A first-time World Series champion? What Brewers-Rays means - ESPN

This World Series matchup between the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays feels inevitable.

On the other hand, it feels impossible.

The Brewers were MLB's best team in the regular season, rolling to a franchise-record 103 wins and posting the top run differential in the sport. They're young, athletic and possess a quintessential modern bullpen full of hard-throwing relievers. They have appeared in eight of the past nine postseasons, had the best record in the majors last year and got better in 2026 as Jacob Misiorowski matured into the likely National League Cy Young winner. It should not be a surprise they're here.

The Rays, meanwhile, have been one of baseball's most successful franchises since their initial breakout season in 2008. They won 98 games this season, the most in the American League, and though they missed the playoffs in 2024 and 2025, they had made them five years in a row prior to that. They're young, athletic and possess one of MLB's best closers in Bryan Baker and one of the top power hitters in Junior Caminero. While not many picked the Rays to reach the World Series before the season, it should not be a surprise they're here.

And yet… the Brewers ranked 19th in payroll and play in the sport's smallest metro market. The Rays are 28th in payroll. That feels unbelievable in a world where owners — with a labor fight and lockout looming in the offseason — are arguing the sport isn't fair. The historic significance of this World Series goes beyond the size of each team's payroll though. Neither franchise has won a World Series, so the list of teams without a title will drop from five to four when this year's champion is crowned. The Brewers, in their 57th season in Milwaukee, will be looking to end one of