to lean on. And that group fell short of bringing that title home, which Yount himself has said he will never get over.

Until now.

The painful journey to get here

They say, “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey”.

The ultimate destination has remained the same. The journey, however, has been long, winding, and painful.

After 1982, the Brewers were stuck in a 26-year playoff drought that finally ended in 2008. That 2008 season ended with heartbreak, though, in four games against the eventual champion Phillies. Then 2011, a dramatic walk-off win in the NLDS against the Diamondbacks put the Brewers one step away from the World Series. Then, more heartbreak as the Brewers lost in six games to their hated division rival, the St. Louis Cardinals, who also went on to win the World Series. That was the last run with Prince Fielder, and that was the last run for a while.

Collapse in 2014. A rebuild in 2015. Mediocrity all mixed in between.

Then, a new era began in 2018. There was hope, at long last. But that hope just made the heartbreak that much more painful.

Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain were brought in. The Brewers won the NL Central for just the second time ever. They made it to Game 7 of the NLCS, and it was at home. One win away from making it to the World Series. So close you could taste it. Then, the heart gets ripped out. The Dodgers. Chris Taylor. Cody Bellinger. Yasiel Puig.

Then in 2019, Yelich breaks his kneecap, and you have the Trent Grisham heartbreak in Washington, who went on to win the World Series. Then the 2020 Ryon Healy cleanup experience against the Dodgers, who won and went on to win the World Series. Then in 2021, Devin Williams punches a wall, the offense goes cold in Atlanta, and they lose in four to the Braves, who go on to win the World Series. In 2022, a disastrous trade deadline devastates the clubhouse, and they miss the postseason altogether. In 2023, Brandon Woodruff’s shoulder gives out, and they fall in the playoffs to Arizona, who make a run to the World Series. For a time, every single team that eliminated the Brewers in the postseason went on to make or win the World Series.

Then, manager Craig Counsell commits the ultimate betrayal and joins the Cubs after another disappointing postseason. The front office leader David Stearns bolts for New York. The stewards of this organization, who brought it sustained success, were leaving for greener pastures.

In 2024, the heartbreak and gut punch of Pete Alonso will never be forgotten and may have been the worst of them all. It was Bob Uecker’s final call, and his death a few months later made the sting all the more painful.

In 2025, the Brewers felt like they could be a team of destiny. Another NL Central title, an emotional defeat of Counsell and the Cubs in the NLDS, but they got smacked down by the Goliath Dodgers in the NLCS in a sweep. Yet again, more heartbreak.

That journey, that long, painful journey, has steeled this team and this fanbase and is what makes this World Series title the ultimate satisfaction.

A World Series that means everything

“We have arrived at a moment we will talk about for a lifetime.”

Those are the words from Brewers play-by-play voice Brian Anderson in a hype video put together by the team before Game 1. This team, these players, these moments, we will talk about for the rest of our lives. These are the moments we will tell our children and grandchildren about. Like our parents and grandparents told us about 1982.

After a lifetime of hearing stories about Cecil Cooper, Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Jim Gantner, Gorman Thomas, Don Sutton, and Ted Simmons. We will now get to tell the stories about Jackson Chourio, William Contreras, Christian Yelich, Sal Frelick, Jacob Misiorowski, Robert Gasser, Aaron Ashby, and Cooper Pratt.

Years of mediocrity. A 100-loss season, being desperate just for a .500 ballclub, going 12 straight years without one. Desperate for any sign of a positive direction.

Homegrown stars have come and gone, in search of bigger paychecks. A few have stayed, but most leave in free agency or are traded before they can do so. Fan favorites gone in the blink of an eye.

Despite all of that, Brewers fans stood by their team, waiting, trusting that this day would finally come. Keep taking bites at the apple, we were told, and one year, that whole apple would be ours. That one day we would wake up, and the Brewers would be World Series champions.

A lifetime of being told that we’re not good enough, not big enough, not rich enough to deserve a World Series. Years of being bullied by large-market teams like the Dodgers, being little-brothered by the Cubs, being taken out by the Cardinals.

This is a lifetime of fandom resulting in one moment where finally, our team is at the top. A lifetime of heartbreak, searching for the right one, the right team that will take us to the mountaintop. To baseball nirvana. To baseball immortality. At long last, that moment is here.

