MILWAUKEE – For years, the Milwaukee Brewers have been seen as the underdog – at least on paper.
It’s clear why that narrative is hanging around. The Brewers are consistently one of the smallest teams in the game, and they play in baseball’s smallest market. But this team has shown for the better part of the past decade that they are not to be taken lightly. In fact, he has consistently been one of MLB’s best. During this season, Milwaukee not only had the best record in baseball, but also won a franchise record 103 of them.
Advertisement
And yet, despite the season’s success, the Brewers have had their fair share of disappointments in recent years.
“Two years ago, we took a ninth-inning touchdown run [Pete] With Alonso, we’ve had one of the best relievers in baseball on the mound,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said, referring to the Mets’ loss in the 2024 wildcard round. “It happens. We had the opportunity to go. We were there.
“Last year we ran into a very hot team,” he said of the 2025 NLCS sweep at the hands of the Dodgers. “I think everybody says that. Not only are they hot, but they’re super talented, super built for it. They played the best baseball of that series.”
Subscribe to Yahoo! MLB Games on YouTube for videos, podcasts and more
This time around, Brewer’s talent record isn’t there. It’s getting over the hump that has stymied them in the past 44 years. Milwaukee has never won the World Series and hasn’t since 1982, when the Brewers were a member of the American League and lost seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Advertisement
What makes this Brewers team different from other quality teams that didn’t reach the World Series? Use, for one thing. Much of this 2026 team had a 2024 wild card loss and a 2025 NLCS sweep.
Although Milwaukee is often one of the young teams in baseball, going through the game’s offensive lines can bring a fair amount of experience even in a short amount of time. And building that streak becomes his advantage over the course of a 162-game season and he heads into another season with high expectations.
“I think it’s a different lineup for this team,” president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said. “They’re really uniquely connected. They’re uniquely well-balanced. And I think they’re ready.”
No matter how prepared they are, it’s not an easy road for breweries to reach the Fall Classic. The San Diego Padres, who start Saturday in the NLDS, have been the hottest team in baseball over the past six weeks. And by San Diego it means getting a season with either the Atlanta Braves, who have been firing on all cylinders lately, or the defending champion Dodgers, who ran through Milwaukee last season.
Advertisement
But these Brewers don’t talk like they want the easy way out. In fact, they use those past deceptions to create what they believe they can be in the present.
“I think going into the year, I think there was an element of maybe a little bit of confidence that we could do this,” first baseman Jake Bauers said. “Perhaps there is too little doubt. And I think in this football bow, for there is a lot of pain around.
“I think it’s a collective effort to make sure everyone in the room knows what we’re capable of and nobody needs to do something they can’t do.”
It’s hard to look at the Brewers’ roster and not notice how young they are compared to the other teams in the playoff field (besides the very young Chicago White Sox). Ten of the 26 players on Milwaukee’s roster are 27 years old. But the Brewers have a unique advantage when they’re young and experienced. Star outfielder Jackson Chourio is just 22 years old, but he has already played three MLB seasons and two majors.
Advertisement
And he’s already proven that when the lights are on, he can be at his best, with a 1.044 OPS and four home runs in 12 games.
“I don’t think it hurts us young. I think it helps us young because these guys are forging their minds and creating an approach to the game,” Murphy said. “I think the youth helps in a lot of ways. But I think the key more than people realize is having these young, hungry players.
“The year that the Washington Nationals came out of the wild card to win it all, were they necessarily the best team? They were the best team at the time because of what they had gone through … And that’s how it works. But I don’t think that’s an excuse in any way for youth. I think, especially the way we play, I think there’s a lot of value in having that youth.”
There may be more pressure on this Brewers team than there has been on any Milwaukee team in a long time. But as they begin to try to recover on their way to the World Series for the first time in 44 years, that doesn’t seem to matter. Perhaps in some ways that pressure made them even stronger.
Advertisement
“I’ve built a really good team, a really good culture, and I believe in each other,” Bauers said. “We all know that if one person doesn’t make it, there’s someone behind them who’s ready to pick them up. And we’ve been doing this all year, and I think that’s just added confidence.”