The Milwaukee Brewers came to play and win the World Series. As a lifelong Wisconsin resident and Brewers fan — who has endured many rough, disappointing seasons — it was a delight to watch. In Milwaukee, the Brewers hosted a watch party at American Family Field that looked no different from a home game, and diehard Brewers fans invaded Tropicana Field (in part because it was more affordable to fly to Tampa than attend a game in Milwaukee). If you listened to the game, the crowd was just as loud, if not louder, for the Brewers than the home team.
Then there was that monster of a fifth inning, brought to us courtesy some good base running by Christian Yelich, who beat a throw to second base to keep the inning alive.
After further review, Christian Yelich was ruled safe at second base to load the bases with two outs in the 5th pic.twitter.com/OTsRHlPsZW
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 27, 2026
But I don't want to rehash the play-by-play, as fun as that would be, and that fifth inning was fun.
Instead, I once again want to turn to the shameful national sports media, and this time John Smoltz, the Braves pitcher turned announcer who had this to say about Brewers catcher William Contreras, after Contreras used an ABS challenge on a pitch in the bottom of the third, when Milwaukee was up 2-0 over Tampa.
“There’s just no need for it.” - John Smoltz
— js9innings (@js9inningsmedia) October 27, 2026
*William Contreras instantly wins his ABS challenge*
Smoltz continues to argue his case… pic.twitter.com/PiLweAFyzK
"There's just no need for it right here," Smoltz said. "I know he's really good at it. They're up 2-0."
Contreras wins the ABS challenge, but that doesn't deter Smoltz.
"But if he's that sure?" Joe Davis asked.
"Yeah, but even if he's that sure. You're up 2-0," Smoltz replied. "And there's no stress."
There's no stress? The most common final score in a World Series game is either 3-2 or 4-3. In Game Two, Tampa opened up the top of the first inning with four runs. No stress? The game and the World Series are on the line. Smoltz pitched in the 1995 World Series, before the ABS challenges. I refuse to believe he didn't have pitches he wished could have been reviewed.
Smoltz: "I think that was a strike"
— NoTechBen (@NoTechBen) October 27, 2026
Replay: It's 3 inches inside.
John Smoltz saying that Contreras shouldn’t challenge because they are winning even though he won the challenge and was right? What are we even doing.
— James (@iKezims) October 27, 2026
The blunt reality is Smoltz doesn't want the Brewers to win.
Smoltz is the worst broadcast commentator in MLB. I mute his games.
— America, Amen. Tim Sumner 🇺🇸 (@SgtTim911) October 27, 2026
Of course, this is nothing new. The pre-game hosts all picked Tampa to beat the Brewers, after largely doing the same throughout the NLCS.
Same s**t, different day. pic.twitter.com/QIMzqKtOlp
— Hunter 𐂂 (1 to🏆) (@JustHxnter) October 26, 2026
Yes, at some points, they've picked Milwaukee to win, but it's always with a bitter resignation to reality than a genuine belief in the team Milwaukee is.
Contreras is good with the ABS challenges. He's got a success rate of 56.8 percent with 105 successful challenges out of 185. During the NLCS against the Dodgers, Contreras went eight for 11, and so far through Game Three, he's 15 for 26.
Umpire: gets call wrong by .00001 mm
— Vincent Hesprich (@VinceHesprich) October 27, 2026
William Contreras: pic.twitter.com/7tvcMkXkjp
What the Brewers have done well is play small ball. Last night, they scored 10 runs — eight of them in the top of the fifth inning — without hitting a single out-of-the-park home run.
ALL 8 FIFTH-INNING RUNS IN ONE VIDEO pic.twitter.com/Umvvau3c5V
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) October 27, 2026
They had 16 hits to bring home that score. Part of that is being smart with the challenges. As we saw with the Yelich play above, a good challenge can change the course of the game.
The Brewers are a team that wants to win. They're firing on all cylinders, the bullpen is on fire, and everyone is playing like the score is 4-3, not 10-0. Sal Frelick, in the bottom of the eighth inning, made a spectacular catch to get a second out.
SALVATORE LAYS OUT FOR ONE pic.twitter.com/FwHzVXGCq7
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) October 27, 2026
He didn't need to; odds are Tampa wasn't going to score 11 runs. But he did it anyway, despite likely needing surgery on his right shoulder at some point.
— Lisa (@lmyarbro2026) October 27, 2026
Make no mistake: I could not be happier for my Brewers, my sons — who live and die with every pitch, and small-market baseball in general. I just wish the national sports media could at least pretend to not despise us.