Pain and heartbreak have been all we’ve ever known as Brewers fans.

Not anymore.

At long last, the pain and heartbreak have led to joy and exuberance. At long last, the suffering on the journey has finally led to the destination. At long last, we’ve bitten the whole apple.

At long last, the Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions.

The Pittsburgh Pirates finished the season with an 82-80 record. The highlight from this year’s team was the offense but the starting pitching was still solid this season. The question is should the Pirates add a veteran free agent arm for next season?

The answer in my mind is yes, Pittsburgh absolutely needs to add experience and depth to that starting rotation. This is still a mostly young rotation with Paul Skenes, Jared Jones, Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler. Mitch Keller is one of the older starters on the club at 30 years old, so this is a very young group. 

Ashcraft was arguably the top pitcher for the Bucs with a 14-6 record and a 3.65 ERA. While Skenes finished with a 10-11 record 3.82 ERA. While both Keller and Jones missed serious time with injuries. 

The first veteran pitcher I think the Pirates should look at is Nick Martinez from the Tampa Bay Rays. Martinez helped lead the Rays to the World Series, where he had a 3.10 ERA over 31 starts while earning his first career All-Star nod in 2026. He doesn’t miss a ton of bats, but he averaged an MLB-low 1.30 walks per nine innings this year. 

 The 36-year-old Martinez has a $20 million mutual option for 2027, but he seems likely to decline it and pursue a multi-year deal in free agency this offseason.

Another Pitcher is Michael King from the San Diego Padres. King might be a little pricy, but I think he is worth it. The 31-year-old veteran is widely expected to opt out of the three-year, $75 million contract he signed with the Padres last December and re-enter free agency this winter. King struggled to stay healthy in 2025, but he bounced back to post a 3.21 ERA over 32 starts for San Diego this season.

There are other names like Freddy Peralta and Tarik Skubal, but those guys will probably be the most expensive starters on the market. The Bucs do have a good starting rotation, but if they add these names or another veteran arm I think it will improve that unit and the team. 

I understand some of these pitchers might be a little expensive, but this needs to be the offseason where the front office spends money. There is a lot of young potential with this club, and you don’t want to waste it 

The Athletic | Jim Bowden ($): Bowden gives us his picks for the top 40 free agents’ landing spots, and most interestingly he projects NPB’s Teruaki Sato as likely to sign with either the Yankees or Red Sox after his posting. Sato, 27, is coming off a .991 OPS with the Hanshin Tigers, launching 39 home runs and probably being a better option at third base than Ryan McMahon. The Yankees don’t have the best track record when it comes to signing Japanese stars lately, but a successful pursuit of Sato would be a big boost.

New York Post | Joel Sherman: We’re going to hear a lot of whinging about “competitive balance” as owners and the MLBPA battle out a contentious CBA negotiation this winter. Despite the fact that two of baseball’s smallest markets are facing each other in the World Series, we’ll still be told that baseball’s a game you pay to win, and therefore we need a salary cap. The other great counter to this argument is what’s perennially the toughest division in baseball to win, the AL East. In the last three seasons three different teams have taken the division, with the Rays atop this year, the Blue Jays winning the tiebreaker over the Yankees in 2025, and the Yankees winning outright the season before. If the meat grinder in the east can stay “balanced” without an existing cap, why can’t the rest of baseball?

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: The Yankees are once again in the position of having a few too many first base/DH types on the roster, with Aaron Judge, Ben Rice, Luis García Jr., Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton all under contract for next year and all expected to get time at one or both of those positions. One way to unstick some of these knots is if García Jr. can play a competent second base. He was quite bad at the position in 2025, not playing an inning there this year, but he’s strong enough coming in and going to his left that perhaps pairing him with someone like George Lombard Jr. at shortstop could hide some of those other weaknesses.

The Milwaukee Brewers have won the World Series for the first time in the franchise's 57-year history.

They beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in game five in Florida on Wednesday to clinch a 4-1 win in the best-of-seven Fall Classic.

The Brewers, whose only previous appearance in the World Series came in 1982, are based in Major League Baseball's smallest market and this year had the 19th highest payroll of its 30 teams.

