For the Milwaukee Brewers and manager Pat Murphy, the 2026 season has been a rousing success. The Brewers became the first team to clinch a division title on Tuesday, and they are on track to finish with the best record in baseball. That distinction would mark the second consecutive year of such excellence.
Currently finishing up his third year as manager, Murphy was named NL Manager Of The Year in his first two seasons at the helm. Despite earning that honor in 2024 and 2025, Murphy should be strongly considered to make it a three-peat.
Since 1983, the Manager Of The Year award has been handed out to a skipper in each league. Before that, only one honor was given that encompassed both leagues.
In the 43 years that the National League selected its own honoree, Murphy became only the second manager to accomplish back-to-back accolades. Hall of Famer Bobby Cox of the Atlanta Braves took home the MOY trophy in 2004 and 2005.
In 2024, Murphy was handed the reins to the Brewers following the polarizing departure of long-time manager Craig Counsell. Milwaukee claimed the NL Central title in 2023, but MLB.com (St. Louis Cardinals) and ESPN.com (Chicago Cubs) did not prognosticate the Brewers repeating in Murphy’s debut season. In fact, neither publication picked Milwaukee to even earn a wild-card spot.
Milwaukee finished the 2024 season with 93 wins, which was 16 more than CBSsports.com anticipated.
The following year saw similar predictions from the “experts.” CBSsports.com asked six of their baseball writers to choose their division winners, and each one thought the Cubs would rule the NL Central in 2025. Again, writers and gamblers doubted Murphy’s squad, forecasting just 83.5 wins. All the Brewers did was win 97, more than any team in baseball.
Garnering a third consecutive MOY, which has never been done, will be no easy task. With most sports awards, fatigue sets in with those who win honors year after year. Michael Jordan, despite being the best basketball player on the planet for a decade, did not win the NBA MVP every year.
Those with a vote have a couple of worthy candidates other than Murphy, but those managers did not oversee the overperformance enjoyed by Milwaukee.
Philadelphia Phillies boss Don Mattingly will receive much attention from the voters. Donnie Baseball took over a floundering Phillies club in April after they got off to a putrid 9-19 start. Philadelphia has recovered under Mattingly’s watch, and they are firmly in the wild-card hunt with less than two weeks to go.
The Phillies, however, were predicted to win 89.5 games, according to CBSsports.com. Through Tuesday, they stand at 83 wins, which is on pace to meet expectations, not exceed them by multiple games.
Another manager who will be considered for the 2026 MOY prize is Walt Weiss of the Atlanta Braves. His team was “supposed” to win 87.5 games and finish behind Philadelphia in the standings. The Braves are zeroing in on the NL East crown, standing at 89-63, 5.5 games ahead of the Phillies with ten games to play.
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Winning far more games than predicted earned Murphy recognition as baseball’s top skipper in 2024 and 2025.
Murphy did it again in 2026.
Caesars.com in Las Vegas bet against the Brew Crew once again, picking them to win just 84.5 games, four behind the Cubs. With 11 games remaining, Milwaukee needs to go just 6-5 to reach 100 victories.
If exceeding expectations has been the measuring stick for the MOY award, then Murphy should be considered the frontrunner to replicate the accomplishment in 2026. They blew by the preseason totals set by Vegas in 2024 and 2025, and they have done the same this year.
Just because the Brewers did it for a third year in a row should not penalize Murphy’s chances at a historical third consecutive honor. If anyone is worthy of this year’s praise, it is Murphy. Milwaukee has absorbed numerous injuries and fielded a roster full of rookies in 2026, and the Brewers have not missed a beat.
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