Shohei Ohtani couldn’t make it through an entire season as a two-way player as a 32-year-old.
Chances are, he won’t be able to do it next season as a 33-year-old.
Which is why Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman’s responses to a couple of questions he fielded on Wednesday were particularly alarming.
In retrospect, could Ohtani have been healthier in the playoffs if the Dodgers had managed him differently earlier in the season?
“I don’t know the answer to that,” Friedman said
Considering where Ohtani is age-wise, is it still possible for him to play both ways for a full season?
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani watches from the dugout during the ninth inning of Game 4 of baseball’s National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. AP Photo/Gregory Bull
Because if he wasn’t, that would signal a major problem – specifically, that the Dodgers are detached from reality.
Before they decide how aggressively they will pursue Tarik Skubal or how quickly they want to turn over their geriatric roster, the Dodgers must have an honest conversation with Ohtani about how he can return to being a two-way player without condemning himself to another October in which he looks as if he crawled from a nearby infirmary into the batter’s box.
Such as how them acquiescening to his wish to play through knee and arm injuries was a major reason why he was physically compromised when the games mattered most.
Or how him setting out to be a designated-hitter-slash-pitcher for an entire season is a suicide mission at this stage of his career.
Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers, speaks to the media prior to game one of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field in Milwaukee. Getty Images
The Dodgers’ relationship with Ohtani isn’t a typical employer-employee relationship, nor should it be. But the way the team prioritized Ohtani’s desires over common sense this year pointed to there being an imbalance in power that was counterproductive. Friedman’s reluctance to acknowledge Ohtani’s limitations didn’t dispel this notion.
Friedman said the Dodgers’ braintrust would work with Ohtani to come up with a plan to improve his chances of being healthy in the playoffs, but he sounded as if he would be counting on the player’s team-first mentality to resolve the team’s concerns.
“He is awesome about saying, ‘Hey, whatever it takes to help the team win,’” Friedman said. “He means it. Private conversations, public conversations.”
Of course, in Ohtani’s mind, that means him taking on as much as humanly possible.
“I intend on doing everything,” he said in Japanese.
If Ohtani insists on shouldering the same workload he had early this season, will the Dodgers be able to stand their ground?
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani reacts after hitting a three-run home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the second inning in Game 4 of the NLCS. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
If he is convinced a new offseason training regimen will allow him to go wire-to-wire as a two-way player, will the Dodgers be able to convince him the risks outweigh the potential rewards?
The Dodgers should know by now that Ohtani won’t place any limits on himself.
That’s worked for Ohtani for the most part, as his physical gifts have made it possible for him to overcome the majority of obstacles placed in front of him.
But no athlete has ever defeated the calendar, and this season provided the tangible evidence that Ohtani won’t be an exception to the rule.
By mid-July, Ohtani was shut down as a pitcher because of problems with his left knee and right arm. By mid-August, he was finished as an MVP-caliber hitter.
In the playoffs, he was more of an imagined threat than an actual one, as he batted just .192 and struck out 10 times in 32 plate appearances. He didn’t homer until the night the Dodgers were eliminated.
Friedman sounded as if he knew what had to be done.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani reacts after striking out during the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the NLCS. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
“Whether we start a little late …” Friedman said at one point, likely in reference to the idea that Ohtani could delay the start of his season as a pitcher.
And if Ohtani is playing both ways from the start of the season, Friedman raised the question about how the Dodgers are “going to manage that in the first month and then assess things.”
Whatever their thoughts are, the Dodgers have to share them with Ohtani.
They have to be direct.
If Ohtani is as open-minded as Friedman described him, he should understand that they want not only what’s best for the team but also what’s best for him.
Ohtani isn’t 20-something anymore. He has to adjust. The Dodgers have to guide him there, and that starts with them providing him with a candid evaluation of his newfound limitations.
That total is slightly larger than the 2006 World Series between the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals, whose markets combined for 3.22 million television households. The 2006 matchup itself is the smallest since the Cardinals faced the Minnesota Twins in 1987.
“Obviously, on the margins, that hurts, right?” Victor Matheson, a professor at Holy Cross who studies sports economics, told USA TODAY. “Because again, you're likely to have bigger viewership numbers in the towns that are playing.”
The Rays’ previous World Series against the Dodgers in 2020 was the seventh largest since 2006. But pairing Tampa Bay with Milwaukee – the smallest MLB market – produces one of the smallest combined markets in decades.
The Brewers last reached the World Series in 1982, when they faced the Cardinals. With St. Louis having a television market of 1.28 million, that series barely eclipsed 2 million households by 2026 figures.
Milwaukee ranks as the 39th largest television market in the U.S. by Nielsen with an estimated 960,000 homes having a TV.
The Rays’ Tampa-St. Petersburg market, meanwhile, is over twice as large at 2.28 million and is 11th nationwide.
But Matheson said smaller markets can have an advantage of their own: pent-up demand. While fans in Los Angeles have enjoyed several recent World Series appearances, the Brewers haven’t reached the Fall Classic since their seven-game loss to St. Louis in 1982.
For fans in Milwaukee, Matheson said, the chance to see their team win its first championship could feel like a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” which could potentially drive greater local interest despite the city’s small population.
