Remembering Caleb Durbin's best moments in a Milwaukee Brewers uniform

In many ways, Caleb Durbin embodied what it means to be a Milwaukee Brewer. The Brewers, playing in the smallest TV market in baseball, with a payroll a fraction of the size of the teams they are contending with, are consistently overlooked despite proving they are among the league's best. Similarly, Durbin, a former Division III ballplayer who was selected in the 14th round of the MLB Draft, was constantly doubted throughout his career, despite proving he has what it takes to be an everyday big leaguer.

In the same way that the Brewers have to earn their respect from MLB and the national media year after year, Durbin was constantly having to prove himself at every stage of his baseball career, often being discredited due to his height or his lack of power at the plate. However, in 2025, Durbin finally silenced the doubters, putting together a strong rookie campaign that landed him among the finalists for the NL's Rookie of the Year Award at the end of the season.

Despite the Brewers trading Durbin to the Red Sox earlier today -- a move that netted them controllable starting pitchers Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan -- Milwaukee fans won't soon forget the contributions that their standout rookie made in 2025. Here are some of the best moments from Durbin's memorable rookie season.

The best moments from Caleb Durbin's memorable rookie season in Milwaukee

4. Durbin's stellar NLCS performance

There aren't many fond memories from the Brewers' disheartening loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2025 NLCS, but one bright spot was the performance that Durbin put together. While much of the Brewers' offense struggled through the four-game sweep at the hands of the mighty Dodgers, Durbin collected four hits in 13 at-bats and swiped a pair of bases. Three of Durbin's four hits went for extra bases, giving the rookie an impressive slash line of .308/.357/.615 during the four-game stretch.

Durbin's performance in the NLCS speaks to his resilience as a player. While nothing was going right for the Brewers' offense, the scrappy infielder toughed out a strong performance and at least gave his team a chance to produce runs when they were seemingly impossible to come by.

3. Durbin's electric MLB debut (4/18/25)

In mid-April, the Brewers' third base picture was bleak. Milwaukee opted for a platoon of Oliver Dunn and Vinny Capra to start the season, but neither player was off to a strong start, and the Brewers needed a spark in their offense. The Brewers promoted Durbin to the big-league roster, and immediately he provided a jolt of energy to the struggling lineup.

In his debut, a 5-3 Friday night win over the Athletics, Durbin went 2-4 with two softly hit singles, made a few savvy base running plays, and flashed the leather with some strong defense at third base. Though it would be a few weeks before Durbin settled into his everyday role at the hot corner, his debut was a positive development during what was a slow start to the 2025 season for the Brew Crew.

2. Durbin keeps the winning streak alive with walk-off single against Washington (7/12/25)

In early July, the Brewers were on one of their three impressive winning streaks of the 2025 season. After a sweep of the Dodgers and a win in the series opener against the Washington Nationals, the Brewers were locked into a tight one in game two of the series to extend their winning streak to six. Milwaukee found themselves down two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but a single from Jackson Chourio, a walk from Christian Yelich, and a double from Andrew Vaughn quickly tied it up.

Andruw Monasterio replaced Vaughn on the basepaths and advanced to third base on a groundout from Jake Bauers. With a runner on third and one out, Durbin stepped to the plate. He snuck a base hit past the outstretched glove of Daylen Lile, Monasterio came in to score, and the Brewers won.

1. Durbin walks off the Padres on the first pitch of the bottom of the ninth (6/7/25)

In early June, the Brewers were starting to catch some momentum; they were back above .500, coming off five-straight series ties or better, and returning home for a three-game set with the San Diego Padres. After dropping game one of the series on Friday night, the Brewers held a two-run lead over the Friars heading into the top of the ninth inning on Saturday night. However, Trevor Megill gave up a two-run double in the top half of the final frame, which tied the game at five runs apiece. Leading off the bottom of the ninth inning was Durbin.

The first pitch Durbin saw from right-hander David Morgan was a 98 mph fastball just above the zone. Durbin leveled out his swing and roped it to left field. The ball soared into the glove of DL Hall in the Brewers' bullpen, giving Durbin his first walk-off homer on what was just the second home run of his young career.