Category: Baseball

Good morning, Purple Row!

Here’s what’s going on with the Colorado Rockies and the rest of Major League Baseball.

Rockies News & Links

Rox OF prospect Arguelles grew up admiring CarGo. Now he’s drawing comparisons | MLB.com

Cristian Arguelles (No. 5 PuRP) made a name for himself in the Rockies farm system in 2026. As it turns out, however, he’s had another Rockies name on his mind since he was a kid when Carlos González was his favorite player. The 19-year-old outfielder has modeled his game after former All-Star and is starting to see results reminiscent of a young CarGo with high a high batting average and a mixture of speed and power. If you weren’t already excited to watch Arguelles progression through the minors, this piece from Thomas Harding will make you a fan.

Rockies eye aggressive offseason following fourth consecutive 100-loss season | Blake Street Banter

If you want a comprehensive, one-stop-shop overview of the current state of the Rockies roster needs and possible goals this offseason, Tyler Paddor has you covered. This lengthy piece digs into the current state of the roster as well as sorting through all the different avenues the front office could take in order to address its biggest needs. It’s a bird’s-eye view but one that provides a wonderfully all-encompassing view of the Rockies goals and options this winter.

Around MLB

Brewers defeat Rays 4-1 to win franchise’s first World Series | Brew Crew Ball

The 2026 MLB season is officially over with the Milwaukee Brewers having earned their first championship in franchise history. Do yourself a favor and take a moment to soak in the joy and relief present in the recap and game thread comments over at Brew Crew Ball. That feeling of decades of waiting culminating in a triumphant moment of celebration is what all sports fans are in search of and it’s remarkably easy to lose sight of the goal when mired in the day-to-day minutae.

Arizona Fall League Midseason Check-In | FanGraphs

With the AFL in full swing, prospect evaluators have assembled enough data to start making adjustments to the reports on players that are showing changes to their skillsets. Eric Longenhagen does just that in this piece that combs through the most notable prospects present in the AFL and gives updates on how their stock has shifted. No Rockies made the cut for inclusion in the piece, but it’s still a useful glimpse at the state of prospects across the game.

Top 40 MLB free agents for 2026-27: Contract predictions, team fits for Skubal, Peralta, more | The Athletic ($)

As is tradition, Jim Bowden over at the Athletic has released his free agent contract predictions. The former GM has historically had a knack for getting the dollar figures pretty close to where they end up, though in recent seasons other publications may have caught up to his accuracy. Interestingly, Bowden lists the Rockies among the best team fits for two free agents: outfielder Taylor Ward and NPB starting pitcher Kaima Taira.

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Welcome to a new series that I will occasionally run between the free agent profiles and random nonsense: plugging holes in the roster with trades. These trades might be unlikely because the Cardinals won’t pay the price, they may be unlikely because the other team is not actually interested in trading them, or a much more depressing possibility is the Cardinals are not actually that interested in improving the team this offseason.

My stance this offseason, which I don’t believe the Cardinals share, is that the Cardinals should try to actually win in 2027. I will bring up a past example, unfortunately a rival, but in 2014, the Cubs won 73 games. They had an emerging core with Jake Arrieta turning into an ace, Kris Byrant about to have his service time manipulated, Anthony Rizzo standing on top of the plate on the way to multiple All-Star appearances, and a very good farm system not very far away (led by Bryant, Baez, and Contreras). They signed Jon Lester, Jason Hammel, and traded for Dexter Fowler. They won 97 games.

So yes, I am going to spend most of this offseason acting like the Cardinals may make moves, both because it gives me something to write about and also to get it out there that some Cardinals fans want the Cardinals to make moves. Don’t sit on your ass. Please. Abrams is just one possibility, but please do something this offseason to show you care about winning. Rant over.

Let’s get the difficult part of this trade out of the way. I saw Abrams as a name that might be traded on the em el bee website and the rationale was that Abrams wanted to stay at SS and the Nationals are trying to move him away from SS. Which would obviously present a problem for the Cardinals if Abrams really is hung up on playing SS. The problem is that he’s one of the worst defenders in baseball at SS. He legitimately has no range defensively. He was 1st percentile in range this year, 2nd percentile last year, 1st percentile the year before, 3rd percentile in his first two seasons – like he just can’t play SS. He has never at any point looked like can play SS.

