Brewers win the 2026 World Series: Where the Brew Crew ranks among the best recent MLB champions

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions. There's so much weight in such a statement on its own, but let's consider for a second all the context behind it. 

The 2026 Brewers won 103 games in the regular season and then, more impressively, went a ridiculous 11-2 in the playoffs, never facing elimination, never even trailing in a series. They were one loss away Not only that, but they came so close to being the first team ever to go 8-0 in the League Championship Series and World Series. The 1976 Reds were the only team to sweep both the LCS and World Series, but that only got them to 7-0 because the LCS was five games until 1985. The best playoff record in the era of multiple wild cards was the 2022 Astros at 11-2, and the Brewers have tied that. The 2005 White Sox went 11-1 and so did the 1999 Yankees. We're already up in rarefied air. But there's more.

Think about how hot the Brewers closed. They finished the regular season by winning 15 of their last 18 games. This means they went 26-5 after Sept. 6. Further, look at who they decimated in the playoffs. The Padres were riding a run of 19 wins in 22 games, including a two-game sweep in the Wild Card Series. The Brewers went 3-1 in that NLDS. The Dodgers were the two-time defending champions who swept the Brewers in the NLCS last year. They won 100 games in 2026. The Brewers swept them in four games. The Rays won 98 games in the regular season and were 7-2 thus far in the playoffs. The Brewers took them down in five with their only loss coming in 12 innings. 

Remember the Bob Uecker line from "Major League?" There's nothing left but a vapor trail. 

That's the Brewers' path to the championship. They just became an absolute killing machine down the stretch, pulverizing everything in their path. 

Statistically, they can't touch the 1998 Yankees (114 wins, +309 run differential, 11-2 playoff record including World Series sweep) and certainly can't get to the 1927 Yankees (110-44, +376 run differential, swept World Series). But what about more recently?

Such an exercise is subjective, but let's figure out where these Brewers rank in recent memory. Probably really close to the top, if not all the way up. This wasn't a team loaded with future Hall of Famers, as the Dodgers were last season, for example, but the numbers say these Brewers take a back seat to very few, if any, teams in the past couple of decades. 

In fact, let's sort through it. I'll go with the multiple-wild card era, so we're starting in 2012. Let's narrow it down to teams that won at least 100 games and also won the World Series. Yes, the World Series title is a requirement, so we can safely say goodbye to the 2021 Giants and 2022 Dodgers. 

We'll compare the teams via regular-season record, run differential, playoff record and how they fared in the World Series. As you'll see, the Brewers will have the most impressive resume here. 

Five teams qualify: 

2016 Chicago Cubs 

An absolute juggernaut in the regular season outside of a wretched stretch before the All-Star break, the Cubs finally broke the faux curse and won it all. They had the regular-season MVP and two Cy Young candidates, in addition to the Cy Young winner from the previous year. On the downside of this argument, they trailed in both the NLCS and World Series (three games to one). Coming back is impressive, but the most dominant teams didn't fall behind.

2017 Houston Astros

The first World Series title in franchise history came with a young and (at least it felt like it at the time) fun team. They had the MVP and a former Cy Young winner and also traded for future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander. They needed seven games in both the ALCS and World Series.

2018 Boston Red Sox 

The highest win total on the list is right here. They also never faced elimination in the playoffs, though they did trail 1-0 in the ALCS. The MVP of the league was again on the champs and they also had three Cy Young winners (Chris Sale hadn't won his yet, but he was the undisputed ace). 

2022 Houston Astros

After a 106-win regular season, the Astros steamrolled through the American League side of the bracket, going 7-0. They did lose Games 1 and 3, though, to fall behind 2-1 in the World Series after seeing the Phillies club them for a bunch of home runs in a 7-0 Game 3 win. The Astros righted the ship thereafter, though, and won the next three games, including two nail-biters. 

2026 Milwaukee Brewers

Though the regular seasons are pretty comparable in that chart above, the Brewers were easily the top dog in the postseason. They lost one game between the NLCS and World Series. 

Any other teams worth considering?

We should probably loop in the 2013 Red Sox, the 2015 Royals and the repeat champion 2024-25 Dodgers as well. 

• Red Sox (2013): They tied for the MLB lead with 97 wins in the regular season and then went 11-5 in the postseason, never facing elimination. David Ortiz went 11 for 16 with two doubles and two homers in the World Series. Still, they trailed in both the ALCS and World Series.
• Royals (2015): Behind incredible defense and a dominant bullpen, the Royals won 95 games and took down the Mets in five games in the World Series. Somewhat similar to the 2026 Brewers, it felt like every time they got behind, the Royals were going to come back. They just weren't as good. 
• Dodgers (2024-25): Funnily enough, in the last seven full regular seasons, the Dodgers won at least 100 games five times. The two times they didn't, they won the World Series. The 2024 squad won 98, but the rotation was patchwork by the World Series. How about the '25 bunch? They "only" won 93 games in the regular season, then went 13-4 in the playoffs. The star power of Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts is a bonus. How about the rotation? It was ridiculous, as Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Ohtani looked like a group of Cy Young winners. This team is definitely in the mix. But is that enough?

The verdict

If I had to rank them, I think the Mount Rushmore in this era would be: 

1. 2018 Red Sox
2. 2026 Brewers
3. 2022 Astros
4. 2016 Cubs

The 2025 Dodgers were a tough omission, but they didn't even earn a bye due to a relatively low regular-season win total. 

I'm willing to hear arguments for the Brewers over that Red Sox team, too. After all, the Red Sox did lose a whole three playoff games, even though they never faced elimination. 

The bottom line is that the 2026 Milwaukee Brewers are one of the best, if not the greatest, champions in recent history.