But for the second straight year, the Brewers finished the regular season with MLB's best record and they then proved their class with a dominant run in the play-offs.

They avenged last season's loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series by sweeping the two-time defending champions.

That secured a spot in the 123rd World Series, where the Brewers became MLB champions with 11 wins from 13 games in the postseason.

Milwaukee's William Contreras was named the World Series' most valuable player, with the 28-year-old becoming the eighth catcher to win the award and the third Venezuelan.

The Brewers won the first two games in Wisconsin and then the first in Florida, before the Rays, who were the American League's top seed, took it to game five.

Milwaukee went ahead at the top of the second inning as a single from Cooper Pratt sent Brice Turang home, before they added another run in the fifth off a David Hamilton hit.

The Brewers doubled their lead in their next at-bat through a double from Contreras and Pratt's sacrifice fly.

Milwaukee starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski left the game in the sixth inning and the Rays finally got on the scoreboard in the ninth as Chandler Simpson sent Liam Hicks home off a double.

The Brewers entered MLB in 1969 as the Seattle Pilots, but the franchise moved to Milwaukee after only one season.

• Fastest pitch in World Series history as Brewers win opener

Phillies' rotation is set, but they can't procrastinate on adding depth originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

When the Phillies optioned Andrew Painter to Triple-A in June, they did not simply create an opening in their starting rotation.

They exposed what sat behind it.

Alan Rangel received the first opportunity, occasionally working behind an opener before making three starts of his own. Brian Keller made his major-league debut as the bulk pitcher behind Tim Mayza.

Across the 16 games not started by Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola or Painter, the Phillies went 2-14.

Nine of those games began with Mayza, Zach Pop, Tanner Banks or Kyle Backhus serving as an opener, making average innings per start a misleading comparison. The pitchers used in the starting slot still combined for a 7.01 ERA and 1.85 WHIP.

The arrangement placed additional strain on a bullpen that already lacked enough dependable arms.

The situation stabilized when Painter returned July 31. He posted a 3.65 ERA over his final 11 starts, including a 3.27 mark with 44 strikeouts in 41⅓ innings across his final seven.

Painter’s finish, along with Nola’s second-half rebound, gives the Phillies a complete projected rotation entering 2027. Nola followed a 5.75 first-half ERA with a 3.34 ERA after the All-Star break.

“I’m not sure there are too many clubs in baseball that like their starting rotation better than ours,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said at the Phillies’ end-of-season press conference. “That’s a very good place to start.”

The Phillies do not need another pitcher who requires a permanent rotation spot. They need someone who can begin the season in the bullpen, cover multiple innings and make a start without requiring several weeks to build up.

Spencer Turnbull filled that role in 2024 after signing a one-year, $2 million contract. He replaced an injured Taijuan Walker in the rotation and recorded a 1.67 ERA over six starts before returning to the bullpen.

A shoulder injury ended Turnbull’s season, but the construction of the signing worked. The Phillies used one roster spot to cover two areas of their pitching staff.

When Wheeler’s 2025 season ended because of venous thoracic outlet syndrome, the Phillies signed Walker Buehler to a minor-league contract two days after the Red Sox released him. He joined the rotation in September and pitched well, recording a 0.66 ERA over 13⅔ innings between two starts and one relief appearance.

The Phillies returned to the same late-season market in 2026 after not adding comparable depth over the winter.

They signed Nestor Cortes on Aug. 19 even though the veteran left-hander had not pitched in a professional game all year. Cortes eventually made three appearances for Lehigh Valley but never reached the majors.

After Luzardo went on the injured list with shoulder inflammation in September, the Phillies claimed José Urquidy off waivers from the White Sox. He provided 7⅓ innings over two appearances but was ineligible for the postseason.

For the second straight year, the Phillies were searching for rotation help in the middle of a playoff race.

Dombrowski made the distinction when discussing the club’s offseason priorities.

“It’s not starting pitching. It’s starting-pitching depth,” he said. “We’ll get some more starting-pitching depth.”

The upper-level alternatives Philadelphia used last season offered little reassurance.

Rangel finished with a 5.88 ERA over 26 major-league innings and a 5.58 ERA at Triple-A. Keller allowed one run over three innings in his lone appearance for Philadelphia but posted a 6.62 ERA in 17 starts for Lehigh Valley.

