The Milwaukee Brewers winning the World Series was the ultimate feel-good ending to the MLB season for anyone who believes that small, close-knit teams can still succeed in an era where big-money organizations dominate free agency and the trade market by throwing cash at every single problem.
Nothing typified that better than Jake Bauers gifting the final out ball to manager Pat Murphy, and having an incredible exchange in what will potentially be Bauers’ final moment in a Milwaukee uniform. Murphy told Bauers “You’re gonna be a rich (expletive). Just remember when you’re on that horse (expletive) Yankee team and you’re all playing for yourselves … just remember this is the way we used to do it.”
Bauers signed a one-year, $3.7M deal with the Brewers to play in 2026, and will be a free agent this winter. There is going to be no shortage of suitors for him, especially after an incredible season that saw him bat .266 for 28 home runs and 86 RBI. Murphy is referring less specifically to the Yankees and more using them as shorthand for any of the big-spending clubs in baseball, which he believes emphasizes individual play over the power of a team. Invoking the Yankees is also a callback to Bauers’ history in baseball when he played with the Yankees in 2023 on a mediocre 82-80 team that missed the postseason.
There has never been a more meaningful season for a small-market, lower spending team to win the World Series. Another championship year from the Dodgers or a team in their ilk would have given owners ammunition to push for a salary cap in baseball, which would directly damage the earnings of players, while owners got more wealthy. The Brewers win turns back that doomsday clock a couple of hours, by proving that baseball still needs an entire team to win, rather than a collection of talented individuals.
It might not have been the most media-friendly way of making his point, with live camera picking up Murphy’s colorful language — but goodness, was this an incredible moment between a player who is destined to leave, and the manager who loved coaching him.