Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy took a profane shot at the New York Yankees on Wednesday night while celebrating the franchise’s first World Series title with pending free agent Jake Bauers.
Closer Trevor Megill got Richie Palacios to ground out to finish a 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 at Tropicana Field. Bauers tucked the final-out ball into his back pocket before joining the pile, then later gave it to Murphy, saying his manager deserved it, The Associated Press reported.
Murphy hugged him and turned the conversation to free agency.
“You’re going to be a rich [expletive],” Murphy told Bauers in video of the exchange. “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.”
Nobody outside the clubhouse had Milwaukee winning more than 85 games, by Murphy’s count after the game.
“We didn’t get picked to win the division by one outlet. We didn’t get picked to win over 85 games by anybody… but those fans of ours, they picked us,” Murphy said.
The Brewers won 103.
“This group of guys right here, the 2026 team, will be remembered forever — and they deserve that because they were a team,” Murphy said. “They’re not worried about their own stats. No one cares about that. They care about coming together and winning tonight.”
Bauers appeared in 84 games for the Yankees in 2023, batting .202 with 12 home runs and 95 strikeouts in 272 plate appearances. New York traded him to Milwaukee that November.
ESPN also noted that the jab came two years after Dodgers players aimed similar criticism at the Yankees following Los Angeles’ win over New York in the 2024 World Series.
Three seasons after the trade, Bauers is coming off the best year of his career. The 31-year-old hit .266/.389/.484 with 26 home runs and 86 RBIs in 144 games. His average, home runs, RBIs and .874 OPS were all career highs.
October brought more of the same. Bauers went 4 for 14 with a home run, six RBIs and three walks against the Dodgers and was named NLCS MVP.
His lone homer of that series came in Game 3 on Oct. 14. It was a go-ahead shot off Blake Snell to end an 11-pitch at-bat.
New York scored five runs in three games against the Rays in the AL Division Series. Tampa Bay won 1-0, 5-2 and 4-3 to finish the sweep Oct. 7.
Bauers played this season on a one-year, $2.7 million contract. The Milwaukee Brewers signed him to it Nov. 21, 2025, in his final year of arbitration eligibility, and he becomes a free agent this offseason.