That logic could apply to the Rays as well, as Tampa Bay is also searching for their first title, although it has made the World Series three times now in the past 20 years.
Other factors can come into play, too. For instance, star power like Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski could draw eyeballs that might otherwise tune out.
Do bigger markets mean more World Series viewers?
Yet despite natural concerns about a small-market World Series, the size of the participating teams' television markets has shown little relationship with how many people watch.
Indeed, the most-viewed World Series since 2000 had fewer than 4 million combined households – when the Boston Red Sox ended its 86-year curse by sweeping St. Louis in 2004.
A tighter correlation may be found when the series was played; World Series viewership has generally declined since 2000, meaning that modern editions have a tougher hill to climb.
“There's a million things people can do now that they couldn't a generation or two ago,” Matheson said. “In the old days, we only had three channels on TV when I was growing up.”
The 2023 matchup between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks, which averaged just over nine million viewers per game – the lowest in World Series history – highlights that decline.
Matheson cautioned that if this year’s edition draws a similarly small audience, the Brewers’ and Rays’ home markets wouldn’t necessarily be the only reason. The increasingly fragmented television landscape could also play a role.
Regardless, Milwaukee and Tampa Bay can’t increase the size of their markets. But they do have something a ratings projection can’t measure: the chance to give baseball fans a championship story worth watching.
Methodology: USA TODAY obtained estimated television households for MLB markets from Nielsen Media Research. Toronto's market size came from Canadian audience measurement organization Numeris, which estimated 3.23 million households with TV access in the Toronto/Hamilton market for 2026-27. World Series viewership averages for 2000-25 were compiled by Nielsen and obtained via Baseball Almanac. For consistency, the same 2026-27 market estimates were applied to every historical matchup.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - APRIL 01: Garrett Mitchell #5 of the Milwaukee Brewers steals second base as Ben Williamson #15 of the Tampa Bay Rays takes the throw at American Family Field on April 01, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
For the first time since 1980, we have a World Series matchup of two teams without a title. While plenty of teams have claimed their first title since that time (the 2023 Rangers were the most recent), this is the first time in 46 years that we’re heading into a World Series where we are guaranteed to see a franchise claim its first title.
Let’s take a quick look at how both teams got here, starting with the American League’s Tampa Bay Rays.
Tampa Bay Rays
While the Rays are in their 29th season, they’ve already claimed three AL pennants, though they haven’t yet captured their first championship. Their previous appearances in the World Series came in 2008, when they beat the Red Sox in seven games in the ALCS before losing to the Phillies in five games, and in 2020, when they took down the Astros in another seven-game ALCS before losing in a neutral World Series in Texas, as the Dodgers won 4-2.
After spending the entire 2025 season at George M. Steinbrenner Field — the Yankees’ spring training home — due to Hurricane Milton’s damage to Tropicana Field, they returned home this year and turned in the best record in the American League, going 98-64. They’re back in the World Series after sweeping the Yankees in the ALDS and claiming the ALCS in six games over the Guardians.
Led by manager Kevin Cash, who won back-to-back AL Manager of the Year Awards in 2020 and 2021, the Rays outperformed preseason expectations behind one of the strongest pitching staffs in baseball and an above-average offense.
There isn’t much homegrown talent in Tampa, but they’ve done an incredible job of scouting under-the-radar players from across the league. The ALCS roster was constructed as follows:
MLB Draft (3): LHP Ian Seymour, OF Chandler Simpson, SS Taylor Walls
International Signing (1): 1B Jonathan Aranda
Trade (16): RHP Bryan Baker (2025 trade deadline), 3B Junior Caminero (2021-22 offseason), OF Jonny DeLuca (2023-24 offseason), DH Yandy Díaz (2018-19 offseason), C Nick Fortes (2025 trade deadline), C Liam Hicks (2026 trade deadline), RHP Brody Hopkins (2024 trade deadline), RHP Griffin Jax (2025 trade deadline), OF Victor Mesa Jr. (2025-26 offseason), INF Richie Palacios (2023-24 offseason), RHP Freddy Peralta (2026 trade deadline), RHP Drew Rasmussen (2021 midseason), RHP Cole Sulser (2024 trade deadline), OF Ryan Vilade (2025-26 offseason), RHP Tyler Wells (2026 trade deadline), 2B Ben Williamson (2025-26 offseason)
Free agency (5): LHP Cam Booser, RHP Nick Martinez, INF Jorge Mateo, LHP Steven Matz, OF Cedric Mullins
Rule 5 Draft (1): RHP Kevin Kelly
As I said, just look at how good some of those trade acquisitions look in retrospect. Bryan Baker is one of the best closers in baseball, and they got him for the No. 37 draft pick in last year’s draft. Junior Caminero is an MVP candidate who they picked up from the Guardians for Tobias Myers. Yandy Díaz was also acquired from the Guardians in a three-team deal, where Tampa Bay departed with Jake Bauers and cash. More recent deadline acquisitions in Griffin Jax, Freddy Peralta, and Liam Hicks cost them Taj Bradley and six prospects (none of them in MLB’s top 100).
That’s what most in the industry would probably define as “fleecing.”
How has that roster fared?
