After waiting an extra day, the Milwaukee Brewers finally celebrated their first World Series championship on Wednesday night.
More than five decades after the franchise arrived in Milwaukee, the Brewers were crowned MLB champions with a 4-1 series victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Milwaukee’s long-awaited celebration was delayed when the Rays fought back in extra innings to win Tuesday night’s Game 4. One night later, however, there was no doubt about the outcome as the Brewers powered to a 4-0 victory.
When closer Trevor Megill induced a soft ground ball for the final out in the bottom of the ninth, Tropicana Field erupted in deafening noise as traveling Brewers supporters broke into jubilant celebrations.
The Milwaukee players then raced up the steps of their dugout and poured onto the field, celebrating a championship more than half a century in the making.
Playing in the smallest market in Major League Baseball, the Brewers proved to be a resilient team that found its best form at precisely the right time. Earlier in the series, Milwaukee had built a 3-0 lead over Tampa Bay despite hitting only one home run.
The Milwaukee Brewers won their first-ever World Series title on Wednesday night
The Brewers sealed their triumph over the Tampa Bay Rays with a 4-1 win in Game 5
Raucous traveling Milwaukee fans broke out into wild celebrations inside Tropicana Field
Wednesday night offered more of the same determination that carried the Brewers through the postseason, including a sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.
Milwaukee clinched the title in Game 5 by manufacturing runs with two singles, a sacrifice fly and a double.
Rookie Cooper Pratt, 22, set a World Series rookie record with six consecutive hits before recording a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning. Jackson Chourio established a five-game Series record with 11 hits.
Young ace Jacob Misiorowski delivered 5 2/3 scoreless innings while allowing only two hits before leaving with a right calf cramp. He received a standing ovation from Brewers fans, who had taken over the section behind Milwaukee’s dugout during the final three games.
Brewers supporters had waited for this moment since 1970. The franchise began as the Seattle Pilots in 1969 before moving to Milwaukee one year later, and thousands of fans traveled from Wisconsin to Florida to witness the historic triumph.
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Many wore the team’s blue-and-gold jerseys, while others sported the region’s iconic “cheese heads,” a tribute to Wisconsin’s NFL franchise, the Green Bay Packers. They stood among a cowbell-ringing Rays crowd as the visiting fans made their presence felt.
Their celebrations were delayed by one more day after Tampa Bay produced a remarkable 12th-inning comeback in Game 4 for its first win of the season on Tuesday night.
Still, with Milwaukee entering Game 5 holding a 3-1 series advantage, the Brewers’ historic World Series title appeared within reach.
The Brewers players rushed up the steps of the dugout and flooded onto the field
The Brewers are given the Commissioner’s Trophy as blue and gold confetti falls around them
Catcher Williams Contreras is captured on the brink of tears as he emotionally celebrates
Of the 43 previous major league teams to fall behind 3-0 in a best-of-seven postseason series, only the 2004 Boston Red Sox had overcome the deficit by winning four consecutive games. They defeated the New York Yankees in that year’s American League Championship Series.
Before this year, 25 teams had taken a 3-0 lead in the World Series. Twenty-one completed the sweep in Game 4, while the other four captured the championship in Game 5.
The Rays ultimately failed to match the historic 2004 Red Sox comeback.
Tampa Bay, an expansion franchise that debuted in 1998, fell to 0-3 in World Series appearances after previously losing in 2008 and 2020. The Rays are reportedly only the third team to lose its first three Series appearances, joining the Brooklyn Dodgers and Detroit Tigers.
The championship-clinching game provided a fitting conclusion to the final Major League Baseball action fans may see for an extended period.
The Brewers won the World Series as owners push for a salary cap in negotiations with the players’ association, arguing that small-market teams cannot consistently compete. A management lockout is expected to begin December 2 and could put the 2027 season at risk.
Ironically, this was the first World Series since 1991 between teams ranked in the bottom half of MLB payrolls. The Brewers were 19th as of August 31, while the Rays ranked 25th.
