For the second consecutive season, the Milwaukee Brewers finished with the best regular-season record in Major League Baseball, setting a new franchise benchmark with 103 wins. They should be regarded as strong World Series contenders, entering each series with the confidence of a top-tier team poised to win. While success in the regular season is assured, the true challenge lies ahead in the playoffs, where they must prove themselves. The Brewers have never secured a National League pennant—the only pennant in their history being from the American League in 1982—and remain one of just five MLB franchises without a World Series championship.
Throughout the past decade, the Brewers’ playoff runs have featured a recurring pattern of being eliminated by teams with lower seeds. In 2021, despite 95 wins and the No. 2 NL seed, they fell to the 88-win Braves in the NLDS. The 2023 and 2024 postseason endings were even tougher, with early exits against lower-seeded opponents like the Diamondbacks and Mets in the Wild Card Series. Although the Brewers advanced to the NLCS last year, they eventually lost to the , who went on to repeat as champions.
This string of playoff disappointments, especially considering they’ve often been ousted by lesser-seeded teams, cannot be overlooked. Market size debates aside, if other big-market franchises like the Mets or Cubs had similar postseason records, their shortcomings would be a major talking point. That’s why the Brewers need a shift in mentality.
It’s time for Milwaukee to stop playing the underdog role, to stop feeling like “David” facing a Goliath opponent, or acting as the “Little Engine That Could.” Under manager Pat Murphy, the team has sometimes emphasized opponents’ salaries and their supposed intimidation factor, even after decisive victories over teams like the Cubs. Murphy himself once remarked that opponents didn’t even know the Brewers’ players’ names, implying a lack of fear—but now he insists the team won’t be anyone’s underdog.
The Brewers must embrace a mindset of dominance. Every opponent should walk onto the field wary of them. History can be rewritten, just like Indiana’s football team transformed under a confident coach who believed they could be champions despite past struggles. Milwaukee’s roster, featuring strong pitching with Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson, a solid bullpen, and clutch hitters like Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, and Jake Bauers, combined with excellent baserunning and defense, has the tools needed to be the “final boss” in the postseason.
As Murphy declared, the Brewers are done being the underdog. They need to adopt that voice and attitude wholeheartedly to command respect and contend for championships.
Fan Take:
This moment is pivotal for Brewers fans and baseball lovers alike because it challenges the narrative of perennial underdog teams and highlights the importance of confidence and mindset in sports. If Milwaukee can overcome their playoff woes with this newly assertive attitude, it could inspire other franchises to reject limits imposed by their history or market size, raising the competitive bar across the league.
Source: www.cbssports.com