On the mound, they’re led by starters Drew Rasmussen and Peralta — both former Brewers — as well as Nick Martinez, a familiar foe for Milwaukee from his time with the Reds. The aforementioned Baker led the majors with 41 saves and hasn’t blown a save since May 13, spanning 30 regular season and five postseason saves. In fact, all four of those arms have been great this postseason:
The rest of the bullpen — which includes Kevin Kelly, Tyler Wells, Cam Booser, Brody Hopkins, Steven Matz, Cole Sulser, and Jax and Ian Seymour in starter-reliever roles — has been good, not great, this postseason, with a 3.60 bullpen ERA and 32 strikeouts across 30 innings.
Offensively, they’re led by Caminero, Díaz, Hicks, Jonathan Aranda, and speedster Chandler Simpson, who gives Billy Hamilton vibes. Díaz has been the best hitter in the postseason, slashing .308/.341/.564 with 12 hits, including a pair of homers and four doubles. Caminero and Aranda have also homered, while Simpson has led a steal-happy squad (perfect 11-for-11 this postseason) with three steals. Other regulars include Victor Mesa Jr., Jonny DeLuca, Taylor Walls, and Richie Palacios, with Ben Williamson, Ryan Vilade, Cedric Mullins, and Nick Fortes rounding out the bench.
Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers had another great season under Matt Arnold & Pat Murphy, winning their fourth consecutive NL Central title and becoming the first team in the division to do so. They also won 103 games, breaking their previous franchise record of 97 wins set in 2025.
To get here, they had to go through two of the hottest teams in baseball down the stretch in the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers. The Padres swept the Cubs in the NL Wild Card Series and put up quite the fight against Milwaukee, as the Brewers eked out three wins in a 3-1 series victory. The Dodgers, who took three of four from the Braves in the NLDS, were the Goliath to Milwaukee’s David after sweeping the Crew in the 2025 NLCS. This time, the Brewers flipped the script, sweeping the Dodgers en route to their first World Series since 1982 and marking the first time they’ve made it as a National League team.
Per MLB.com, the Brewers got more out of the MLB Draft than every other playoff team with the exception of Cleveland. That includes first-round picks Brice Turang (2018), Garrett Mitchell (2020), and Sal Frelick (2021), as well as junior college finds in Jacob Misiorowski (2022), Logan Henderson (2021), and Aaron Ashby (2017). They also picked up starting shortstop Cooper Pratt in the sixth round back in 2023, pulling him away from a college commitment.
They have three international signees — Jackson Chourio (2021) and Luis Lara (2022) out of Venezuela, and Abner Uribe (2018) out of the Dominican Republic.
Shockingly, the only free agent on this team is catcher Gary Sánchez, who signed a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2027 back in February.
The other 15 projected players on the team came via trade. This group includes Jake Bauers, William Contreras, Joey Ortiz, DL Hall, David Hamilton, Trevor Megill, Chad Patrick, Robert Gasser, Shane Drohan, Kyle Harrison, Dustin May, JoJo Romero, Antonio Senzatela, Andrew Vaughn, and Christian Yelich.
I should note that if Brandon Woodruff somehow miraculously makes the roster, he would add one more to the draft group, as he was taken in the 11th round out of Mississippi State back in 2014. He’d likely take the spot of either Harrison or Patrick, neither of whom has pitched this postseason.
The offense is anchored by Turang, Contreras, and Chourio, but the supporting pieces are solid too — Murphy has seemingly found the right mix this postseason, with Pratt, Bauers, and Mitchell joining those three as everyday players while Hamilton and Ortiz split duties at third base, Lara and Frelick split duties in right, and Vaughn and Yelich split duties at designated hitter.
On the mound, the Misiorowski-Henderson-Gasser combo has worked well atop the rotation, with May and Drohan next in line, though neither of them has been given all that long of a leash here in the playoffs. For the bullpen, the back end combination of Megill, Uribe, and Ashby has been fantastic; Hall has also been solid, and deadline acquisitions Romero and Senzatela have been better in the postseason than they were down the stretch.
Probable Pitchers
Note: Pitching matchups will be filled in as they’re announced
Game 1 (Milwaukee): Friday, October 23 @ 7:00 p.m.: RHP Jacob Misiorowski (2 GS, 0-0, 3.24 ERA, 1.90 FIP) vs. TBD
Misiorowski is slated to get the ball in Friday’s series opener, and while he hasn’t been quite as sharp as he was in the regular season, he’s still been a solid presence atop the rotation. He’s made two starts thus far, totaling just 8 1/3 innings as he’s allowed three runs on nine hits and four walks, striking out 11. The likely NL Cy Young winner after a league-leading 1.80 ERA, 2.17 FIP, and 252 strikeouts, Miz went six innings in a no-decision against the Rays back in April, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out seven. You can certainly expect him to come out the gates with the high heat on Friday night.
