{"id":128146,"date":"2025-08-08T04:30:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T04:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/128146\/"},"modified":"2025-08-08T04:30:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T04:30:15","slug":"how-the-milwaukee-brewers-yes-the-brewers-built-one-of-baseballs-best-teams-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/128146\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Milwaukee Brewers (yes, the Brewers) built one of baseball\u2019s best teams (again)"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the day after the MLB trade deadline<\/a>, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy uncapped a pen and scribbled notes for himself.<\/p>\n

Quiet, he wrote. Less is more. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been doing the deadline all year,\u201d he said, and so opted against blustering into his clubhouse to cajole or commiserate with the team about the lack of major acquisitions. There was no need to call a meeting with a group that has become, improbably, the owners of the best record in baseball. Instead, he used the same pen to write out his lineup.<\/p>\n

At the top of the order, he inked the name of the day\u2019s only active addition, Brandon Lockridge, a 28-year-old outfielder with a little more than 100 big-league plate appearances and one career home run. \u201cHe seems like our kind of player,\u201d Murphy said. What Murphy meant offered insight into how the Brewers view themselves as they chase yet another National League Central title: players who demonstrate skill with their glove, ability on the base paths, and a willingness to sublimate their ego to serve the greater good.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to be hyper-vigilant about who you are,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cThe awareness of who you are and how you impact the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the Brewers host the New York Mets this weekend, it will be a rematch of one of last year\u2019s most riveting postseason faceoffs and a potential preview for this coming October. A return to the postseason was expected for the Mets, who spent $750 million<\/a> on outfielder Juan Soto. It was far less of a given for Milwaukee, whose front office lobbied owner Mark Attanasio not to cut payroll<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For the Brewers, last October ended with the heartbreak wrought by Pete Alonso\u2019s home run off closer Devin Williams. The offseason was almost as dispiriting. The team traded Williams, a two-time All-Star, just as they traded away former National League Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes the year before. Shortstop Willy Adames departed in free agency. They watched from afar as the Chicago Cubs loaded up to chase them.<\/p>\n

Yet here the Brewers are, back in first place, confounding skeptics and offering a blueprint for success on a shoestring budget. At this point in the season, outsiders tend to get dispatched to explain how the team \u2014 residents of baseball\u2019s smallest market, financed by a payroll in the sport\u2019s bottom third \u2014 are doing it again. The questions amuse those who have heard them before, having made the postseason in six of the past seven seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cSame way we do it every year,\u201d said outfielder Christian Yelich, the team\u2019s longest-tenured position player and the only Brewer inked to a nine-figure contract. \u201cWe just find ways to win games.\u201d He added, \u201cWe have a standard, like, an identity of how we play. And everyone who comes in here slots into that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Brewers, against expectations, have made the postseason in six of the past seven seasons. (Kevin C. Cox \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The formula this season reflects the composition of the roster, a team with lackluster power but superlative fundamentals. Murphy and the coaching staff emphasize team-wide execution. No hitter feels burdened with carrying the lineup. The offense places the opponent in a nine-inning pressure cooker; no team has been more valuable on the bases, according to FanGraphs. The development staff has created a pipeline of pitchers who trust the organization\u2019s ability to guide them. The players operate without the pressure of the big-city microscope.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a weird storm of all these different things coming about,\u201d said pitcher Brandon Woodruff.<\/p>\n

At the center of the storm is Murphy, the 66-year-old former college baseball coach who moved into the manager\u2019s office when Craig Counsell decamped for the Chicago Cubs before last season. Murphy applies the same principles of selflessness to his staff through a makeshift, ego-deflating exercise he calls \u201cthe check game,\u201d which is designed to prevent people from puffing themselves up.<\/p>\n

Murphy devised the system during eight seasons as Counsell\u2019s bench coach. He kept tallies on a whiteboard. When former bullpen coach Steve Karsay referred to his Yankees teammate Derek Jeter as \u201cJetes,\u201d that was a check. When Counsell brought his glove to the ballpark, that was a check. And then there was the time former hitting coach Andy Haines attempted to solicit insight from former president of baseball operations David Stearns, who left to run the Mets in 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/b>We\u2019re all in the coaches\u2019 room,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cSo Haines goes to Stearns, \u2018David, I\u2019ve been wanting to know the answer to this, and I figured I\u2019d bring it right to the top.\u2019 And then Stearns goes, \u2018Well, what do you got, Andy?\u2019 And I\u2019m like, \u2018Hold on a sec. That\u2019s a check, Stearnsy. So you\u2019re the top? Mark doesn\u2019t own this team?\u201d<\/p>\n

