Brewers Ride Pat Murphy’s Old-School Style Past Dodgers
Milwaukee completed a four-game sweep of Los Angeles to reach the World Series for the first time in 44 years. The article examines how manager Pat Murphy built a clear, old-school identity and got his players to embrace it despite modern front-office analytics. The Brewers repeatedly erased Dodgers leads during the series.
Milwaukee’s four-game sweep of Los Angeles sent the Brewers to the World Series for the first time in 44 years. Manager Pat Murphy sought a distinct playing identity tied to the players in his clubhouse, even as modern analytics shaped roster and strategy decisions elsewhere.
The Dodgers held leads in all four games and six times overall, but Milwaukee answered each time. In the clincher, Los Angeles went ahead 4-0 after Shohei Ohtani’s three-run homer; Milwaukee won 6-4. The Dodgers also became one of seven postseason teams to lose four straight games in a series without attempting a steal, with a .250 slugging mark.
The Brewers’ run could give Milwaukee fans a shared civic boost and may renew debate among coaches, players, and executives about how much authority a manager should have over analytics-driven strategy. It may also affect how clubs think about building a clear team identity, though any broader lesson would depend on whether this success proves repeatable rather than a single postseason outlier.