Game 2 (Milwaukee): Saturday, October 24 @ 7:00 p.m.: TBD vs. TBD
Game 3 (Tampa Bay): Monday, October 26 @ 7:00 p.m.: TBD vs. TBD
Game 4 (Tampa Bay): Tuesday, October 27 @ 7:00 p.m.: TBD vs. TBD
Game 5 (if necessary) (Tampa Bay): Wednesday, October 28 @ 7:00 p.m.: TBD vs. TBD
Game 6 (if necessary) (Milwaukee): Friday, October 30 @ 7:00 p.m.: TBD vs. TBD
Game 7 (if necessary) (Milwaukee): Saturday, October 31 @ 7:00 p.m.: TBD vs. TBD
How to watch and listen
Friday, October 23: Nationally televised on FOX & FOX One; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Saturday, October 24: Nationally televised on FOX & FOX One; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Monday, October 26: Nationally televised on FOX & FOX One; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Tuesday, October 27: Nationally televised on FOX & FOX One; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Wednesday, October 28: Nationally televised on FOX & FOX One; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Friday, October 30: Nationally televised on FOX & FOX One; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Saturday, October 31: Nationally televised on FOX & FOX One; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Prediction
This is probably the most excited, but also the most anxious I’ve ever been as a Brewers fan. These are obviously two fantastic teams, and they match up pretty evenly on paper. It certainly won’t be a cakewalk for either side. Give me the Brewers to claim their first title in six games.
BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 23: A general view as Shane Baz #34 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches against the Tampa Bay Rays during the third inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 23, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Hello, friends.
There are now 153 days remaining until the next scheduled Orioles game. You know the drill by now.
On the other hand, the World Series starts tomorrow. It will be over by, at the latest, Halloween. Between the Rays and the Brewers, there will be a first-time winner crowned. I think that’s fun. If all else is equal, I like to root for long droughts being broken. I think it’s good to put that kind of energy out there. Some day, maybe, it will be the Orioles turn to try to break a long drought, and it would be nice to be a sympathetic favorite at that time.
I know not every Orioles fan agrees, with some people preferring that teams ahead of the Orioles on the list not get scratched off to push the O’s closer to the top of the list of failure. It is not fun to be on those lists. Only five teams have gone longer than the Orioles without winning a title. If the Brewers win this World Series, that will be four.
The Padres and Mariners have also never won it, the Guardians last title was in 1948, and the Pirates haven’t won since (sigh) 1979. I wasn’t alive for that one, but I’ve heard enough about it, and I don’t think my “root for the longest drought to end” philosophy would ever apply to Pittsburgh. Wasn’t a whole lot of danger of having to think about that this year. Any of the other teams ahead of the O’s would probably be about as sympathetic as the Brewers, especially if they were facing another AL East team in the postseason.
The Orioles have not won the World Series as long as I have been alive, and I’m turning 43 next month. It’s a long time. Unless fortunes rapidly turn around, the O’s title drought is going to hit “get a colonoscopy” age pretty soon. It is not great that after two years in the postseason and zero postseason wins, that things stink again with no certainty of whether the people in charge can figure out how to stop that from happening. But there is quite a while yet before we will start to have any idea of whether their offseason turnaround plan is going to get results.
A look at a few Orioles that might not be back next year (Steve on Baseball) Trevor Rogers is the only name on the list that is going to make large numbers of Birdland fans sad in the strong likelihood that he does not return.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Nothing of particular interest has ever happened on this day in Orioles history. This is not likely to change until the team makes it back to a World Series, or at least deep in an ALCS series.
There are several former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2024 pitcher Corbin Burnes, 2012-18 pitcher Darren O’Day, 2005 catcher Eli Whiteside, 2003 pitcher Héctor Carrasco, 2004 catcher Keith Osik, and 1989 catcher Jamie Quirk.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: composer Franz Liszt (1811), baseball Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx (1907), author Doris Lessing (1919), actor Christopher Lloyd (1938), gold medal figure skater Brian Boitano (1963), and baseball Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki (1973).
On this day in history…
In 2137 BC, a solar eclipse was recorded by Chinese astronomers. There were also reports that two astronomers who failed to predict the eclipse were executed. It wasn’t until 585 BC that an eclipse is known to have occurred as predicted.
In 1721 AD, following the Russian defeat of Sweden in the decades-long Great Northern War, Russia’s ruler Peter I proclaimed a Russian Empire, with himself as the tsar.
In 1883, New York’s Metropolitan Opera House opened. The first performance was an opera called Faust, by Charles Gounod, which had debuted in Paris in 1859.
In 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy announced a naval blockade of the island of Cuba.
**
And that’s the way it is in Birdland on October 22. Have a safe Thursday.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MAY 07: Don Mattingly, interim manager for the Philadelphia Phillies, takes the ball from Andrew Painter #24 during a pitching change during a game against the Athletics at Citizens Bank Park on May 07, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Do you think whoever runs the social media graphics team at the Phillies knew exactly what they were doing with this post for the start of the Sixers season?
Bronx, N.Y.: New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge looks out from the dugout in the 4th inning as the Yankees take on the Tampa Bay Rays in the Game 3 of the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York on Oct. 7, 2026. (Photo by Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday RM via Getty Images) | Newsday via Getty Images
The World Series is just a day away, though with the Yankees having been out of the running for a while now it feels like a distant finish line unreached. Instead, hope resides in rooting for the spoiler — or in this case, the team playing against their rivals in the Milwaukee Brewers. They’ll take on the Rays tomorrow night in what might be the final bit of MLB play we’ll get for a while with the threat of a lockout looming large on the horizon, so enjoy it while it’s around. I’m sure we’ll all be missing it come March if games aren’t anywhere close to returning.
