Oct. 28, Tropicana Field, Saint Petersburg, Fla. It’s the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 5 of the 2026 World Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays. Milwaukee leads the series 3-1 and the game 4-0, three outs away from the franchise’s first World Series title. Brewers’ reliever Trevor Megill digs his spikes into Tropicana Field’s mercurial mound, which has often splayed under the weight of the series’ more gigantic hurlers. Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, coming off a second consecutive All-Star selection and in the midst of a fairly consistent postseason, in which he recorded 13 hits and drove in five runs, steps into the batter’s box. The Brewers have such a sizable lead this game by doing what they’ve done all season: relentless fundamentals and opportunistic hitting, creating traffic on the bases and cashing in. Tampa plays what seems like an even more calculated version of this approach, with a stronger emphasis on contact, baserunning, and strong defense.
The throng of away fans dressed in blue and gold rumbles to life when Caminero stands in, creating an atmosphere in the stadium that feels like an alternate Brewers watch party location — so much so that tickets for Game 5 were actually cheaper than those for the watch party in the Brewers’ home stadium, American Family Field in Milwaukee. Caminero strikes out on a 2-2 pitch. One out.
As FOX play-by-play announcer Joe Davis’10 said during the broadcast, “It wouldn’t feel right if it was easy.” Rays Catcher Liam Hicks hits a twisting line drive that kicks off the first base bag and into foul territory, being ruled a fair ball and granting Hicks a double with one out. At this point, the Brewers fans in the house and the team in the dugout grew apprehensive. FOX cameras caught Christian Yelich, designated hitter and the longest-tenured Brewer, leaning against the dugout railing with a vacant stare. It could not happen again. They had let the Rays hang around late in Game 4 the previous night after what felt like an inevitable coronation.
After a lengthy extra-innings stalemate, 22-year-old Brewers rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt cracked a homer into the left field seats to give Milwaukee a 3-2 lead in the top of the twelfth inning. Pratt had a series that will be catalogued in the record books, setting a new rookie World Series benchmark by recording a hit in six straight at-bats. The Rays then grabbed this demoralizing dagger and plunged it into the Brewers’ backside, tying the game on a Johnny De Luca single up the middle in the bottom of the twelfth after Caminero reached base on an error and Hicks singled. Then, they did the unthinkable, loading the bases on a hard-hit single by speedy left fielder Chandler Simpson and teeing up second baseman Ben Williamson to win the game 4-3 with a base hit into right field.
Johnny De Luca, who kept the Rays alive with his defense in center field all series long, strikes out. Two outs.
On Oct. 4, Milwaukee-based rapper Foenem released a single titled “Milwaukee Brewers” to coincide with the Brewers’ playoff run, with a music video for the song — filmed outside American Family Field in Milwaukee — being released Oct. 10. The song soon became a social media sensation, with the titular chorus repeating the name of the team in a chipmunk-esque squeal followed by the refrain, “let’s play some baseball and get some home runs,” providing fodder for short-form content creators across the internet. Verses like “Jacob is our pitcher, three strikes you’re out,” referring to 2026 Cy Young Award winner Jacob Misiorowski, added to the song’s memeability. The viral earworm even burrowed its way into the Brewers clubhouse, as members of the team were heard singing it after they swept the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.
Chandler Simpson digs in with two outs, motioning with his bat for the Brewers clubhouse staff to keep the champagne on ice just a little bit longer, smacking a line drive to right field that was enough to score Hicks and secure extra bases for Simpson, shrinking the deficit to three on the brink of elimination. Despite his lineup’s overall performance, Simpson has had a star-making series, recording eight base hits and posting a batting average of .400 to complement elite base running and lights-out defense. Bespectacled second baseman and outfielder Richie Palacios must get on base to prolong the Rays’ last-minute rally. Brewers fans wave their yellow rags with clockwork regularity as others watch with bated breath, and some reach for their mobile devices to record the moment. One fan holds up a sign scrawled in black marker that reads, “UECK WE DID IT.”
In January 2025, Bob Uecker passed away from lung cancer at the age of 90. He served as the Brewers radio announcer for 54 years, from 1971 to 2024. After a five-year major league career as a catcher, Uecker started in broadcasting, and many quickly discovered that he was the funniest man in baseball. This led to frequent appearances on “The Tonight Show” throughout the 70s and 80s, where host Johnny Carson nicknamed Uecker “Mr. Baseball.” Uecker later played iconic roles in comedies like “Major League” and even had his own sitcom on ABC, which lasted 107 episodes. Despite his stardom beyond baseball, Uecker remained a constant clubhouse presence and fostered close connections with the team up until his death. During the 2026 postseason, Brewers Manager Pat Murphy wrote letters to the team in Uecker’s signature voice with the blessing of his family to inspire the clubhouse. While it’s an unorthodox new tradition, the results are undeniable. One final “letter from Ueck” sits sealed in the clubhouse to be read by Murphy after the game if all goes according to plan.
Palacios hits a soft ground ball off the end of his bat to the right side that bounces into the glove of Brewers’ second baseman Brice Turang, who fires a throw to postseason standout Jake Bauers at first base. Ballgame. As Bauers stretches his arms skyward victoriously, Davis provides a serendipitous soundtrack on the broadcast, exclaiming, “Unshakeable! Unstoppable! And champions at last, the Milwaukee Brewers!”
Founded as an expansion team called the Seattle Pilots in 1969, the team relocated to Milwaukee after only one season, citing the perpetual dilapidation and habitual flow of sewage present in Seattle’s Sick’s Stadium. In 1982, the Brewers won the American League pennant. After falling short in seven games against the Saint Louis Cardinals, it would be the closest the franchise would get to a World Series championship. Until Wednesday night.
Trevor Megill is mobbed on the pitcher’s mound in the center of the infield, as fans in Milwaukee’s Deer District and American Family Field watch parties erupt in a roiling explosion of frothing ales and tearful embraces. Misiorowski, the Brewers game five starter who gave them 5 and two-thirds innings of work, leaps out of the dugout with every inch of his six-foot-seven frame and joins the celebration. The Rays look on from the opposite dugout, bearing wounded glances.
Brewers catcher William Contreras, affectionately known as “Wild Bill” by fans, took home World Series MVP. Contreras recorded 19 hits in the postseason, the most by any player, joining a highly productive Brewers lineup that saw standout performances from many, including left fielder and Contreras’s World Baseball Classic teammate Jackson Churio, who matched his jersey number with eleven hits over the course of the postseason. The most impactful moments came from the bottom of the lineup, however, as the aforementioned Pratt and Bauers, along with third baseman David Hamilton and right fielder Sal Frelick, delivered crucial home runs and extra-base hits despite a lack of power in their bats during the regular season.
During on-field postgame interviews, Misiorowski’s eyes are filled with tears, and Christian Yelich wishes Uecker could have been here to witness this moment, while Pratt struggles to find the words to convey his astonishment. Drink it in, Brew Crew; you are World Champions.
Featured image: Betty Cavicchia’28
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