Tuesday night, in the series opener against the New York Mets, we saw another episode of what makes Pat Murphy special.
Now, whether you take that one way or another is up for interpretation. One thing is for sure: no matter the number of comments that come from the couch managers out there, he’s won back-to-back Manager of the Year Awards for a reason.
Having to be the man behind the wheel for baseball’s fifth-youngest roster is no small task. There are a number of large tasks that come with it, from
dealing with a variety of personalities to slumps the length of a month to hoping minor league success turns into major league success.
No one was better equipped for the next era of Milwaukee Brewers baseball than Murphy himself. Having spent over 20 years in Division I Collegiate Baseball, Murphy knew how to rally his guys and knew how to succeed at a consistent high level, as he won over 900 games, four Pac-10 regular-season championships, and four College World Series appearances.
Yes, Craig Counsell had begun this new wave of young talent, but it’s been Murphy who has turned the Brewers into a powerhouse, eclipsing the win totals from the year prior each year of his tenure. To do what he has done up to this point has truly been an accomplishment, as he can already go down as one of the greatest managers in Brewers history.
Sometimes to be good at your job, you’ve got to stir the pot. Create some controversy. Last season, we saw the first instance of Murphy making his presence felt to establish greatness among the clubhouse.
On April 26, 2025, the Brewers were in the middle of a road trip to St. Louis. Many people remember this as the Sal Frelick benching game, but it started before that. In the top of the fifth inning, Caleb Durbin was picked off at second base, taking away a pivotal run in what was setting up to be a large inning. Following the pick-off, Durbin was replaced by Vinny Capra. In the bottom half of the frame, Frelick got the same experience after overthrowing the cutoff man, allowing a run to score and another runner to advance.
With Durbin being a rookie and the pickoff happening, that move made a little bit more sense than pulling the reigning National League Gold Glove winner at the time. In an interview with Sophia Minnaert, Murphy said, “They’re two of our tougher guys, and I think you’ve got to set the standard with those types of guys.”
The Brewers have been one of the most fundamentally sound teams in baseball over the years, despite being so young. “These are young players, and they’ve got to know there are consequences for not playing right, or playing sloppy,” Murphy said in an interview with Todd Rosiak.
But these types of moves almost set the tone for the rest of the clubhouse, almost like a straighten-up moment. Both Durbin and Frelick respect the decision, and they instantly know why they were pulled, making sure it won’t happen again next time they’re in that situation and building that fundamental soundness.
Now, that misthrow by Frelick wasn’t an error per the rule book, but from that point on, Frelick only committed three errors the rest of the way. Durbin also went on to finish third in the Rookie of the Year voting, setting up to be a solid cornerstone player for the team prior to his trade to Boston.
This season, we’ve seen more dominance from Murphy, and up until Tuesday night, most fans were in agreement with him. The first case came on August 3, in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, where a struggling Brandon Sproat was pulled in the middle of an at-bat during the fourth inning. In a battle with Jacob Gonzalez, Sproat found himself ahead in the count 0-1 before throwing back-to-back wild pitches, which was enough for Murphy.
Shortly after this pull, Sproat was optioned down to Triple-A Nashville, which was a move desperately needed for a rookie who was having a rough season, with a 5.27 ERA and a 3-7 record in 95 2/3 innings pitched. Since his demotion, Sproat has settled down, finding a groove with the Sounds — in his second outing, he threw five innings of one-hit baseball, striking out eight and walking three. Then, on Sunday, he threw three innings of hitless baseball as he was a part of a combined seven-inning no-hitter.
Again, Murphy knows best.
The second occasion this season came not too long ago in the series against the Seattle Mariners, when Murphy pulled Robert Gasser in the middle of an at-bat during the fourth inning due to his command and walk issues. After an early offensive output, Gasser gave up four runs, diminishing an early Brewers’ lead, which in return found his outing being cut short.
Then, Tuesday night happened. In the top of the fifth inning, leading 1-0 against the Mets, Cooper Pratt hit a flare single into right field that allowed him to reach base. Now, what we didn’t know until the end of the game was the pair of issues Murphy had with that at-bat and the one prior.
“We ask him to get a bunt down, and he pulled back on a strike…second one he pulled back on a strike right down the middle,” said Murphy. “The next at-bat, he popped a ball up to right field and didn’t run…he would’ve easily got to second base.”
At the time of the pulling, the Brewers were still winning, but the big issue everyone had with the benching was what followed in the bottom of the 10th inning. With the bases loaded and one out, a ground ball was hit to David Hamilton, who was at third base. Hamilton threw home, but threw it wide left, allowing the winning run to score and the Mets to win the game. Before Hamilton replaced Pratt, Joey Ortiz was the third baseman, while Pratt manned shortstop.
“It’s just not tolerated by anybody,” said Murphy in an interview. “It sends a message to everybody else too.”
Pratt said himself after the game, “It won’t happen again, I can promise you that. It’s just not winning baseball.”
While the loss is a gut punch considering the Brewers had several chances to take the lead late in the game, it’s moves like this, agree or disagree, that you just have to trust the process. Besides, we’ve seen some great turnarounds from players after Murphy does what he does best. Because at the end of the day, those are the types of plays that can lose a team a playoff series, and losing a playoff series is something the Brewers aren’t trying to do this October.
