What would you give to win it all? How far would you go – how much would it mean? What if it’s for a city that’s never experienced the feeling of it before?
Five teams in Major League Baseball have never won a Fall Classic. Starting Friday, two of them face off in it.
The World Series has arrived.
It’s been over 250 days since pitchers and catchers reported for Spring Training. All of the extra innings, bullpen changes, 100-degree dog days, blown leads and walk-offs have led to right now.
“Playing in the cold at the start of the year sucks; it’s an obligation,” Cleveland Guardians pitcher Cade Smith said Friday. “Playing in the cold at the end of the year is a privilege.”
A privilege it is. And for the last 250-plus days, the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays have earned that privilege.
There’s no Los Angeles Dodgers or New York Yankees. No $300 million payrolls or mega TV contracts. Just pure ball between two of baseball’s most undervalued and overlooked franchises.
All that’s at stake is 85 combined years of winless seasons.
Ueck’s Battle-Tested Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers have been the best baseball team all year. They finished with the most wins of any team in 2026, and the most wins of any Brewers team all time. After clinching the postseason for the eighth time in the last nine years, the same query remained: could they get it done when it mattered most?
Milwaukee’s World Series run began against the San Diego Padres earlier this month. The Padres came in with sizzling confidence as the hottest team in the sport, but after just the first two games, Milwaukee knew 2026 would be different.
In the top of the ninth of a tight Game 1, San Diego’s Ty France sent a ball remarkably high into the domed roof of Milwaukee’s American Family Field. As the ball soared toward the roof — potentially heading out for a go-ahead home run — it hit off a part of the dome and ricocheted down into the glove of Brewers’ Jackson Chourio. Milwaukee went on to win the game 3-2.
“Ueck decided to put his hand on it and swat it down,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.
The fabled Bob Uecker spent 54 years as the radio voice of Milwaukee. He passed away in 2025, having seen no Brewers championships. Murphy, along with every person in the Brewers building, is carrying his legacy through this playoff run.
In Game 2, Chourio brought the dramatics up a scale. He came up to the plate living every kid’s dream: two outs with bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth. Staring into the eyes of San Diego’s star closer, Mason Miller, Chourio lined a 101 mph pitch back up the middle to score two runs and win the game.
After finishing the Padres, the Brewers got their shot at the two-time defending champs. The Dodgers breezed past the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS and looked primed to three-peat.
The Brewers swept them.
With two outs in a hushed Dodger Stadium, Kike Hernandez lined out to Chourio to complete the four-game sweep. Jeff Levering, the current Brewers radio play-by-play broadcaster, paid homage to Ueck with the closing remarks, “The Brewers win the pennant! Oh my god, the Brewers win the pennant!”
The Devil Went Down to Tampa
Two years ago, Hurricane Milton ripped the roof off the Tampa Bay Rays’ Tropicana Field.
Since the Rays’ inception in 1998, the 25,000-seat stadium has been home to Tampa Bay baseball. After the hurricane, the Rays were forced to play in enemy territory for the 2025 season, in the Yankees’ Spring Training facility, Steinbrenner Field.
After a fourth-place finish last year, the Rays returned home and ignited. Tampa Bay tied for the most wins at home in 2026, with none other than the Milwaukee Brewers.
Since Tampa Bay took first place in the AL East on June 28, they’ve been the best team in the American League. The Rays ended with 98 wins and faced the division-rival Yankees in the ALDS. The first eight innings of Tampa Bay’s postseason reminded the league why they ran the AL.
Drew Rasmussen got the start and nearly no-hit the Yankees, who were coming off plating 18 runs in two games against the Boston Red Sox. With the highest-attended game at Tropicana Field since 2010, Tampa had the back of these new, exciting Rays.
Tampa Bay won the game 1-0, then continued to sweep the 94-win Yankees in three games.
Next up was the plucky Cleveland Guardians. Late in Game 6, the Rays’ 23-year-old superstar Junior Caminero came up to the plate. He turned on the first pitch and lined a ball into left field that banged off the foul pole for a home run that blew the roof off Tropicana — figuratively, this time.
His near 40-second home run trot encapsulates the whole Rays attitude.
Tampa Bay went on to win the game and advance to their third franchise World Series. After facing so much adversity and returning home to reach the World Series, Caminero summed it up perfectly: “Tampa! This is for you!”
The 122nd World Series
Both teams have had their storybook rides to get here. Both are stories of resilience, and now one of them gets to hang a banner. The last question is, who’s going to win it?
The Rays lineup is great, but the Brewers’ is better. Right now, Tampa Bay is a little top-heavy. Yandy Diaz, Jonathan Aranda and Caminero have been excellent. But of their qualified hitters outside those three, the next highest average is Chandler Simpson’s .240.
Milwaukee’s getting contributions one-through-nine. William Contreras has been the heartbeat, Jake Bauers is making pitchers work, and Chourio has shown he can rise to the moment. Not to mention the addition of David Hamilton in the nine-hole, currently with a .500 OBP.
Tampa Bay has the advantage in starting pitching. Soon-to-be NL Cy Young, Jacob Misiorowski, has only covered 8.1 innings over his two starts for Milwaukee. Meanwhile, the Rays are getting high-quality innings from Rasmussen and trade deadline acquisition Freddy Peralta, who just won the ALCS MVP.
The bullpen, however, favors Milwaukee. The Brewers’ three-headed monster, Aaron Ashby, Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill, have combined for 23.1 innings at a 0.77 ERA. That said, in 2026 the Rays are unbelievably 92-0 when leading after eight innings.
These are two very even teams sure to produce close games. A lot will be decided on the base paths and the transitions from starter to reliever. Both teams extensively get guys on base and rapidly steal, and both shut down opponents late into games. Both also play sharp, disciplined defense.
This series will come down to meeting the moment. Both clubs will get chances. Who can put their city on their back when it matters most?
85 years of history will be decided next week. The winner will be the Milwaukee Brewers.
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