Milwaukee Brewers claim first World Series title in franchise history, with many first-time champions on roster

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

The 2026 Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions for the first time in franchise history after clinching the championship in World Series Game 5 at Tropicana Field. In the aftermath of Milwaukee’s title win, MLB highlighted how many of the Brewers’ key contributors were also celebrating their first World Series championship by a simple standard: having appeared in the series at least once as part of the champions’ World Series roster.

Dustin May was already familiar with the feeling of champagne after a clincher, but the 2026 World Series win represented a first World Series title for nearly everyone else on the Brewers roster. May entered Wednesday’s Game 5 knowing what it meant to win a title-clinching series game; MLB notes he had previously been a World Series champion in 2020 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he made his rookie-season appearance in the Fall Classic. His path to Milwaukee’s title also included a bystander role: he missed Los Angeles’ 2024 championship season due to injury.

May’s 2026 experience was also shaped by recent team changes. MLB reported that he earned a championship ring as a member of the 2025 Dodgers, who traded him to the Boston Red Sox at the Deadline—before the chain of moves and roster decisions that ultimately put him on Milwaukee for the 2026 championship run. By the standard MLB used for this exercise, May stood out as the only member of the Brewers group who had already previously appeared in a World Series for the eventual champions prior to the Game 5 clincher.

The Brewers’ list of first-time champions included their captain, Christian Yelich. MLB describes Yelich, 34, as a central figure in the franchise’s resurgence after a blockbuster trade in 2018 that brought multiple prospects into Milwaukee. That trade, MLB notes, helped revive the organization, and Yelich later captured the 2018 National League MVP Award in his first year with the club—before now reaching the mountaintop with the team’s first World Series title.

Milwaukee’s offensive production in the postseason also included specific contributions tied to the Brewers’ younger and veteran core. MLB reported that in the 2026 postseason, Yelich batted .268 and recorded four stolen bases and six runs scored. It also credited him with two hits in the Brewers’ Game 3 rout of the Tampa Bay Rays, adding that the baserunning aspect of his game helped set a tone for Milwaukee in the series.

Brandon Woodruff, 33, was another first-time champion highlighted in the MLB rundown. MLB framed him as part of the feel-good storyline of the World Series, with his return in the series after an extended stretch that included a shoulder-related road that had complicated his availability. MLB reported that he came out to close Game 3 in his first appearance since July and that he was the Brewers’ longest-tenured player, originally selected in the 11th round of the 2014 Draft out of Mississippi State.

The road back, according to MLB, was not straightforward. With shoulder injuries having derailed his previous seasons and made him a question mark for even appearing on the World Series roster, Woodruff’s presence and contribution in the Fall Classic carried extra weight as Milwaukee’s championship concluded. By appearing in the series, he now joins the roster group celebrating their first World Series title.

Jake Bauers was also identified by MLB as a notable first-time champion. MLB pointed to his earlier career, including the fact that he had nearly retired from baseball two years before with a journeyman path across five different organizations. After sticking it out, MLB said that in his third year with Milwaukee he won NLCS MVP and delivered one of the biggest home runs in franchise history.

However, MLB also noted the defensive and matchup side of the World Series for Bauers. It reported that he struggled against his former team in the World Series, going 2-for-21 in the series. Even with that specific World Series output, MLB reported that his overall season production included an .874 OPS, and it added that he is expected to be a highly coveted free agent after the 2026 campaign.

On the pitching side, Trevor Megill’s Game 5 finishing role placed him directly at the centre of the championship moment. MLB reported that Megill pitched the last two innings of Game 5 to complete Milwaukee’s first title, marking his first championship in the Fall Classic. MLB described his journey as long and winding: debuting in 2021 with the Cubs, then moving through multiple organizations via the Rule 5 Draft, claims off waivers, and a trade from the Twins to the Brewers that included Minor League reliever Taylor Floyd and cash.

MLB’s postseason summary of Megill included specific totals: the closer recorded 11 strikeouts and allowed two earned runs in nine innings during the postseason, and his late-inning work in the clincher gave the Brewers their closing sequence on the championship stage.

Catching depth and bullpen versatility were also part of MLB’s first-time-champion focus. Gary Sánchez, 33, was highlighted as serving as the backup to William Contreras, one of the game’s top catchers. MLB reported that Sánchez hit 12 home runs in 2026, bringing his career total over 200, and that he made two appearances in the World Series, including a pinch-hitting groundout in Game 1 and catching the ninth inning of Game 3.

Antonio Senzatela, 31, was identified as a first-time champion after being dealt to Milwaukee at this year’s Trade Deadline from the Rockies. MLB reported that Senzatela, who signed with the Rockies out of Venezuela in 2011 and debuted in the Majors in 2017, allowed no earned runs in 4 1/3 postseason innings. MLB also referenced his contract situation, noting a $14 million club option in 2027 before he becomes an unrestricted free agent for the first time.

Finally, MLB included two additional bullpen contributors who also reached their first World Series championship through Milwaukee’s 2026 postseason run. JoJo Romero, 30, arrived as a bullpen piece from St. Louis in a Trade Deadline move that also involved Dustin May, and MLB reported that he allowed only one earned run in eight postseason innings, serving as a left-handed option for manager Pat Murphy. It also noted that Romero was a fourth-round pick by the Phillies in 2016 out of Yavapai College in Arizona and was dealt to the Cardinals in 2022. The rundown also traced the same left-handed bullpen emphasis to another Milwaukee addition, Romero’s former teammate in the transaction framework, while pointing to how each of these players fit the championship roster as Milwaukee closed out Game 5.

With the clincher at Tropicana Field completed, the Brewers’ 2026 World Series title is not only a first for the franchise, but also a milestone for much of the group that carried the team through the postseason—players whose prior World Series experience, if any, did not include this particular championship. The immediate result is established: Milwaukee is the champion, and the roster now includes a large cohort of first-time World Series winners.