10 Reasons to believe in the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2024 MLB Playoffs

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Is this the year? The Brewers have existed since 1969 and yet they remain one of five MLB franchises that do not have a single World Series title in their history. They are tied with the Padres as the oldest franchises to have not won a title.

That could all change in 2024. This is the Brewers sixth playoff appearance in the last seven seasons and they have another shot to end this drought. They haven't found any success recently though. The last time they won a playoff series was all the way back at the beginning of this run in 2018. Since then, it's been a string of first round exits.

After all that disappointment in October in recent years, why should fans expect anything different? Why should fans believe in 2024? There are several reasons why.

Reasons why you should believe in the Brewers in the 2024 MLB playoffs

1. Pat Murphy is the right man for the job

When Craig Counsell left for the Cubs last November, there were many questions about how the Brewers would move forward at the helm. Pat Murphy got the job and there were questions about simply promoting the bench coach and not going external, questions about how Murphy would handle the job, etc.

Murphy has answered those questions all season long and proven himself to be the right man for this young team. Murphy has worked with young players his whole career, coming up through the college ranks. He's helped get these rookies and second year players acclimated to the big leagues while also playing at a high level. His mantras of being relentless and undaunted combined with the team philosophy of "win tonight" have been a major factor in this team's success and they will be a reason they succeed in October.

2. The Pillars

All season long, Murphy has described the veteran core of this Brewers club as the pillars, the leaders of this team. Those pillars include Christian Yelich, Freddy Peralta, Wade Miley, Rhys Hoskins, and Willy Adames. While some of these pillars may be injured and unable to help the team on the field, the leadership and presence that they still bring everyday in the clubhouse has been vital to keeping this team together.

For every great team, there's a combination of young talent and veteran talent. Those veterans with that bevy of postseason experience are going to be great resources for the young players to lean on, just like they have been all season. That's been a big reason for their regular season success and that kind of experience is only going to help them in the postseason.

3. Jackson Chourio

Chourio is the youngest player in MLB history to have a 20-20 season. He has set numerous records for a player in his rookie season and the company he's been with statistically is filled with Hall of Famers. Chourio is the real deal. Since June 1st, Chourio hit .303/.358/.525 with 25 doubles, 16 homers, 15 stolen bases, and an .883 OPS.

His stardom can rise even higher in the postseason and he's in prime position to do so.

4. A favorable path

Winning in the playoffs is difficult, there's no doubt about it. But the NL playoff field seems wide open and the Brewers are sitting in a really good spot. First, they will face the Mets in the Wild Card, a team they just beat two out of three times this past weekend and a team that just had to play a double-header, use eight pitchers to do so, then celebrate into the night before having to immediately fly to Milwaukee and play a mid-afternoon game here on Tuesday.

That's a short turnaround to recover from the celebration and get their pitching staff ready. The Brewers have their pitching lined up to their liking. The Mets have a lot of tired arms and no room for error. When the Mets were still fighting for the postseason in that last series, the Brewers handled them pretty easily.

Should the Brewers get past New York, then they face the Phillies, a team they also faced in September and took two out of three from. Last year, the team coming out of the Wild Card round beat the team that had the bye in three out of the four LDS. The Brewers might be at the advantage there against Philly because of that.

5. A dominant bullpen

There's no foolproof recipe to winning in October, but one of the main ingredients for every successful postseason team is a dominant bullpen. The Brewers, once again, have one of those. Devin Williams, Trevor Megill, Joel Payamps, and Jared Koenig have combined to be a lockdown group in big moments. Pat Murphy will be riding these guys quite a bit through October and it's as good of a group any team has in their bullpen.

6. A trustworthy starting rotation

You need trusted arms not only in the bullpen but in the starting rotation to succeed in October. While it's not quite the dominant group the Brewers have had in previous years with Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff not in this group, they have arms they can trust, starting with Freddy Peralta.

While Peralta struggles at times with high pitch counts and not being able to go deep into games, he does not allow a ton of damage and always gives this team a chance to win. After him, Aaron Civale was dominant in his last outing, Frankie Montas has been exceptional over the last six weeks, and the rookie Tobias Myers has been as steady and dominant as it gets. Myers finished the year with an even 3.00 ERA.

Those are four arms you can give the ball to in any playoff game and feel good about your chances to win. That's all you can ask for. Plus, there's still Colin Rea, who was a steady, trustworthy arm all season. Rea likely won't pitch in the Wild Card, but it's not out of the question he could get a start or a bulk outing later on in October.

7. Willy Adames going out with a bang

Pat Murphy said on Sunday that "chances are that's [Adames'] last regular season game in a Brewers uniform and everybody knows that". Adames is a free agent at the end of the year and he's had one incredible walk year, slugging a career high 32 homers with 112 RBIs. Adames loves Milwaukee and Milwaukee loves him back. He's not going to want to go out with a whimper in the playoffs.

Adames lives for those big moments with an energetic crowd and if this is his last year here, he's going to make some memories before he goes. Adames is going to be a big reason for Brewers success in October.

8. Speed kills

Every base matters. Every 90 feet you can advance can be the difference between winning and losing. The Brewers ability to steal bases and run wild on the basepaths is going to be a factor in their postseason success. Taking the extra base, putting yourself in scoring position, and having speed to burn makes the Brewers offense very dangerous in October.

The Brewers stole 217 bases this year, the second-most in franchise history. Nine players had double digit steals this season and five of them had more than 20. Remember how Dave Roberts' stolen base in Game 4 of the ALCS in 2004 changed the game and series for Boston? The Brewers have a number of players who are capable of producing a similar moment this postseason to help end Milwaukee's World Series drought.

9. Defense wins championships

As the old saying goes, defense wins championships. The Brewers are arguably the best defensive team in all of baseball. Brice Turang, Joey Ortiz, Blake Perkins, and Sal Frelick are all Gold Glove caliber players at their positions and it would not be surprising to see them win those accolades at the end of the year.

Mistakes can haunt you very quickly in October, and being sound defensively is crucial to limiting those mistakes and not falling behind. Every team you face has a very good offense and giving them extra outs is not something you'll be able to get away with for long in the playoffs. The Brewers don't do that very much.

10. Win it for Ueck and Bud and Robin

The Brewers have never had a World Series title in their 54 year history. They've only reached one. It's time for that to change. Not only for the franchise, but for the guys who have been there for this franchise from the very beginning. This is the year for Bob Uecker to see the Brewers win the World Series and to call the final out of a Brewers World Series victory. If he never gets to make that call, it will be forever an injustice.

For Bud Selig, who is the only reason the Milwaukee Brewers exist. If not for his passion for Milwaukee and getting this city a team, the Brewers would not be here. He and Uecker are both 90 years old. It's time the Brewers win one for both of these nonagenarians.

For Robin Yount, who has been back in town and meeting young superstar Jackson Chourio. He was the star for the 1982 team and embodies what it means to be a Brewer, playing his entire 20 year career with the organization. Never winning a World Series for this city was the biggest regret of Yount's career. Being able to win one for Robin would be special.

This has the feeling of a team that could win it all. This group is young and hungry and they have the right leader in the manager's chair. Pat Murphy said "How you feel going in doesn't really matter, it's what you believe going in." There's plenty of reason to believe the Brewers can win the World Series this year. Believe. Believe in this team.

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