Chuck King was the only IronPigs pitcher to make at least 10 starts and finish with an ERA below 5.00. Tucker Davidson, Drake Fellows, Ryan Cusick, Bryse Wilson and Keller each finished above that mark.

What about their top pitching prospect?

Gage Wood should not be the immediate answer

Gage Wood could change the organization’s pitching depth during the season, but his development should not be rushed.

The Phillies’ 2025 first-round selection finished his first full professional season with a 4.36 ERA and 139 strikeouts over 95 innings. He began with Single-A Clearwater, skipped High-A and finished with the Double-A Reading club.

Wood has made only 26 professional starts and has never pitched at Triple-A.

His strikeout and walk numbers remained impressive during the second half, but his results became less consistent. Wood posted a 5.05 ERA over his final 12 starts, allowing opponents a .768 OPS. He also struck out 74 and walked only 13 in 51⅔ innings.

Painter’s season showed why the Phillies need room to make development decisions without weakening their major-league staff. His six weeks with Lehigh Valley allowed him to correct his delivery and rediscover his fastball, but the demotion left Philadelphia scrambling for innings.

Adding a veteran would allow Wood’s performance to determine when he reaches the majors.

So, who’s out there?

Four possible fits

Ryan Yarbrough offers the clearest low-cost fit.

The left-hander, who turns 35 in December, made 38 appearances for the Yankees in 2026 and finished with a 3.69 ERA over 63⅓ innings. He started twice, recorded three saves and regularly worked more than three outs.

Yarbrough’s fastball velocity ranked near the bottom of the league, but opponents produced a 25 percent hard-hit rate against him, the lowest rate in the majors. His 3.39 expected ERA was also lower than his actual mark.

He has made 78 career starts and earned $2.5 million last season. Another one-year contract between $3 million and $5 million would represent a reasonable estimate after his 2026 performance. He also has considerable postseason experience, making eight appearances in October.

Cal Quantrill would carry the strongest recent results and the largest price.

After recording a 4.98 ERA in 2024 and a 6.04 ERA in 2025, Quantrill returned to Texas on a minor-league contract. He went 9-5 with a 2.86 ERA and 1.04 WHIP over 110 innings, posting a 2.47 ERA in 15 starts and a 3.78 ERA across 17 relief appearances.

A lat strain ended his season in September, but his performance should produce opportunities that were unavailable last winter. Quantrill may receive a guaranteed rotation spot elsewhere, and a one-year contract in the mid-to-high single-digit millions — or a multiyear offer at a similar annual value — appears possible.

Erick Fedde handled the most balanced workload of the group.

The right-hander threw 141 innings for the White Sox, nearly dividing them between 15 starts and 18 relief appearances. He posted a 3.86 ERA from the rotation and a 3.80 mark out of the bullpen.

Fedde earned $1.5 million last season. His workload should lead to a raise, although a 4.79 expected ERA and 16.3 percent strikeout rate could limit his market. A one-year deal between $4 million and $7 million would reflect the value of his versatility without pricing him as an established starter.

Drew Anderson would be the most expensive option, if he becomes available.

Originally selected by the Phillies in the 21st round of the 2012 draft, Anderson appeared in the majors for Philadelphia during parts of three seasons from 2017-19. After spending two years in Japan and then two in Korea, the right-hander returned to the majors with Detroit and posted a 3.67 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 114 strikeouts over 108 innings. He made 49 appearances, including 11 starts, and recorded two saves.

Anderson was particularly effective when the Tigers moved him into the rotation, posting a 2.61 ERA over 51⅔ innings as a starter. His 4.46 FIP in those games and 11 percent walk rate provide some reason for caution, but he missed more bats than the other pitchers in this group.

Detroit holds a $10 million club option for 2027 after paying Anderson $7 million last season. His performance gives the Tigers a strong reason to exercise it. If they decline, Anderson’s ability to start, pitch in relief and generate strikeouts would likely place his price closer to the option value than the lower-cost tier occupied by Yarbrough and Fedde.

The Phillies have more expensive needs this winter. Their offense needs another right-handed hitter, their bullpen requires multiple additions and the infield could look different by Opening Day.

