Another year, another World Series without the Phillies in it. Weeks after the Phillies’ inglorious defeat in the Wild Card round, both the National and American Leagues have crowned their champions who will now face off to determine MLB’s ultimate champion for 2026.
The Milwaukee Brewers will take on the Tampa Bay Rays. While some people will cry that the “glamour” teams aren’t involved, these two teams were the best in their respective leagues for most of the season and the matchup should make for an excellent
World Series.
Since many Phillies fans may have tuned out since the Wild Card round or been distracted by such things as LeBron James and blood clots, here’s a quick guide to catch you up on this year’s series.
Milwaukee Brewers
How they got here
They led baseball with 103 wins to win the NL Central, then defeated the Padres 3-1 in the NLDS and swept the defending champion Dodgers in the NLCS.
Who you should know
Jacob Misiorowski – The second year righthanded starter is very likely to win the NL Cy Young Award. He throws very hard and strikes a lot of guys out.
Brice Turang – He had already established himself as a great fielder, winning a Gold Glove in 2024, but he’s improved as a hitter every year as well. He had an OPS of .816 with 21 home runs this season.
Logan Henderson – The rookie starting pitcher had a strong season and was unbeatable when pitching at home.
Jake Bauers – Previously a journeyman, Bauers unexpectedly hit 26 home runs – more than double his career high – at age 30. He was just named the MVP of the NLCS thanks to five RBIs over the final two games.
What are they good at?
Quite a bit. Despite a lack of notable offensive superstars, they were second in baseball in runs scored thanks to their best in baseball on-base percentage. They also had the second-best team ERA in baseball thanks to a stellar top of their rotation and lockdown bullpen.
What are they not good at?
Hitting home runs. Their 154 home runs was the second-lowest figure in baseball. While it’s nice to be able to get on base with regularity, rallies can be harder to sustain in the playoffs, and sometimes you need that one big blow.
Tampa Bay Rays
How they got here
They won the American League East with 98 wins, swept the Yankees in the ALDS, and took out the Guardians 4-2 in the ALCS.
Who you should know
Junior Caminero – At 22 years of age, the third baseman has established himself as one of the top power hitters in baseball. With 42 home runs, he topped the 40 mark for the second straight year.
Yandy Diaz – The veteran designated hitter led the AL with 180 hits.
Drew Rasmussen – After a couple of injury shortened seasons in 2023 and 2024, he’s somewhat quietly become one of the best pitchers in baseball. He had a 2.64 ERA and a league-low 0.913 WHIP.
Freddy Peralta – After leading the league in wins for the Brewers in 2025, he went to the Mets and was having an awful season before being traded to the Rays at the deadline. Naturally, he pitched well down the stretch and was the ALCS MVP. (LOLMets)
What are they good at?
They had the second-best team batting average (behind the Brewers), third-best ERA from starting pitchers, and closer Bryan Baker was a game shortener, leading the AL with 41 saves.
What aren’t they good at?
Similar to the Brewers, their power numbers aren’t great, ranking 15th in team slugging percentage and 26th in isolated power. And aside from Baker, the bullpen isn’t all that impressive.
Who should we root for?
It’s a matchup of smaller market teams who have never won the World Series, so there’s no real “feel good” story or villain. However, the people of Milwaukee have suffered much longer than residents of the Tampa Bay area, which due to lack of fan support probably shouldn’t even have a team to begin with. I feel we also owe the Brewers some support since they not only prevented the Dodgers from earning a “threepeat,” but they did so in decisive fashion, sweeping them out of the NLCS.
If you’re the type who likes to root for former Phillies, the Brewers employ lefthander reliever JoJo Romero, who came up through the Phillies’ system and spent his first three seasons with them. He wasn’t very good for the Phillies but has had a solid career since they traded him. While the Phillies could use solid, homegrown relievers, they did get Edmundo Sosa for him, and everyone loves Sosa.
Obligatory note about the ratings
As happens when there are no teams from New York, Los Angeles, or Boston involved, there has been some consternation about what kind of ratings this year’s World Series will get. Coincidentally, these complaints are usually from fans of teams from New York, Los Angeles, or Boston.
Since I don’t work for MLB nor a TV network showing the games, I don’t care one fig about the ratings, and nor should any other normal fan.
Who will win?
The teams are rather similar to each other in that they score a lot of runs without relying too much on home runs and have excellent starting pitching. However, the Brewers seem to be just a little bit better at everything, and they appear to have a clear edge in relief pitching.
That will be enough to give the Brewers their first World Series title as they take down the Rays in six games.