I feel like if I am delusional about my ability to play my position and then I’m traded specifically because of my stubborness about playing that position and I go to a team where the position I want to play is manned by a back-to-back Gold Glove winner – okay fine I’ll change positions. Abrams is going to face that reality at some point, probably next year quite frankly, and the Cardinals situation is about as smooth as you can ask for – it would be impossible to argue that no, actually, I deserve to play over the Gold Glover. So big hurdle, but should be the kind of thing you can figure out before you agree to a trade.

The bad news is that he has zero professional games at 3B – I hate that I keep proposing players with no experience at 3B, 3B is not in a good place right now across the league. The good news is that it’s hard to see how he could have much worse of a defensive impact than is already baked into his value. Range is less important at 3B than it is at SS or even at 2B and he has a strong enough arm for 3B, with 53rd percentile arm strength. Hardly a strength but he throws harder than either Blaze Jordan and Thomas Saggese. I think even without the presence of JJ Wetherholt, 3B might be the better move for him.

I don’t even think I have to do much work to figure out his value. He was worth 3 fWAR in 2025 and 3.7 fWAR last year. Last year came with what looks to me a bit of an elevated offensive line from what I would expect. He had a 17.6 HR/FB% (career 11.6%) and a much lower xwOBA than actual wOBA (.333 compared to .358). So he’s an above average hitter, but I think the current 109 wRC+ Fangraphs has projected for “rest of season” is basically right. He derives a lot of value from his baserunning too – 143 stolen bases to 25 caught stealing in his last four seasons (average of 35 a season). So he might be worth half a win from his baserunning.

So terrible defender, great baserunner, above average hitter – again I’ll defer to the Fangraphs rest of season projection, which is actually just a full season, but it has him with 3 WAR. That seems right to me. He will be 26 next year and has two years of team control. Because he’s 26, I’m relatively comfortable saying he’s a 3 WAR player in 2028 too. Even if that’s not what the projections will say, that’s probably his trade value. How much is he getting paid? According to MLB trade rumors, $10.2 million in 2027. Which means his 2028 value should be around $15.3 million.

That means in prospect value, valued at 6 wins across two years while getting paid $25.5 million, Abrams will be valued at $34.5 million. Fangraphs has posted an updated evaluation of prospects and that is almost exactly what a 50 future value pitcher is worth. The other option, at least by this system, is to give the Nats a 45+ future value pitcher ($15 million) and a 45+ FV hitter ($18.5 million). The numbers work out weirdly well.

Okay what do the Nationals need? Probably not a catcher. Keibert Ruiz is going to be in year 5 of an eight-year-deal and he was actually decent for the first time since 2022 last season. Top 100 prospect Harry Ford is behind him. They already traded for a big catching prospect, they probably are going to let Ford sink or swim before trying the next solution.

Look no further than the Nationals actually if you want to throw some cold water on relying on prospects. Dylan Crews sure looks like a bust. Daylen Lile had a promising rookie year and… then had a below average season in his first full season. Brady House took some big steps in his second year and was worth 0.6 fWAR in 95 games. Both Ruiz and Ford haven’t really justified their prospect ranking at all yet. Josiah Gray has been pretty underwhelming five years in.

Anyway, to answer the question of what they need? It’s kind of complicated, because of the above paragraph. You can never go wrong with pitchers and outfielders though and the Nationals could definitely use a 1B. Alec Burleson makes no sense on either side quite frankly, because the Cardinals would give up all the gains they made by getting Abrams and the Nats would presumably not want someone with two years of team control, cause if they thought they were close, they wouldn’t trade Abrams.

