Milwaukee in baseball history, first triumph in the World Series

The history of Stars and Stripes baseball shines for the first time in the sign of the Milwaukee Brewers. The team from the small American city of around 600 thousand inhabitants in cold Wisconsin, in the Great Lakes area on the border with Canada, won its first 2026 World Series by defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in five games and thus winning the first title in their history. After losing game 4 at the end, Milwaukee didn't waste the second available match point, winning 4-1 in the end.

At the home of the Rays, but with many spectators arriving from Milwaukee, the Brewers immediately took the lead in the second inning with the hit of the debutant Cooper Pratt and from then on they left Tampa Bay with no opportunity to get back into the starting lineup, thanks above all to the pitching mound led by the ace Misiorowski. The decisive extension takes place between the fifth and sixth rounds, when Tampa Bay removes its starting pitcher and Milwaukee scores another three points with the hits of David Hamilton and William Contreras, the latter awarded as MVP of the series thanks to the extraordinary performances in both attack and defense.

And so little Milwaukee, thanks to the exploits of its team, has become the media center of the United States. There is no political or news event in the States that can keep up with the Wolrd Series. Throwing the ball, gloves and bat are still the traditional weekend pastime of American families: a stereotyped image that stands the test of time and ensures that baseball still remains one of the country's main sports.

The 122nd finals of the North American championship attracted everyone's attention, also intrigued by the fact that it was an unprecedented challenge that brings the great US 'province' back to the center: on one side the team from a town in snowy Wisconsin, on the other that of hot and tropical Tampa Bay. Nothing to do with the legendary Dodgers-Yankees matches or last year's final between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Dodgers themselves. Yet these finals had the flavor of a return to the origins: two teams without a title, two hungry fans and the certainty that a franchise will make history for the first time.

The Brewers had reached the final only once, in 1982. The Rays had lost the only two World Series played, in 2008 and 2020, plus the defeat against Milwaukee. Both teams do not have millionaire budgets behind them, but for years they have started a growth policy based on scouting and the development of new talents. After decades, two teams both belonging to the lower half of the MLB competed in terms of average salaries.

The World Series is a collective event that goes beyond the playing field. Baseball was the country's No. 1 sport for decades and still draws tens of millions of spectators to the stadium each year. The World Series champions are welcomed at the White House as happens in the other major American leagues and this catwalk in front of the President of the United States Donald Trump will also be an absolute first for 'little' Milwaukee.