We’ve got a fairly busy day laid out for you, starting with Matt handing out our latest report card to Paul Goldschmidt in what might have been his final season in pinstripes. Jonathan follows up with a look back at Robbie Cano and his complex legacy on his 44th birthday, Peter previews the offenses we’re going to see tomorrow in the Fall Classic, and Jeremy hits cleanup with his thoughts on Brian Cashman getting to lead the way again on another winter revision with more of the same results trailing him.
Today’s Playoff Matchup:
Off-day
Questions/Prompts:
1. What are your thoughts on Brian Cashman’s expected extension that got announced yesterday?
2. Before the matchup gets underway tomorrow, get your picks in: will the Brewers or Rays win it all?
So much can change over 44 years. And in the case of the Milwaukee Brewers, an equal and perhaps excessive amount can stay almost exactly as it was.
The biggest city in Wisconsin will host a World Series for the first time in 1982, when the Brew Crew tips off Game 1 of the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays Friday, Oct. 23 at American Family Field.
The ballpark is just across the lot but a generation removed from County Stadium, the city's multi-purpose ballyard that hosted the occasional Packers game and once witnessed the soon-to-be-crowned American League MVP pilot his motorcycle into the stadium to the delight of fans still mourning a loss in the 1982 World Series.
Since Robin Yount's ride in the wake of a crushing seven-game defeat to the St. Louis Cardinals, the Brewers have switched leagues, left behind the ownership of the Selig family and established themselves as the most consistent postseason presence this side of Chavez Ravine.
And they've also brought an awful lot of lore with them to the new place.
From songs to slides, sausages to statues, Brewers culture is about to get a close-up thanks to its Fall Classic appearance. Here's a guide for what lore to look for:
Bernie Brewer and his slide
If Junior Caminero's extensive home run celebrations make you blush, a far quicker trip to glory is available in Milwaukee.
There are fewer more apropos mascots than Bernie Brewer, a keg of a man whose twirly mustache would've played well in Yount's era and seems destined to have a little beer froth flecked in it. He's got a little dugout looming high above left field where he just chills out, thinking Bernie Brewer thoughts, until a Brewer hits a home run.
Then, it's a windy, circuitous trip down his slide.
Fans can arrange to pay to take that trip down, but buyer beware: It can end painfully.
Then again, Bernie used to have a much frothier splashdown after his slides...
Bernie Brewer's Bavarian chalet
It doesn't get much campier than Bernie Brewer's Bavarian chalet, his little center field hideaway at County Stadium from 1973 through 2000, before the club moved into then-Miller Park. Back in the day, Bernie's slide would end with him disappearing into a gigantic beer stein.
The chalet did not make the cut when the Brewers moved to Miller Park, so the owner of Milwaukee's Lakefront Brewery posed a simple question to the ballclub:
"You, uh, doing anything with that chalet?"
The brewery purchased the chalet for somewhere north of $15,000 and it remains at the restaurant near the banks of the Milwaukee River. The interior of the chalet is available for dinner reservations and fans sign their names - and other messages - on the chalet, not unlike the fouls poles and interior of the Green Monster at Boston's Fenway Park.
The Famous Racing Sausages
Long before Racing Presidents and Beat the Freeze, the Brewers rolled out their sausage race, first in animated form, at County Stadium. On occasional Sundays, they'd do a real, live race involving humans at County Stadium until their final year there, when the racing sausages would emerge from the left field corner to home plate.
You never know who might be in those costumes; an occasional Brewer or an odd visiting media member might be tapped to play one of Brat, Polish, Italian, Hot Dog or Chorizo.
On the night of July 9, 2003, Italian was portrayed by Mandy Wagner, a 19-year-old Brewers seasonal employee. The sausages were hopping along as usual when they passed the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates dugout. That's when Randall Simon Jr., their slugging first baseman, decided to take a whack at Italian.
Wagner was knocked over by the bat swing/tap/whack, though as she recounted in the days and years to come, the sausage costume was so cumbersome that a stiff breeze might've knocked her over.
The news cycle vacillated between "serious matter" and "hilarious moment" for several days, with Simon getting questioned by police and fined and suspended by Major League Baseball.
Wagner was OK. And since, the great sausage race has largely stuck to the script.
'Roll Out the Barrel'
You don't need to listen to a Tony Robbins audiobook for life-affirming inspiration. Simply gather with 40,000 like-minded individuals and declare, "We've got the blues on the run."
So it goes every seventh-inning stretch at American Family Field, when the Brewers play "Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out The Barrel)," the lyrics on the big screen even though it seems every Wisconsinite might've had that playing in the mobiles hanging above their cribs after they were born.
Nearby Marquette University got into the spirit last week, chiming "Beer Barrel Polka" from Marquette Hall's Gothic bell tower. Maybe a little less uproarious, but pretty outlandish for the Jesuits.
Regardless, few franchises come harder with their theme strong than the Brewers. From mascot to song to the original name of the stadium, it seems the average fan will walk out of the place with a 0.15 BAC simply by osmosis.
Bob Uecker's statue(s)
There are two of them and it still probably isn't enough.
Bob Uecker called Brewers games for 54 years, the final two while battling small cell lung cancer in 2023 and 2024. He passed away at 90 on Jan. 16, 2025, leaving a massive legacy within the organization, from longtime executives to manager Pat Murphy and players nearly seven decades his junior.
