Major League Baseball is about to get something that has not happened in 46 years. The Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays are squaring off in the World Series and the winner will capture the title for the first time in team history. This is the first time two teams that had never won the World Series are meeting since the Philadelphia Phillies and Kansas City Royals squared off in 1980. The Phillies, featuring Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton and Pete Rose, beat George Brett and the Royals in six games.
The Brewers have made just one World Series appearance. The 1982 Brewers, known affectionately as “Harvey's Wallbangers” after manager Harvey Kuenn, were the American League champions. They lost that World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in 7 games.
The Rays have been to the World Series in 2008 against the Phillies and 2020 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Rays were unsuccessful in both World Series.
The Brewers entered Major League Baseball in 1969 as the Seattle Pilots in the American League. They moved to Milwaukee and became the Brewers just a few days before the start of the 1970 season and remained in the American League through 1997. The Brewers started playing in the National League in 1998. They have become one of the most consistent playoff performers, having made the postseason in 8 of the last 9 years.
The Rays were an expansion team in 1998 and they have earned a spot in the AL playoffs in 6 of the past 8 years. While they regularly have a low payroll and attendance has been an issue in the Tropicana Dome, they have held their own with AL East mainstays including the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays.
Both teams were the best in their respective leagues, and that could mean a highly competitive World Series.
Brewers dominated the National League and are favored in World Series
After sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, the Brewers are minus-165 favorites to defeat the Rays in the World Series, according to DraftKings.
The Brewers have been on a relentless march throughout the year, winning the National League Central crown by a whopping 14.0 games over the Chicago Cubs and then defeating the San Diego Padres 3 games to 1 in the NLDS.
The Brewers had the best record in either league, compiling a 103-59 mark during the regular season. They did it by combining excellent starting pitching led by Jacob Misiorowski and clutch hitting throughout the lineup.
The Brewers offer a lineup that goes counter to the philosophy of many modern teams because their success is not based on the home run. The Brewers ranked tied for 28th (with the lowly Los Angeles Angels) out of 30 MLB teams with 154 home runs this season. The only team with fewer was the Toronto Blue Jays, who hit 152 home runs.
Nevertheless, the Brewers have some clutch hitters in Jake Bauers, Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, William Contreras and Christian Yelich.
Chourio has not had the best postseason to this point. He has hit a pair of home runs and has driven in 7 runs, but he is slashing .171/.211/.343. Despite those numbers, there is something fearless about Chourio's every-day play. Whether he is in the batter's box, on the base paths or in left field, Chourio will go all-out to win the game. While we are not saying he is a modern-day Pete Rose, but there is a relentlessness to his game that might remind fans of Charlie Hustle.
Chourio was special during the regular season as he slashed .291/.351/.487 with 25 home runs, 75 RBI, 96 runs scored and 23 stolen bases. There's nothing he can't do on the baseball field and he will sacrifice his body to help his team win. He will come away with the World Series MVP crown and help his team earn its first World Championship.
Chourio will have competition and it will come from Contreras
The Brewers have gotten the kind of production from their lineup that gives manager Pat Murphy confidence that his team will be successful.
Contreras has come through in a big way in the postseason. He has bashed 3 home runs and driven in 5 runs during the postseason while slashing an eye-catching .367/.457/.700. This comes on the heels of a solid regular season that included 18 home runs, 94 RBI and excellent work behind the plate.
Article Continues BelowContreras is also a rallying point in the Brewers dugout because of his fiery attitude and his desire to come through with the game on the line. Turang, Bauers and Yelich also have those same characteristics, and that's what makes the Brewers so tough. They have at least five players who are hungry to succeed when the game is on the line.
Any or all of them could come through against an excellent Rays team led by Yandy Diaz, Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero.
However, it will be Chourio and the Brewers who come through with the hardware at the conclusion of the World Series.