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The Brewers’ World Series run, by the numbers, was one of the most dominant ever
World Series: Milwaukee Brewers v Tampa Bay Rays - Game Five Getty Images
(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

The Milwaukee Brewers are World Series Champions.

For the first time in franchise history, the Brewers stand atop the baseball world, thanks to a 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 of the World Series. And you know somewhere, Bob Uecker is smiling.

But while Milwaukee is known as a small-market team, playing a small-ball brand of baseball, the Brewers just completed one of the most dominant runs in MLB playoff history.

We can start with how Milwaukee rolled through the postseason. After winning a league-best 103 games — three games ahead of the behemoth Los Angeles Dodgers — the Brewers finished the playoffs with a combined 11-2 record. Milwaukee lost just one game in the NLDS to the San Diego Padres, swept those Dodgers in the NLCS, and lost a single game to Tampa Bay in the World Series.

Since MLB expanded to the division series, only two teams posted a better record than these Brewers: The 2005 Chicago White Sox and the 1999 New York Yankees. Both of those teams posted an 11-1 mark, good for a winning percentage of .917.

The Brewers joined the 2022 Houston Astros and the 1998 Yankees with their 11-2 record, good for a winning percentage of .846.

Milwaukee joined another small group with the sweep of the Dodgers. As pointed out by Jayson Stark, the Brewers became just the fifth team in MLB history to win 100 games in the regular season and then knock off the defending World Series champions in the postseason. Also on that list? The 2018 Boston Red Sox, who won 108 games and then beat the Astros in the ALCS; the 2009 Yankees, who won 103 games and defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series; the 1968 Detroit Tigers, who won 103 games and beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series; and the 1942 Cardinals, who beat the Yankees in the World Series after winning 106 games.

And Milwaukee rode an impressive closing stretch to the title. The Brewers went 16-2 over their final 18 games, 19-3 over their final 22 games, 21-4 over their final 25, and 40-14 over their final 54 games.

They only lost five games — FIVE — since Labor Day.

That was back on September 7 if you do not have a calendar handy.

Pitching was certainly a key for the Brewers this October. As noted by the incomparable Sarah Langs, Milwaukee did not allow more than four runs in any of their 13 playoff games, joining the 1990 Cincinnati Reds and the 1983 Baltimore Orioles as the only teams to accomplish that feat over a run to a World Series title since the playoffs expanded back in 1969. And Milwaukee’s bullpen stood out as well, as that group threw 118 innings (55.1% of the available innings, fourth most in playoff history) but held opponents to a .173 batting average while posting an ERA of just 1.38. Those are the second-lowest numbers in a single playoffs since the 2022 Astros (0.83 ERA, .126 OBA).

While the Brewers posted a run differential of +26 over their playoff run, many of their games were close contests. (A 10-1 win over the Rays in Game 3 of the World Series skews that number).

But how Milwaukee responded in some of those games is another key indicator of how dominant — or perhaps how resilient — this group is. Stark found that according to STATS, seven times over these 13 games, the Brewers scored in the very next half-inning after allowing the opponent either tied the game, or took the lead against them.

Only three teams — the 2006 Cardinals, the 1997 Florida Marlins, and the 2002 Angels — did that more. But all three of those teams needed 16 games to do so.

However, perhaps the most eye-popping stat?

Four games to none, the sweep of the Dodgers in the NLCS.

After winning Game 1 2-1, Milwaukee dropped 19 runs on the Dodgers over the next three games, outscoring Los Angeles — the second-best team in the majors — by a combined 19-10.

“This group of guys right here, the 2026 team, will be remembered forever — and they deserve that because they were a team,” manager Pat Murphy said after the game. “They’re not worried about their own stats. No one cares about that. They care about coming together and winning tonight.”

The Brewers did not just win Wednesday night.

They have been winning all season, all fall, and all throughout the playoffs.

And now they are World Series Champions.

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