Pat Murphy, Matt Arnold Have The Milwaukee Brewers On A Roll

Forbes

19 hours ago

The Milwaukee Brewers are the best team — and the best story — in the major leagues.
Double-digit winning streaks. A rookie with 102 mph heat. Pocket pancakes and (potentially) free hamburgers.
In Year 1 A.U., the first season after franchise icon Bob Uecker's passing on Jan. 16, the Brewers have delivered golden moments with the promise of more.
Manager Pat Murphy's Brewers have rolled to the top the NL Central with a 26-4 run that has that included two 11-game winning streaks, and the current run has the 20 Milwaukee-area George Webb Restaurant locations on high alert as the streaking Brewers face Pittsburgh today.
Fans receive free hamburgers when the Brewers reel off 12 in a row, and 168,194 were rewarded the first time it happened in 1987, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Other numbers are just as impressive. Only three teams since 1953 have had a better 30-game stretch, and the Brewers are first team since the 1978 Pittsburgh Pirates to have two double-digit win streaks in July or later.
Since Jackson Chourio reached over the fence to take a homer away from Minnesota's Royce Lewis to end the Twins' 13-game winning streak May 18, the Brewers are 54-19.
Murphy, who introduced pocket pancakes as an in-game snack during a TV interview Aug. 1 that has gone viral, seems a lock to be the first repeat winner of the BBWAA's NL Manager of the Year award since Atlanta's Bobby Cox in 2004-05.
GM Matt Arnold Excels in His Small Market
The Brewers' 2025 payroll is approximately $113.1 million this season, according to Spotrac, which is 20th in the majors and almost exactly one-third of the Mets' outlay of $339.2 million.
The Brewers have 11 more wins than their big-spending rivals, and only Pittsburgh, Colorado and Miami have a lower payroll the NL. The Brewers have made the playoffs in six of the last seven seasons with four NL Central titles.
Since replacing David Stearns after the 2022 season, Arnold has consistently made the right move while operating under the financial constraints of a franchise that has the smallest market in the majors, with a population base of around 1.69 million.
The cast changes but the results remain the same.
Arnold swung one of his best deals in this first month of job, acquiring catcher William Contreras in a three-way trade with Atlanta and Oakland in Dec. 2022. It cost the Brewers Estuary Ruiz. Contreras and veteran Christian Yelich are key weapons.
Closer Trevor Megill, who has ably replaced departed free agent Devin Williams, was acquired from Minnesota for a player to be named in April, 2023.
Flash forward to this season. New left fielder Isaac Collins, claimed off waivers from Colorado in 2022, has become a candidate for NL Rookie of Year with eight homers, 40 RBIS and an .853 OPS.
Veteran left-hander Jose Quintana (10-4) signed as a free agent in March, and right-hander Quinn Priester (11-2) was acquired from Boston in April. They have helped Milwaukee starters to a 3.38 ERA, lowest in the NL.
Rookie Jacob Misiorowski and his 100-plus mph fastball arrived mid-season, and all he did was pitch five hitless innings in his June 12 debut while throwing 14 pitches at 100 mph. He topped out at 102.2.
First baseman Andrew Vaughn, a proven major league hitter who was scuffling with the Chicago White Sox, has been on fire since being acquired June 13 trade. He has eight homers and 32 RBIs in 26 games with the Crew.
Brewers Follow the Fundamentals
The Brewers catch the ball, take the extra base, and protect leads.
Milwaukee has 'saved' 36 runs move than the average major league team on defense, according to baseball-reference com, fourth in the majors. Right fielder Sal Frelick has saved nine, second baseman Bruce Turang eight and shortstop Joey Ortiz five. Frelick and Turang won Gold Gloves a year ago.
Center fielder Blake Perkins, a Gold Glove finalist in 2024, threw out Starling Marte at the plate to end the Brewers' 3-2 victory over the New York Mets on Aug. 8 to extend the Brewers' winning streak to seven.
The Brewers have 130 stolen bases, second in the majors with a 75.1 percent success rate.
Their speed translates once they get a runner to second base, also. Milwaukee runners have scored from second on a single 104 times, according to CodifyBaseball. Toronto is second with 90, and the Los Angeles Dodgers are third with 87.
The Brewers' bullpen, with Megill at the back end, has blown only two leads that cost a stating pitcher a victory, the lowest in the majors.