Voter fatigue seeps into the fabric of American professional sports toward the end of every season, but it should never get in the way of cold, hard facts. That's why Milwaukee Brewers skipper Pat Murphy deserves to be at the top of the ballot for National League Manager of the Year again in 2026, despite having won the award in each of the last two seasons.
We've talked about why Murphy is the heartbeat of this Brewers team ad nauseam this year, but hearing the same thing over and over again doesn't mean it is not true. So here are the facts: Milwaukee has the best record in baseball again this year and is on pace for its first 100-win season in franchise history.
Not only has he helped elevate the play of key veterans like journeyman Jake Bauers, but he has managed his bullpen to near perfection despite injury troubles, trade talks, and questions of whether these young pitchers can sustain late into the season. His batting and fielding rotation has been in flux all year long, with 25 different Brewers players hitting the injured list at some point this year.
Through it all, the Brewers are a top-five team in each of the following statistical categories this year: Hits (1), on-base percentage (1), walks (2), ERA (2), batting average (2), opponent batting average (2), putouts (2), runs (3), RBIs (3), saves (tied for No. 3), WHIP (4), OPS (tied for No. 4), and stolen bases (5).
If the aggregate of those rankings is not indicative of a Manager of the Year's influence, I don't know what is.
Pat Murphy is clearly up against voter fatigue in the Manager of the Year race, but the Brewers' skipper is still firmly in the mix.
The Brewers don't have the benefit of a bottomless payroll to help them win games. Otherwise, players like Willy Adames, Corbin Burnes, and Josh Hader would probably still be on the team. And while Murphy cannot be credited with the team's deep, high-level farm system, he can certainly be credited with learning how to integrate unproven talent into a major league lineup.
Take shortstop Cooper Pratt and outfielder Luis Lara, for example. These are two rookies who could've easily struggled this season, but are managing to exceed expectations every step of the way. Milwaukee knew these were talented defensive players with high upside, but couldn't have expected they would settle in offensively the way they have. Pat Murphy is largely responsible for instilling confidence and working on specific skills that help them unlock their full potential.
The sentiment was shared by esteemed MLB insider Ken Rosenthal, who said the following on Foul Territory's Inside Scoop:
"This team has exceeded expectations once again. They very well could end up with the best record in franchise history. This is without Quinn Priester, without Brandon Woodruff, with the youngest pitching staff in the major leagues. There are a lot of reasons that you could say Pat Murphy is again deserving of Manager of the Year. It would be three straight. No manager has ever won three straight... Murphy is going to be a pretty strong candidate yet again, and you just don't vote for someone else because, 'Eh, I'm tired of voting for that guy.' That's ridiculous."
I'm going to let Ken's comments speak for themselves, because if this isn't enough to convince you that Pat Murphy is, at the very least, a deserving candidate, you probably already made up your mind.
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