In theory, Blaze Jordan is perfect, except I don’t know if the Nationals are actually interested in him. He’s largely not expected to be able to play 3B (I know the small sample said he could, I am skeptical), and I’m not sure his bat is good enough for 1B. The Nationals probably think the exact same thing. Jack Gurevitch is also an option. If you’re wondering the Nats do have two top 100 prospects in the middle infield in AA, but maybe they’d be interested in one of the Cardinals utility players to replace Abrams in the short term. So with my two premises and a few possible proposals within that premise, here is what I came up with

50 FV Pitcher Proposal

CJ Abrams andRiley Cornelio for Jurrangelo Cjntje and Blaze Jordan

Yeah I tried to justify a different pitcher, but this is the prompt. I’m using Fangraphs, and of course other sources may think other pitchers are 50 FV, but the two options given by Fangraphs are Cjintje and Liam Doyle. There is just about no way Brandon Clarke or Tekoah Roby or Cooper Hjerpe have the value of a 50 FV prospect at this point. Tanner Franklin might but he’s no easier to stomach than Cjintje to be honest. I wanted to put Daniel Eagen here because I don’t have an attachment to him, but I don’t think he’s a 50 FV pitcher either.

Because Jordan is a bit too much technically, I wanted the Nats to throw in a reliever too. But holy hell are their relief options terrible. They had a worse bullpen than the Cardinals. Cornelio struck out 37% of batters in AAA and had a very strong September (31.3 K%), so maybe there’s something here. Clayton Beeter is a possibility too. Luis Perales would effectively be a Rule 5 guy, but he’s going to be 24 with no options and according to Fangraphs has a 65 fastball, 60 slider, and 70 cutter… with 30 command.

The specific relief pitcher is not important. Pick your most promising guy. And if the Nats aren’t interested in Jordan, I’ll give them Bryan Torres.

I already know most of you are saying no to this.

45+ FV Hitter and Pitcher Proposal

CJ Abrams for Brandon Clarke and Jesus Baez

I’m not setting out to trade Clarke or Baez… but if an opportunity presents itself, I’m cashing in my chips. I think most Cardinals fans are vastly overrating the likelihood that Baez is going to be good, which is funny because I was definitely the high man on him entering the year. But he was not good in High A for half the year before destroying the ball in Springfield, he doesn’t walk, he has always had low BABIPs, and the home run ball in the minors makes his numbers untrustworthy. Clarke speaks for itself, to the point that I’m not sure he’s actually considered a 45+ prospect at this point.

If Clarke is a no go in a trade, sorry Daniel Eagen, I have no attachment to you, you’re found money at this point. If you work out, I don’t think I’d care in the same way as the other 45+ FV guys.

Conclusion

Yeah I largely expect a pretty healthy dose of nos in response to my article. Just for the record, this is what it would take. If you theoretically want Abrams, but not any of these trades, you don’t want Abrams. You aren’t going to get Abrams for prospects that don’t hurt to give up. And granted, I’m sure a lot of nos are going to be of the “doesn’t make sense where this team is at right now” and yeah fair enough. I’m actually not crazy about making these trades either. I just thought it was interesting to explore.

Book Corner

One of my first comments about Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow was that I was simultaneously listening to a history podcast on Aaron Burr. The contrast was interesting. The podcast was more or less from the Burr perspective. Obviously, the book was from the Hamilton perspective. I suppose this had a negative effect on the book, because I kind of don’t buy into the book’s take on Burr or the duel itself. I have my own issues with the podcast, but this is the book corner.

I want to say this delicately but Chernow is clearly a Hamilton fanboy and I don’t think people who love the book would disagree with that. But I think the duel is a lot less clear than he portrays it. I happen to think it’s very possible Hamilton accidentally made a really bad shot, I think it’s very possible if he ended up dying, he knew he would come out looking the best if he acted like he would miss on purpose. Both sides agreed they fired at very similar times. I think Nathan Pendleton’s account is straight up unreliable because he wanted Hamilton to look good and Burr to look bad.

I just am making the point that the picture we get of the duel, and not just from this book to be fair, is almost entirely one-sided in Hamilton’s favor and it’s because he died. Everything Burr had ever done at that point was completely erased or colored with that fact. People with no ill thoughts of Burr prior to the duel suddenly might have bad things to say about things Burr did in the 1790s.

And I’m aware Hamilton is not the only one with negative things to say about Burr, but given the time period and the animosity of the Federalists and Republicans, it’s so incredibly easy to find negative quotes. I realize he never got along with Thomas Jefferson, but Burr was able to be vice president for a reason. He was reasonably well-liked. It’s tricky because I know his bias and overwhelming love of Hamilton is part of why people love the book, but when it came to Burr, it genuinely felt like Hamilton rose from the dead and inhabited his body to write those passages, which kind of just made me not trust anything he said about Burr.