A pitcher from this group would give Don Mattingly a multi-inning option when the rotation is intact and a traditional starter when it is not.

After spending the last two stretch runs searching for available innings, the Phillies should address that job before another injury forces them back into the market.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Jacob Misiorowski led the majors with 252 strikeouts this season.

He won the World Series with just two.

The Milwaukee Brewers ace threw 5 ⅔ scoreless innings Wednesday night in a 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5, clinching the first championship in franchise history.

He gave up two hits and a walk. The Rays made contact all night. They just couldn't do anything with it.

The velocity betrayed Misiorowski’s emotions.  

His first 12 pitches were all four-seam fastballs, from 100.9 to 103 mph. The swing-and-miss wasn't. He didn't strike out anyone until the 14th batter he faced, and his two strikeouts matched his career low.

He felt the moment.

"My heart was racing," Misiorowski said. "I was nervous as everyone on that field. ... It's really cool that they trust me enough to do that."

The Tropicana Field mound didn't make it easy. The grounds crew came out three times early to pack down the dirt. Then, with two outs in the sixth, a right calf cramp sent him to the dugout.

He shrugged that off, too.

"Just a cramp," he said. "Happy I left it all out on the field. Obviously, wish I could have got one more out in the inning. But whatever. It is what it is. We got the win."

The 24-year-old is in his second big-league season and has set a high bar. His 37.9% strikeout rate was the second-highest for a full season in MLB history, behind only Gerrit Cole 39.9% in 2019.

He went 16-5 with a major league-best 1.80 ERA, then spent October hearing he wasn't that guy anymore.

Brewers commemorative World Series book

His catcher spent the month reminding him that even if he wasn’t the same guy as the regular season, he was the Brewers main guy – and he had to carry that.

“I’m someone that has been able to tell him things, how they are to his face and I think he needs that,” William Contreras said of guiding the young pitcher this October. “Jacob is still a kid. Jacob is still young and he’s learning in his career."

He may have starter October as a kid, but he finished with some veteran experience. He finished the postseason 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA. He opened this World Series by throwing the fastest pitch in its history, 10.5 mph, and finished that Game 1 start with 38 pitches at 100 mph or harder, the most in a World Series game since pitch tracking began in 2008.

If he wins the National League Cy Young Award, he'll join Sandy Koufax, Steve Carlton, Bret Saberhagen and Orel Hershiser as eventual Cy Young winners who won a World Series clincher.

Wednesday night in a beer and champagne-soaked, smokey and crowded clubhouse, Misiorowski was not thinking about the Cy Young Award. He was thinking back to seven months ago when the Brewers gathered in Arizona.

He said the Brewers saw this coming back then in spring training. There was never a doubt for them.

"Yeah, of course," he said. "I think everyone did."

"It's insane that it happened so quick. But it's really fun to be a part of."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The Miz takes Brewers to promised land: World Series champion, Cy Young in-waiting

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On Monday, I suggested that the team’s pitching woes were the fifth-most important story of this historically bad 2026 season and yesterday I handed some flowers to Bryce Eldridge and the Giants’ player development pipeline as a meaningful positive story, but today is all about being petty. Yes, I think the third-most important story of this 2026 season was Rafael Devers making all the losers and the haters eat crow, suck it long and suck it hard, and burnish in people’s mind that he is That Dude.

He nearly tied his career high in homers (38) with 37 through 148 games and 633 plate appearances. His 136 wRC+ was exactly what he put up last season between Boston and San Francisco. He has been 36% better than the league average for 3 years now, and his 3.5 fWAR also matches basically what he’s always been: a 3.5-4-WAR player. And that’s basically as a DH and not dreadful first baseman. Despite needing season-ending surgery, he was still the 14th-best hitter in baseball, in the same bunch as Bryce Harper and Riley Greene. He was on a 40-homer pace and finished 9th in MLB with those 37. He was the first Giant in 5 years to have 90+ RBI (he ended the year with 98).

So, I can’t myself among those losers he mashed in the face of. What was I thinking when I wrote this?

[…] Devers is definitely experiencing a physical decline of some sort (he’s not hitting the ball as hard), but the decline from a good player to a practically useless one appears to be entirely self-engineered. It’s unlikely that a 29-year old goes out like this based on aging alone. But, as Buster Posey is fond of saying, baseball is hard.

