Pat Murphy Deserves To Be NL Manager Of The Year

The Milwaukee Brewers have faced much adversity both before and during the season. Longtime manager Craig Counsell departed to manage the Cubs and former Cy Young award winner Corbin Burnes was traded. Not many gave the Brewers much of a chance to be competitive. Things haven’t been much easier during the season as the team has had to weather various injuries. However, despite the adversity, first-year manager Pat Murphy has done an excellent job guiding them through it all. The team is getting closer to clinching back-to-back NL Central titles for the first time in franchise history. They also are nipping at the heals of both the Phillies and Dodgers for a higher playoff seed. Given all Pat Murphy has done this season, he deserves to win NL Manager of the Year.

A Tumultuous Offseason

Before the season began, the Milwaukee Brewers had a very tumultuous offseason. Longtime manager Craig Counsell left to manage the Cubs. It would be the first time since 2015 that a new skipper would be in Milwaukee’s dugout. Former Cy Young award winner Corbin Burnes was also traded to the Baltimore Orioles. Key players from 2023 like Victor Caratini, Carlos Santana, and Mark Canha, left as free agents or were traded. Given all that Milwaukee lost during the offseason, not many people gave the Brewers a chance to make the postseason. With Pat Murphy taking over as manager, some even predicted that the team would finish in last place.

The Constant Battle Against Injuries

During spring training and the regular season, the team has had to constantly weather through injuries. Brandon Woodruff was ruled out for the season due to recovering from his shoulder injury suffered last year. Before spring training. During spring training, all-star closer Devin Williams sustained a back injury that would force him to miss the entire first half of the year. Later in the spring, expected starting outfielder Garrett Mitchell broke his left hand. Mitchell’s injury would keep him out for most of the first half of the regular season as well. With two key players out long-term, many thought the Brewers were doomed heading into the 2024 season.

The injury bug has even affected the Brewers during the regular season as well. Due in part to injuries, the Brewers have used a team record of 16 different starting pitchers including openers. Wade Miley and promising prospect Robert Gasser both had to undergo Tommy John surgery prematurely ending their seasons. Reliever Abner Uribe was also lost for the season. Most recently, it was announced that Christian Yelich would be missing the rest of the regular season with a back injury.

Next Man Up

However, despite all the injuries, the Brewers have had a lot of success. Trevor Megill filled in admirably for Devin Williams. Colin Rea is having a career year and rookie Tobias Myers has arguably become the unofficial ace of the staff. Milwaukee’s bullpen currently leads the National League in earned run average at 3.25. It also has the fourth most strikeouts in the National League. Previous unknown pitchers Bryan Hudson, Jared Koening, and trade acquisition Nick Mears have been bullpen anchors. Now that Williams is back, the Brewers bullpen success should continue.

Pat Murphy’s Brewers Have Fight And Young Players Are Thriving

Before Murphy took over, the Brewers struggled badly on offense during most of Craig Counsell’s tenure. However, this season, their offense is one of the best in the National League as it’s averaging 4.79 runs per game. The only teams in the National League averaging more runs are the Diamondbacks, Dodgers, and Phillies. As a team, the Brewers are also hitting .253 and have an OPS of .735. Milwaukee has also been aggressive on the base paths as they currently have 159 stolen bases, third most in the National League. Young players like Jackson Chourio, Joey Ortiz, and Brice Turang have also thrived under Murphy’s tutelage.

Pat Murphy’s Milwaukee Brewers never seem out of the fight either. The Brewers have had 33 come-from-behind wins in 2024 including two in the ninth inning. The only team with more come-from-behind wins than the Brewers this season is the Cleveland Guardians.

Nobody Deserves It More

The Milwaukee Brewers faced a lot of adversity before and during the regular season. Despite the adversity, Pat Murphy has had them playing well all season. The team is currently getting closer to clinching another NL Central title. It would be the first time in franchise history that the team clinched back-to-back division titles. Not only do the Brewers have the biggest divisional lead; but they are nipping at the Phillies and Dodgers for the first and second playoff seeds. The team has had many different players make positive contributions this season. It’s safe to say Pat Murphy has done the best managing job in baseball this season. Given all this team has faced and still has been able to succeed, Pat Murphy deserves to be the NL Manager of the Year.

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