For Dustin May, this World Series is carrying weight that goes well beyond the ring he already earned with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020.
Milwaukee is back in the Fall Classic for the first time since 1982, and it is doing it as a National League club for the first time. The city itself has not celebrated a World Series title since 1957, when Hank Aaron, Eddie Matthews, and Warren Spahn helped the Braves win in seven games.
Around the Brewers, that drought is no small thing. The organization knows it, the players know it, and the fans have been waiting for this moment for a long time.
May is part of that story in a very specific way. His role with Milwaukee has been modest, but the meaning of this run is anything but. After winning a championship with the Dodgers, he says this one hits differently because of what he went through in 2024, when a life-threatening esophageal tear came after he choked on a piece of lettuce.
“For me, it means more to be here in this moment today knowing two years ago, looking back where I was, I wasn’t really sure if I was ever going to play again,” May told MLB Network. “So being able to be here in this moment, it truly means the world to me.”
May’s path to Milwaukee has been a strange one. Los Angeles used his injury as an excuse to trade him to the Boston Red Sox, and he later wound up with the St.
Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals then sent him to the Brewers, along with JoJo Romero, ahead of this year’s deadline.
On the field, May has had a mixed October. He started Game Three of the NLDS but did not get out of the third inning.
In the NLCS, Milwaukee turned to him out of the bullpen, where he threw one scoreless inning in Game Two. He also pitched three innings in Game Four, though Shohei Ohtani tagged him for a three-run homer that accounted for three runs.
None of that changed the outcome. Milwaukee still won that game and finished off the sweep of Los Angeles.
In Other News...
Brewers World Series Demand Just Turned Tickets Into A Different Reality
The Brewers first World Series trip since 1982 has sent ticket demand into another gear, and American Family Field is feeling it in a way the club has not seen in decades. Even standing-room options for Game 1 are carrying a get-in price north of $2,300, a sign of how quickly Milwaukee fans have pushed the market into rare territory for October baseball.
Across the field, the contrast is striking. Games in St. Petersburg are still sitting at a far more manageable entry point, which only sharpens the picture of how much appetite exists for this Brewers run and how much of a premium Milwaukee is asking fans to pay for a seat in the building. The prices tell their own story before a pitch is thrown, and for Brewers supporters, the cost of being part of this moment has become part of the moment itself. [Read more 🡒]
Pat Murphys Lineup Process Says Everything About How Brewers Compete
Every morning, Pat Murphy goes back to the same uncomplicated routine to set the Brewers lineup, a process that fits the way Milwaukee tends to do things under him. The managers card gets written out by hand, then passed along through the staff before it is distributed digitally, a small but revealing glimpse at how the Brewers balance preparation with a personal touch in the dugout.
The bigger point is that Murphys approach is not just about convenience, it reflects who gets the final say. Milwaukees front office does its share of scouting and game-planning, but the lineup still comes down to the managers own call, day after day, which says plenty about how the Brewers want to compete and why their daily order can feel a little less formulaic than most. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Just Saw A Familiar Arm In A Moment That Mattered
Drew Rasmussen turned up in a familiar spot for Milwaukee fans on a night when the Brewers needed every edge they could get, and the Rays right-hander wound up working through a shorter outing than Tampa Bay had hoped. Rasmussen lasted three and two-thirds innings against his former club, allowing three runs on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts as the game stayed tight from start to finish.
For the Brewers, it was the kind of matchup that carried extra weight because they knew the arm on the mound and the challenge it could present. Tampa Bay still had plenty to sort out afterward, and the conversation around Rasmussens start quickly centered on how the Rays thought he handled the moment, even as Milwaukees side could take satisfaction in a one-run win that left the series in a difficult place for the visitors. [Read more 🡒]