The Milwaukee Brewers are going to the World Series for the first time since 1982, and they swept baseball's Goliath along the way.
Pat Murphy's island of misfit toys did the unthinkable against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Unlike last year, the Brewers were much better equipped for a seven-game series with the defending champions. However, nobody was picking them to sweep the mighty Dodgers, not even Nick Saban.
"I love it. I mean, they are great," legendary college football coach Saban said on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Friday. "They play good defense and have great team speed. They put the ball in play. If you keep putting the ball in play, you're going to get people on base. They just do a great job, and they hit home runs in this series. I never did think anybody could beat the Dodgers, but they swept them."
The Brewers' style of play has been described as old school or small ball. In this modern era of baseball, it's rare to see a team play like that, but Saban grew up watching that style of baseball. He finds it refreshing to see what Murphy has gotten out of his team.
Saban is one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and he made a career out of demanding the most from his players. Murphy has a background coaching football as well, but he has obviously made a baseball career. However, there are similarities between how Murphy manages his Brewers and how Saban coached.
Earlier this year, Murphy benched his All-Star catcher William Contreras for not running out a ground ball. Murphy thinks that every player needs to be held accountable, regardless of their status in the league. It's rare to see a manager do that nowadays, but Murphy is a clear exception.