The Milwaukee Brewers finished the regular season with the best record in baseball for the second straight season, winning 103 games this year.
The Brewers were great last year, but were swept in the National League Championship Series by the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, this Brewers team is much better and better equipped to get to the Fall Classic. Every player has confidence in their team and wants to win it all, but Joey Ortiz made his confidence known publicly after the regular season ended.
"We’re gonna make a great run and win the World Series," Ortiz told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Curt Hogg on Sunday.
Ortiz's comments could come back to bite him, but who can blame him? His Brewers are playing excellent baseball, and he has completely turned his season around and is now one of the most important players on the team.
Ortiz was hitting .201 on July 3 and was genuinely one of the worst players in baseball. He was in a platoon with David Hamilton at third base after the Brewers called up Cooper Pratt to be the everyday shortstop. However, the move back to third base from shortstop unlocked his offense.
Since July 4, Ortiz has a .333/.378/.531 slash line and seven home runs. He is playing elite defense as well and is arguably the best defensive third baseman in the game right now. Ortiz's resurgence and refusal to give up are representative of the Brewers' brand of baseball. They don't win the same way other contenders do, but their style is very effective, and their players have a strong belief in the team.