The situation isn’t hopeless, especially since Devers wound up having a good year after a rough time following the trade last year. It’s just that nothing the Giants have done this year and most of the last decade should give anyone hope for a better future.

Well, okay. There it is. Misery is contagious. Because the Giants had been such a bummer, I simply mapped those vibes onto Devers’ season to that point and on the occasion of the 1-year anniversary of his acquisition: .235/.293/.413, 7.5 BB%, 30.3 K%, 9 HR, 33 RBI (94 wRC+).

And, nope, he was hurt! Not a physical decline! He also had a fantastic post-trade 2025 with the Giants and wound up playing in 163 games. I, and many others across the sport, let a bad start to the year confirm some statistical suspicions. Everyone’s been trying to predict his downfall and all because the Red Sox signed him to a long-term deal and then came to regret it when they viewed his AAV as being too cumbersome to manage under their self-imposed salary cap upon the realization that they needed more money to cover holes they didn’t realize were there.

But I was just a loser. I was never a hater. Just disappointed that this was another Giants move that didn’t seem to be working out in a season that already promised to be extremely painful. These were the haters:

One Year Later, the Rafael Devers Blockbuster Doesn’t Look So Great

The Giants’ Long-Term Contracts Are Becoming A Big Problem

Rafael Devers has already become the worst contract in baseball

Nearly one year after his controversial trade, Rafael Devers is now the 3rd worst player in MLB

Giant problems: How the 2026 season has gone off the rails for Rafael Devers, Buster Posey and San Francisco

The Red Sox made the right move by trading the overrated manchild that is Rafael Devers — It has only been one year, but Rafael Devers is already wearing out his welcome in San Francisco

Inside the Giants’ tailspin: Everything that’s gone wrong since the Rafael Devers trade

And here are some more in the hours following the trade (in case you needed a refresher).

Sure, less than a week after the 1-year anniversary there was a major public dispute between he and Tony Vitello which necessitated an apology, but that was a part of the larger story of Tony’s Terrible Start. I never accepted the Boston message that he was a clubhouse cancer, mainly because it was coming from Boston.

Grant Brisbee did a deep dive that offered up a pretty simple explanation:

Devers missed most of spring training, and when he returned, he faced pitchers who threw much harder than when he was a rookie. They pumped fastballs by him at the letters, which has always been the way to pitch him, but he was so concerned with them that he was whiffing on pitches down the middle. Devers wasn’t walking, so pitchers could expand the zone and get him to chase. He couldn’t get in a rhythm.

[…]

I don’t think it’s an accident that the nadir of Devers’ season in terms of OPS was April 30 (.537). It fits with the image of a player taking a deep breath and starting over. April couldn’t hurt him anymore. He immediately started an eight-game hitting streak, and while nothing can really hint at the kind of tear Devers has been on lately, he’s been the same hitter as always, which is pretty good indeed.

The tear he’s referencing is .275/.367/.588 (.955) from May 1st through September 7th. He was the third-best hitter in baseball (159 wRC+), trailing only Pete Crow-Armstrong (177) and Yordan Alvarez (166). When the smoke settled on the season, his average exit velocity of 93 mph was in the top 4% of MLB and his 51.6% Hard Hit rate was top 6%.

Folks, this elite hitter continued to be an elite hitter.

So, why is this such a big story deserving of the #3 spot of this top 5? It changes the narrative for many aspects of the Giants.

• They can pull off a big trade — they might have even won it
• Power hitters can hit for power at Oracle Park (19 HR, .533 slug at Oracle, 18 HR, .517 slug away)
• The Giants’ lineup really was just one big bopper away from being well above average — during this Devers hot streak, the Giants as a team were 10th in MLB (103 wRC+)
• Buster Posey is not completely ignorant about running a baseball operation

It’s very important to create some organizational certainty. Knowing that the middle of the order is basically set for the next couple of years is a very good thing. It makes it easier to build a lineup and it takes the pressure off, say, Bryce Eldridge to be the 40-home run guy. Not many lineups have 35-40% better than the league average hitters in them.