Fundamentally, I believe both entered the duel for political reasons. I don’t agree with dueling of course, but if both parties agree to it, then I can’t view either side as the “villain” but Chernow so clearly portrays him as one. Like yeah he probably had murderous intent, kind of the whole point, kill or be killed and all? If Hamilton missed on purpose, how the hell was Burr supposed to know that? Both sides agreed both shot within a few seconds of each other.

Anyway just my two cents, I enjoyed reading it, didn’t love the Burr stuff. (I am aware he was later accused of treason, but that’s a combination of trusting the slimeball James Wilkinson and being an opponent of Jefferson, cause there was no real evidence for it)

Today’s Reflections

Good morning!

I will be on vacation the next two weeks. I want to thank Al, Ashley and Josh who will be filling in for me.

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I just love small ball! What a great game!

I’m someone that is just watching the series for fun, not cheering for either team. I’m of course missing the emotional stress, but the general excitement was extremely contagious for Tampa Bay’s extra-inning comeback win in an elimination game Tuesday.

A 22-year-old rookie, Cooper Pratt, hit the go-ahead home run for Milwaukee in the top of the 12th, his fourth hit of the game. And in one of the great things about baseball, the Rays one-uppped the Brewers in the bottom of the inning. After a Brewer error, a single to left and a single to right tied the game. After a single to center loaded the bases, pinch-hitter Ben Williamson’s first-pitch single to right drove in the winning run. Four singles after an error, two runs, and it was beautiful.

I appreciate your reading. See y’all in a couple of weeks!

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PCA Fully Kicks Off the Award Season in a Big Way:

• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Pete Crow-Armstrong is the Players Choice NL Outstanding Player and Player of the Year for 2026! “The MLBPA put out a celebratory video on PCA’s win, and it features comments from so many of the league’s other stars about how impressive the Cubs’ center fielder is.”
• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong voted Player of the Year in Players Choice Awards as award-season haul begins. “Crow-Armstrong, who is expected to be named an award-winner plenty in the wake of his remarkable, all-timer of a campaign, started to fill his mantle Wednesday, named the winner of a pair of Players Choice Awards.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): Which Cubs can take home hardware? “Happ is the only outfielder in Cubs history with more than two career Gold Gloves.” (I didn’t know that — guess I missed that fact and thought I’d share)

How About Some More Free Agent and Trade Talk?

• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): A New Pitcher Target from Taiwan, Perhaps? Jyun-Yue Tseng Hits the Market. “It seems Tseng Jyun-Yue now wants to see if he could make the jump to MLB … with an NL Central team interested.”
• Jason Ross (North Side Baseball): Offseason Primer: A State of the Union on the Cubs’ Bullpen. “As the offseason prepares to kick off, what is the State of the Union in the Cub’s bullpen? Will it be a strength or a weakness of the 2027 club?“
• Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib): Free-agent miss Cubs fans were furious about became a blessing in disguise. “Talk about dodging a bullet.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Ian Happ’s Free Agent Contract May Come Down to What a Team Believes About a Certain Part of His 2026 Performance. “My perspective on Happ is that he is (1) a perfectly solid starter in left field (especially for a club that is otherwise losing both starting corner outfielders AND two bench outfielders to free agency), (2) worth retaining on a relative bargain deal if it comes to that.”
• Carson Wolf (Just Baseball): Cubs Free Agents: Who Stays and Who Goes? “The Chicago Cubs face several free-agent decisions this winter. Here’s who they should bring back and who’s more likely to move on.”
• Alexander Rosquez (LastWordOnSports): Cubs Offseason Needs Go Well Beyond Replacing Happ and Suzuki. “The Cubs’ offseason needs aren’t one problem but several, and they arrive with a calendar that may not wait.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Carson Kelly is Probably Going to Get a Whole Lot of Attention This Offseason. “Ryan Jeffers and Tyler Stephenson are probably at the top of the heap, and although each is a fine starter, neither is a roster-changer. That could leave Carson Kelly as one of the best options.”
• Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib): Cubs could turn Eugenio Suárez’s fall from grace into an offseason steal. “Would Suarez be my top choice? No. But if we’re bargain bin shopping to round out the roster and need some pop, the Cubs could do worse.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): How Active Will the Chicago Cubs Be Before the Lockout Begins? “Will the Chicago Cubs be aggressive early in the offseason, given their robust set of needs on the pitching side (plus some questions in the corner outfield spots and behind the plate)? Let history be our guide.”
• Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): As Cubs Consider Buying Low on a Bat, These 5 Names Stand Out. “The Cubs have a lot of work to do on their lineup as they look toward 2027, but much of their money and prospect capital will need to be spent on pitching. That could leave them shopping for bats in the bargain bin.”

