The Milwaukee Brewers won their first World Series on Wednesday, and amid the celebration, manager Pat Murphy sent a diss to the New York Yankees while talking to Jake Bauers.
Bauers, a free agent this offseason, came to give Murphy the ball from the final out of Game 5. The two embraced and Murphy shared some words with his breakout star.
"You’re gonna be a rich (expletive)," Murphy said to Bauers in a video posted by Spectrum News 1 Wisconsin. "Just remember when you’re on that horse (expletive) Yankees team and you guys are all playing for yourselves, just remember this is the way we used to do it.”
Bauers is bound to get paid after a breakout season at age 30. He led the Brewers in home runs and won World Series MVP. After bouncing around for years, struggling to establish himself in the big leagues, he considered retiring.
However, when his wife got pregnant, he decided to keep playing for the insurance benefits. What changed for him as a player? He says he stopped making it about himself and let the game come to him. He was more relaxed, focused on the now.
It's no surprise he succeeded in Milwaukee, where every player has that mindset, seemingly. It's an uncommon mindset in baseball, and Murphy made it clear what he thinks of other teams like the Yankees, who can spend big and don't need to grind like the Brewers.
The "built not bought" mantra will be very prevalent this offseason with whispers of a lockout. Big market teams like the Yankees have the luxury of spending on players who have great individual numbers. However, that does not always result in having the best team. Most of the Brewers team came up together, and it's no surprise they are so close.
The guys who didn't grow up in the system, like Bauers, have all bought into the team mindset, and it's a huge factor in their success.
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