“Why don’t we just get good players” is a simple enough idea, but the reason why not every team does it is for the same reason why a lot of firms shy away from the seemingly obvious move: consequences. What if the obvious move doesn’t work out? If it were so obvious a move, why hadn’t somebody done it before? Doesn’t that indicate a huge downside? Well, sure. Devers’ contract could be a huge weight around the team’s next in a few years, but what really compounds it are the Adames and Chapman deals. I think Buster Posey made the move ignoring that for the enormous upside: what if we get one of the best hitters in baseball into our lineup?

The main reason why there was so much blowback from non-Giants fans is because most internet people are trying to get jobs in front offices and the best way to post into that position is to emphasize surplus value. The rest of the noise was Boston media-generated. At the end of the day, if the Giants think 3-4 years of Devers bringing 40+ home run power into Oracle Park is worth the obvious downside of the final 4 years then I don’t really see what the problem is; the Giants might need a flawed profile like him more than the Boston Red Sox, but they probably could’ve used a hitter like him in 2026, when their offense was below league average (99 wRC+).

It’s easy to forget that these professional athletes have a bare minimum of professionalism that gets them into nine-figure deals and they don’t necessarily need revenge as a motivator to rebalance themselves after a stumble — but my goodness, it’s nice to think that Rafael Devers’ season got better exponentially as he silenced his critics one after another with every clout and multi-hit game. The Giants might’ve had a bad season that put them on a course for oblivion, but not Rafael Devers. He had a great one, and if the Giants have nothing else, at least they have him.

We have a first-time champion in MLB, so it's only appropriate we got an equally big party.

The Milwaukee Brewers were the best team in baseball in 2026, their 103-59 record feeding into a 11-2 postseason run that culminated in the first World Series championship in franchise history.

Here's a look at the scenes from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, as the Brewers celebrated that championship after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5:

Get exclusive Brewers championship books, gear

World Series final out: The moment the Brewers won the championship

Brewers World Series trophy celebration

Watch Pat Murphy's postgame speech, Brewers pop bottles

“You boys oughta be awfully proud to know that you’re the first ever Milwaukee Brewers team to be World Champs”

The full speech by Pat Murphy to kick off the champagne celebration in the @Brewers clubhouse! pic.twitter.com/HuVnzkYP8r

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 29, 2026

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Watch Milwaukee Brewers' raucous celebrations after winning World Series

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Bob Uecker’s presence has remained a big part of the Brewers’ culture since he died last year, and in the franchise’s biggest moment on Wednesday night, Christian Yelich made sure the beloved broadcaster wasn’t forgotten. 

Yelich had a heartfelt message for Uecker after the Brewers won their first-ever World Series title, defeating the Rays 4-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. 

“He’s smiling, man,” Yelich said to Ken Rosenthal on the Fox broadcast. “I really wish he could have been here to see this. It would have meant everything to him, but we said a bunch, he’s been with us a lot. We keep him close to our hearts, and this one’s still for Bob and still for Ueck. Ueck, I love you, man, and we did it.” 

"He's smiling, man. He's smiling"

Christian Yelich and the Brewers did it for Ueck pic.twitter.com/EkBC8FsQa1

— MLB (@MLB) October 29, 2026

Uecker was the voice of the Brewers for 54 years and became a beloved figure among Brewers supporters and baseball fans as a whole.

Uecker died on Jan. 16, 2025, at the age of 90 after a private battle with cancer. 

Ahead of the first pitch on Wednesday, fans left beer cans at the Uecker statue, TMJ 4 reported. 

Following the final out, Hall of Famer CC Sabathia paid homage to Uecker in a post on X. 

“Bob Uecker smiling down,” wrote Sabathia, who spent the 2008 season in Milwaukee. 

During the Game 4 broadcast on Tuesday, Fox play-by-play man Joe Davis paid tribute to the famed Brewers announcer with his home run call on Cooper Pratt’s solo blast in the 12th inning. 

“Hitting a high drive! Deep left field! Get up, get up, gone!” Davis said, emulating Uecker’s signature home run call of “Get up, get up, get outta here, gone!”

“Ueck is obviously a guy that you grew up listening to and was underrated because he was such a comic genius that his ability to master the craft and be an amazing play-by-play announcer didn’t get enough love,” Davis told MLB.com.

“I say that to say I was always studying him and listening to him, and just by osmosis, that stuff is in there.”