Pat Murphy was 64 when he finally got a full-time managing job in the major leagues. Three seasons later, the Milwaukee Brewers manager has an award nobody else in baseball has ever won three consecutive times.
"I think of it as we're all under construction and as long as we can keep ourselves under construction and maybe we can impact somebody. And then these types of things happen, and sometimes they don't," Murphy said recounting his journey. "I don't necessarily think I'm deserving, to be quite honest with you. But it's more a matter of just keeping everything in perspective.
"But I am just super, super, super, super grateful."
And in true Pat Murphy style, he accepted it in unique fashion. He was live from a hospital bed after hip surgery,
sporting a green hospital gown.
No joke, Pat Murphy is joining MLB Network from his hospital bed after having hip replacement surgery.
— Hunter Baumgardt (@hunterbonair) November 11, 2026
Incredible. pic.twitter.com/Av2ayma66H
"I had the hip replaced, feel good and very grateful," Murphy said.
Murphy was named National League Manager of the Year on Tuesday, Nov. 10, taking 20 of the 30 first-place votes and 124 points from the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Atlanta's Walt Weiss finished second with 84 points , and Philadelphia's Don Mattingly finished third with 25.
Bobby Cox won the award in 2004 and 2005. Kevin Cash had won it back-to-back in 2020 and 2021, and Murphy and Cleveland's Stephen Vogt both won in 2024 and 2025.
Nobody had won three in a row until Murphy this year.
Murphy keeps getting recognized because the Brewers keep getting better every season under Murphy. They won 93 games in 2024, 97 in 2025 and the 103 this year. Capped by the franchise's first World Series title, 2026 not only saw Milwaukee finish with the best record in baseball, but they finished three wins better than the Los Angeles Dodgers, who outspent almost everyone in the sport.
Why did Pat Murphy win NL Manager of the Year again?
The Brewers don't win by outspending anybody. Their opening-week payroll of $125.5 million ranked 19th in the majors, according to figures obtained by USA TODAY Sports.
The Dodgers spent $322.4 million, more than 2½ times the Brewers' payroll. It didn't matter when they swept Los Angeles out of the NL Championship Series.
They won anyway. Milwaukee went 55-26 at home and 22-8 its last 30 games.
The Brewers did not sneak up on anybody this year. They beat good teams, going 45-30 against clubs with winning records, and they outscored opponents by more than a run a game.
The talent was there as well. Jacob Misiorowski went 16-5 and led the majors with a 1.80 ERA and 252 strikeouts. Second baseman Brice Turang is a finalist for NL MVP. Closer Trevor Megill is up for the new NL Reliever of the Year award.
Who is Pat Murphy?
Murphy never reached the majors as a player. He spent four years in the minors before turning to coaching.
He won 318 games at Notre Dame, where one of his infielders was current Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell, and 629 at Arizona State, with four trips to the College World Series. He later managed the San Diego Padres on an interim basis in 2015.
Counsell brought Murphy to Milwaukee as his bench coach in 2016. When Counsell left for the Cubs after the 2023 season, Murphy got the job, a couple of weeks shy of his 65th birthday.
And in a game that is dominated by youth, Murphy has become a star, because his journey has been so interesting.
He's discussed everything from surviving a heart attack to his love of Bruce Springsteen and quoting Shakespeare in press conferences.
"To be or not to be," that is the question," he said. He gave a few more lines, cracking up the media, before he stumbled. "I'll stop. What is that, Hamlet? Was that pretty good?"
He even had a cameo on "Saturday Night Live" with Christian Yelich and Turang, and his post-World Series win comments to Jake Bauer went viral.
Who else was a finalist for NL Manager of the Year?
Weiss led the Braves to 94 wins and the NL East title.
Mattingly took over a mess. The Phillies fired Rob Thomson on April 28 with the team at 9-19 and handed the job to Mattingly, their bench coach. Philadelphia went 79-55 the rest of the way and made the playoffs as a wild card.
Mattingly won this award with the Miami Marlins in 2020. His son, Preston, is the Phillies' general manager
How is NL Manager of the Year voted?
Two BBWA members from each National League city's chapter cast ballots, ranking three managers. A first-place vote is worth five points, second is three and third is one. Ballots are due before the postseason begins.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brewers' Pat Murphy accepts NL Manager of the Year award from hospital bed