But that was just how it was for arguably the most charismatic man in baseball history, a light-hitting catcher who rose to national and eventually global fame thanks to campy Miller Lite beer commercials and then several star turns on screen, most notably as announcer Harry Doyle in Major League.
A Cleveland-Milwaukee World Series might have been too much; that was the matchup in Major League, and a Fall Classic pitting those two teams one year after Uecker's passing might have been life imitating art just a little too hard.
Instead, this matchup should provide the perfect window for Uecker appreciation, beginning with his pair of statues in and around American Family Field.
The first one is typical, outside and joined by Yount, Hank Aaron and Bud Selig. Inside, though?
It's all Ueck.
Uecker's likeness is not on a concourse or anywhere visible, but rather high in the sky, amid the obstructed view seats, an ode to the greatest of his Miller Lite spots, where he gets evicted from Yankee Stadium box seats and relocated to the upper deck.
"I must be in the front roooooow," says Mr. Baseball, irrepressible as always.
This week, Ueck and the city that made him famous most definitely will be.
ALTOONA, PA - AUGUST 29: Murf Gray #23 of the Altoona Curve bats during the game between the Erie SeaWolves and the Altoona Curve at Peoples Natural Gas Field on Saturday, August 29, 2026 in Altoona, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bryce Mosmen/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
In just his first season of professional baseball, Murf Gray put together a campaign that made him the undoubtable choice to be named the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Willie Stargell Slugger of the Year award winner.
2026 was an incredible coming out party for Gray who led all Pirates’ minor leaguers in home runs with 32. Overall Gray put together a complete season and was not limited to slugging. Through Bradenton, Greensboro and Altoona Gray slashed .305/.402/.567 and had a .969 OPS. He had 143 total hits, 97 RBIs and earned 66 walks.
Gray was selected out of Fresno State in the Competitive Balance-B round in 2025 and more than exceeded expectations in 2026. During his time with the Grasshoppers he led the South Atlantic League in total bases and also had a hold on having the most homers in the league before his promotion to Double-A.
At 6’3” and 230 pounds, Gray is a lot of hitter when he’s at the plate. He showed in his last season at Fresno State that he swings a lot and tends to chase too much. Although he still has some refining to apply to his swing, his approach at the plate in 2026 was mostly solid. He still found himself chasing, but it was certainly down from his last year in college. The nice thing to this point is that Gray chases, but does not miss often. His approach will need some more fine tuning as well to adjust to major league pitchers, but Gray has proved at the very least that he’s been able to adapt over the course of a full major league season.
Despite being just 22-years-old, Gray is looking like a top prospect in Pittsburgh’s Minor League system. In his debut year Baseball America named him the Pirates’ top prospect for 2026, and MLB.com ranks Gray as the organization’s fourth highest rated prospect. He’s much more than a slugger too because Gray definitely has the arm to play third base for the Pirates. Third base of course was a position in transition in 2026 for the Buccos, and with a projected debut date of 2027, Gray could have a real shot at competing for that spot in Spring Training. With that being said he might lack the desired speed and first step agility to play the hot corner in the major leagues, but he’s got solid tools all around and could make an impact at the next level very soon.
All eyes will be on Gray in 2027 to see how quickly the Pirates decide to call him up and him to Pittsburgh’s lineup.
Tampa, FL: New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner speaks during a press conference regarding changes to the Yankees facial hair policy during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida on February 21, 2025. (Photo by Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday RM via Getty Images) | Newsday via Getty Images
New York Post | Grace McCarron: Hal Steinbrenner held court yesterday with members of the Yankee beat, albeit by Zoom which in and of itself is an interesting decision. The managing partner of the Yankees publicly backed GM Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone, proclaiming that both men did their jobs in the 2026 season and publicly announcing that Cashman’s new contract is all but signed. Hal placed the blame for a disappointing season at the feet of the players on the roster, especially a “detrimental” offense.
New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Continuing with the Steinbrenner Address, Hal was asked directly about comments made by current and former Yankees regarding the now-17 year World Series drought. In particular, he seemed to be a little chesty about Aaron Judge’s remarks that the team hasn’t gone “all in” and should, with George’s son pointing to the richest payroll in franchise history as evidence of his commitment. If Judge was more of an extrovert he might point across boroughs to another team that spends like mad and doesn’t have the results expected as an example that money misallocated is as bad as money unspent.
SNY | Danny Abriano: Finally, Mr. Steinbrenner set the table as one of the more powerful owners in baseball, admitting that he’d like to see a salary cap implemented in this round of CBA negotiations. It’s the most important thing for the group of thirty monopolists, and it needs to be the most important thing for the union to remember too.
NBC Sports | Eric Samulski: We also got news that Aaron Judge’s rib is still a bit of a question mark. The Yankee captain will have followup tests and surgery seems unnecessary, Brian Cashman telling us that he expects Judge to be ready in time for Spring Training, whenever that is.
FanGraphs | Ben Clemens: We get a final piece that’s a little more pan-baseball, with the Fielding Bible Awards being announced today at 3 p.m. Eastern. Clemens gives us the breakdown of his ballot, with Cody Bellinger being his winner in left field, as a more-statistically-driven recognition of the best defender at each position.
ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 10: Atlanta right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (13) swings at a pitch during the MLB game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Atlanta Braves on September 10th, 2026 at Truist Park in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The World Series begins on Friday, but for now teams around the league are taking care of housekeeping. Lingering injuries are being addressed, managerial and front office roles are being filled, and strategies are being formulated ahead of this highly uncertain offseason.
Some Yankees bosses may have been irked by Aaron Judge questioning whether they have gone all in enough, but Hal Steinbrenner insists he was not one of them.
Those comments made their way to Steinbrenner — who said he had a “great conversation” with Judge on Tuesday — and claimed Wednesday he was not upset about them, with the understanding that those high expectations are a “two-way street.”
“If I was a player, I would have expectations that my ownership group would do everything in their power every offseason to field a team that can win a championship,” Steinbrenner said on a video conference call. “We did that this year. We had the highest payroll in the history of the organization [roughly $340 million for luxury tax purposes, per Cot’s Contracts]. … I definitely think we went all in this season.
“And by the way, I have expectations of my players. I expect them to obey the rules, to work hard, listen to their coaches and the trainers and the strength guys.”
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said he has no problem with Aaron Judge’s “all in” comments and said he had a “great conversation” about it with the veteran right fielder. AP
Judge missed three-plus months of the season with a broken rib and then, after not going on a rehab assignment, came back to play in seven games before straining his right calf.
That injury sidelined him for the rest of the year, including both playoff rounds, despite him fighting to be included on the roster, to no avail.
As for the rib, Judge is set to have a follow-up appointment with Dr. Gregory Pearl, the specialist the Yankees consulted during the season, to make sure he is in a good spot entering the winter.
Aaron Judge, who did not play in the Yankees’ playoff run due to a calf injury, said the team has to go “all in” next season. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“The whole goal of the Apollo deal was to bring in capital into the company that would be there for us to give us more financial stability for years and years to come, including the years I’m out of here and the third generation is running the team,” Steinbrenner said.
The managing general partner said Apollo will have “zero” role in the day-to-day operations of the franchise.
“They have rights no different than our other limited partners,” Steinbrenner said.
In a long expected move, Cashman said Wednesday he has agreed to a new contract, with 2027 marking his 30th season as the club’s general manager.
“We just have to bang out some minor stuff at the back end of it, but yeah, we’re locked and loaded,” said Cashman, who was working in the final year of a four-year deal.
With a lockout looming and a potentially lengthy battle over the institution of a salary cap in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement, Steinbrenner was not interested in speaking much on labor, though he reiterated his support for a salary cap.
“Let me put it this way as a member of the Labor Policy Committee: I helped craft one of the many proposals that we have given at the bargaining table and I support those proposals in their entirety,” he said.
While Steinbrenner blamed the offense for most of the Yankees’ failures this season and said they would be looking into everything, including the coaching staff, Aaron Boone threw his support behind the work of third-year hitting coach James Rowson.
“I think James leads a great hitting group,” Boone said. “I’ve been really impressed with the culture he’s created year in and year out over the last few seasons. There’s a lot of reasons that go into why there’s underperformance in certain areas of the club and you try to address those as best you can and saddle back up and take your shot at it next year.”
As of Wednesday, Boone said that no procedures or surgeries were scheduled for any Yankees.
One player that the Yankees will be keeping an eye on, though, is Max Fried, who had two stints on the injured list with a left elbow bone bruise.
“We think he’s in a good spot,” Boone said. “We reimaged him and the ligament’s in a good place. There’ll obviously be some downtime and then ramp up. I think there’s a lot of things possible, but we feel like overall and big picture, he’s in a good spot.”
Los Angeles, CA - November 03: The commissioners trophy during a celebration of the Los Angeles Dodgers back to back World Championships at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Monday, November 3, 2025. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images) | MediaNews Group via Getty Images
The Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays set to begin the 2026 World Series on Friday. As Rockies fans, we may not have any specific rooting interests in the series, but as fans of baseball, there is no greater spectacle than this series.
We should all take a moment to look back at what makes a World Series memorable (outside of a team we care about being in it).
What World Series, other than 2007, has stuck with you in the years since it concluded? What was so special about it?
Was there some big moment that has made it live with you all these years? Were there particular players you happened to be invested in on those teams? Was there a big underdog narrative that gripped you? Did it just happen to occur at the right time in your specific life?
That was largely the message from Aaron Boone, Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner on Wednesday when asked about the public perception — including from some of their former players and managers — that the Yankees have not held their players accountable enough if the same mistakes keep happening.
“There’s the occasions where there’s a spot that requires you to call somebody out,” Boone said during a Zoom call. “I know I get accused sometimes of being too positive in the media and I would say if you watched my post[game] press conferences this year, there were a lot of days where I was talking about our struggles. But does that mean I’m calling individuals out in a public way?
Yankees GM Brian Cashman (l.) and owner Hal Steinbrenner (r.) Charles Wenzelberg/NY Post
“There is probably a time and place for that, but generally speaking, to me that’s not leadership. That’s me giving red meat to people that want to be upset with somebody. To me, when we have issues as a club or with an individual player or something that popped up within a game, I address those things, we address those things man-to-man. Sometimes if we have to address something within the group, we do that. I just don’t think it’s leadership coming up here and giving red meat to [people who] want to hear us beat down a player.