Hitting/Defense Stories:

• Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): How Alex Bregman’s Arrival Brought Dansby Swanson Back to the Shortstop Upper Crust—For Now. “It’s all about communication. It’s all about trust. It’s all about one extra step, and in 2026, the Cubs’ infield had all those things going for them. Now, a challenge: do all that again in 2027.”
• Paul Niemiec (North Side Baseball): Corner Outfield Conundrum: What to Do with Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki. “The Cubs have decisions to make regarding their outfield, with both of Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ set to become free agents. There’s no obvious, easy way forward, so which path should they take?”

Assorted Stories:

• Jesse Borek (MLB.com): Cubs’ catching prospect makes most of opportunity once again, this time in the AFL. “In addition to his work behind the plate, the Cubs have gotten Useche looks at first base and both corner outfield spots in an effort to give him more of a utilityman vibe as he heads into his age-26 campaign.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): In Case You Were Wondering Why Players Oppose a 50/50 Revenue Split. “When we’re talking about a multifaceted industry that depends solely on baseball players, it’s only fair that the players be included in some of the spoils.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune {$}): Column: Security upgrades are underway at Wrigley Field while Chicago Cubs watch the World Series on TV. “The Cubs are currently ripping up sidewalks outside the park for security updates, including the addition of bollards, in conjunction with the planned 2027 All-Star Game.”

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Food For Thought:

Samuel John “Lightnin'” Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. The musicologist Robert “Mack” McCormick opined that Hopkins is “the embodiment of the jazz-and-poetry spirit, representing its ancient form in the single creator whose words and music are one act”. He influenced Townes Van Zandt, Hank Williams, Jr., and a generation of blues musicians such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, whose Grammy-nominated song “Rude Mood” was directly inspired by the Texan’s song “Hopkins’ Sky Hop”. In his own lifetime, Hopkins was one of the initial inductees in 1980 to the Blues Hall of Fame.

As a child, Hopkins was immersed in the sounds of the blues. He developed a deep appreciation for the music at the age of eight, when he met Blind Lemon Jefferson at a church picnic in Buffalo, Texas. Hopkins began accompanying Jefferson on guitar at informal church gatherings. Jefferson reputedly never let anyone play with him except Hopkins, and Hopkins learned much from Jefferson at these gatherings. In the mid-1930s, Hopkins was sent to Houston County Prison Farm, but why he was imprisoned is unknown.

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.

Meet the Mets

After the Mets considered going after hitting coach John Mallee, the Cubs reworked his contract to keep him in Chicago.

Chelsea Janes offered up responses in a mailbag piece that touches on the Mets’ potential pursuits of Tarik Skubal Skubal and Teruaki Sato, among other things.

Around the National League East

Former Mets pitcher Zack Wheeler was named the National League Comeback Player of the Year.

Battery Power reviewed Owen Murphy’s season with the Braves.

Federal Baseball takes a look at whether or not Jake Irvin will be on the Nationals next year and writes that Luke Williams has the potential to be a breakout prospect for the team in 2027.

Around Major League Baseball

The Brewers beat the Rays in Game 5 to win the World Series for the first time in franchise history.

Even with a World Series win, the Brewers could very well trade away some of the players who got them there.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Vasilis Drimalitis took a look at the underwhelming season that Mark Vientos had this year.

This Date in Mets History

Shortly after helping the Mets win their first World Series title, Tom Seaver won his first Cy Young Award on this date in 1969.

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.