Murphy maintains the same rigor with the Ivory Tower, the name he has given for members of general manager Matt Arnold\u2019s front office. \u201cAn Ivory Tower check is when they come swooping in, like, \u2018Hey, why don\u2019t you \u2014\u2019 and give us a suggestion,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cThat\u2019s a f\u2014ing check.\u201d<\/p>\n

So if someone in the scouting department bragged about bird-dogging flame-thrower Jacob Misiorowski, that would be a check. If someone in the analytics department claimed credit for seeing a path to success in first baseman Andrew Vaughn\u2019s minor-league batted ball data, that would be a check. And if anyone crowed about the wisdom of trading a competitive-balance draft pick for starter Quinn Priester? Yep, that\u2019s a check.<\/p>\n

The Brewers added all those players weeks before the deadline. The deal for Priester<\/a> demonstrated the team\u2019s ability to utilize its market size to its advantage. The club received two compensatory draft picks last winter, one for losing Adames, who signed a seven-year, $182 million contract with the San Francisco Giants, and another as part of an initiative in the collective bargaining agreement to aid teams that draw the least revenue.<\/p>\n

In April, Arnold bundled that second pick, which was No. 33 overall, along with two prospects to acquire Priester, a first-round pick in 2019 who had not made Boston\u2019s Opening Day roster.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have a lot of guys in our clubhouse who have been overlooked for a long time,\u201d Arnold said.<\/p>\n

Upon arrival, Priester recalled, he received a series of specific but simple instructions. The team wanted him to focus on pounding his 94-mph sinker down and away to generate groundballs. He needed to learn to spot his 92-mph cutter for back-door strikes. A lack of control in the running game was not acceptable. The little things, he was told, count around here.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose little things keep the game simple, keep the game fun, keep the game loose,\u201d Priester said. \u201cAnd you realize you\u2019re only one simple play away from doing something great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Priester stabilized a starting rotation that has improved as the season progressed. Woodruff returned in July after missing last season following shoulder surgery. Freddy Peralta made his second All-Star team last month. He was joined at the Midsummer Classic by Misiorowski, a 6-foot-7 rookie taken in the second round of the 2022 draft who throws so hard his changeup clocks at 92 mph.<\/p>\n

The team also possesses the depth to protect the group. When Misiorowski took a ball off his shin in late July, the team was able to put him on the injured list rather than risk him damaging his arm while compensating for the discomfort.<\/p>\n

The Brewers also had a ready-made replacement when first baseman Rhys Hoskins injured his thumb last month. Milwaukee called up Vaughn, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 draft, whose career had sputtered with the Chicago White Sox. Vaughn was languishing in the minors in June when Brewers pitcher Aaron Civale, after being moved to the bullpen, asked to be traded. Soon after, Arnold exchanged Civale for Vaughn<\/a>, who remained in Triple A until Hoskins went down.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust getting him in a different environment, with a different level of pressure, we thought would be a good change of scenery for him,\u201d Arnold said.<\/p>\n

When Vaughn received his promotion, the staff provided marching orders, just as they did for Priester. If he did not swing at strikes, he would not stick around. The message left little room for interpretation, which is one of Murphy\u2019s hallmarks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s professional baseball, at the end of the day,\u201d Yelich said. \u201cI think people lose sight of that sometimes. Like, wanting it to be like, \u2018Oh, you\u2019re doing great and it\u2019s OK.\u2019 Sometimes, it\u2019s not OK. It\u2019s the big leagues. There\u2019s a league for other s\u2014, and it\u2019s not this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vaughn responded to the ultimatum. In his first 20 games as a Brewer, he batted .371 with six home runs and a 1.118 OPS. He is far from the only new face thriving in the lineup. Outfielder Isaac Collins might win National League Rookie of the Year. Caleb Durbin, one of the players acquired from the New York Yankees in exchange for Williams, has emerged as a solid regular at third base.<\/p>\n

The presence of Vaughn adds more power potential for a lineup that will need it in October. A recent hot streak from slugging catcher William Contreras also provides optimism. The franchise has not won a postseason series since 2018. Yelich believes this group could be different.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur culture here brings the best out of players,\u201d Yelich said. \u201cBecause you feel comfortable when you don\u2019t have to put the team on your back, all by yourself. Just compete your ass off and have fun. Just give it hell. That\u2019s all you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next few months will determine if a team stocked with their kind of player can win it all.<\/p>\n

(Illustration: Kelsea Petersen \/ The Athletic; Photos: Patrick McDermott \/ Getty Images, Matthew Grimes \/ Getty Images, Jess Rapfogel \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On the day after the MLB trade deadline, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy uncapped a pen and scribbled…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":128147,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[4247,1266,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-128146","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-milwaukee-brewers","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114991269519836985","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}