“The accountability factor playing here [for the Yankees], I feel like, is very high.”
The discussion of whether the Yankees are holding players accountable enough came after they were swept by the Rays in the ALDS.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone reacts on the dugout steps. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
But Cashman referenced a “built-in accountability to the extreme” surrounding the Yankees every day, given the spotlight under which they play and the championship expectations that come with being part of the organization.
“To then contribute to that by publicly putting even further pressure, chasing a large media corps and fanbase and social media into somebody’s locker as they’re trying to navigate and get out of a slump or play better or stop making errors or stop poor baserunning circumstances … it’s just inviting the more likely outcome of not getting what you want,” Cashman said. “It’s always questioned, ‘Is anybody trying to address this? Are these players being spoken to? Are we confronting those problems?’ I think in a more private setting and a more direct setting is the more appropriate way versus a public letting.”
Steinbrenner’s father, George, was known for openly criticizing players during his ownership, but Hal said Wednesday he was not convinced that doing so today would be effective.
“I’m not convinced that, with this team in this day and age, that that’s a big of a motivator as you think it is,” said Steinbrenner, who did go as far as pinning the season on the team’s offensive failures. “Twenty to 25 years ago, different generation, just a different scenario. … The public forum, my dad and I are different in that respect. I’m not convinced it would be effective anyway. It’s just not the way I’m going to operate. I’m going to talk to them face to face.”
HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 22: Mitch Garver #18 of the Texas Rangers celebrates as he rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against Framber Valdez #59 of the Houston Astros during the second inning in Game Six of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park on October 22, 2023 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Mitch Garver, the catcher/DH who spent a decade in the majors and who was a key part of the 2023 Texas Rangers World Series Championship team, has announced his retirement.
Garver was a 9th round draft pick of the Minnesota Twins in 2013 out of the University of New Mexico. He first broke into the big leagues in 2017 with Minnesota. After the 2021 season, the Texas Rangers acquired him in exchange for Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ronny Henriquez.
Garver had a track record of hitting well when healthy, and of not being able to stay healthy. He played in only 54 games in 2022 for Texas before his season was cut short due to a torn flexor tendon in his right forearm. In 2023, he missed two months early in the season, but was a force upon his return, ultimately slashing .270/.370/.500 in 87 games as the team’s primary DH.
Mitch Garver had what is, to me, one of the most memorable plays of the 2023 postseason. With the Rangers in Houston for Game 6, down 3 games to 2, the Astros scored a run off of Nathan Eovaldi in the bottom of the first to make it a 1-0 game. After losing three straight to Houston in Arlington, with the last one being especially soul-crushing, things felt very, very bad at that point.
Garver led off the second inning, and on the first pitch he saw from Framber Valdez, crushed an opposite-field home run. Tie game. The Minute Maid crowd was silence.
At that moment, I felt as if a weight was lifted. Watching Mitch Garver round the bases, I knew — I knew — that the Rangers were going to the World Series. I had no doubt that they would win the two games in Houston and advance.
The Rangers, controversially at the time, did not make a serious effort to re-sign Garver after the season, and he joined the Seattle Mariners on a 2 year, $24 million deal. Things went poorly for him in Seattle, though, both for that two year stretch, and in 2026, after he re-signed with the club.
Garver ends his major league career with a .229/.325/.432 slash line in 701 games, good for a 110 OPS+, and a career 10.0 bWAR.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - JULY 10: Jhony Brito #76 of the San Diego Padres walks to the dugout during the sixth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Petco Park on July 10, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to our series grading every member of the San Diego Padres’ 40-man roster. The roster being evaluated is current as of Oct. 18, prior to the end of the World Series. Because of that, it will include players who will be free agents once the postseason concludes. Each player will be graded on their performance in the 2026 season, including the playoffs. That performance will be weighted based on how much time the player spent with the team (availability is the best ability).
A Starter in Waiting
Jhony Brito dominated in the minors this season. Between three different levels of the Padres’ minor-league system, Brito had his best season since being traded to the Friars. He came over as a kicker in the deal that sent Juan Soto to the New York Yankees. Brito was somewhat of an afterthought and hasn’t done much in San Diego since. He’s thrown a total of 52 2/3 innings for the big-league club.
Overall Grade: C-
Despite his incredible success in the minor leagues (2.97 ERA, 69.2 IP), Brito didn’t do much in the majors this year. In nine innings out of the bullpen, the right-hander posted a 3.00 ERA despite a minuscule 0.89 WHIP. Brito couldn’t limit hard contact, allowing two homers in that short stint with the big-league club. He likely would have been called up to the majors sooner, but the San Diego ‘pen is too deep.
Brito could figure into the Padres’ starting rotation plans for the 2026 season if he can prove himself in Spring Training. Brito had below-average marks in both WHIP (1.21) and strikeouts (46, 69.2 IP). The righty didn’t pitch very deep into games (3.2 IP on average), however some of that could be due to the nature of pitching in the minor leagues.
The right-hander missed the majority of the 2025 season after a UCL internal brace procedure in his throwing elbow. Brito posted resurgent numbers after returning from that surgery. If he can keep that up in 2027, he could legitimately work his way onto the Padres’ pitching staff. Regardless, he pitched quite well in 2026 but will need to produce more consistent results in order to make an impact with the big-league club.
