The Milwaukee Brewers are red-hot. They have won 11 games in a row entering play on Wednesday, and have now recorded multiple win streaks of 10 or more games. At 75-44, they lead the NL Central by 7.5 games over the Chicago Cubs and have the best record in all of baseball. They look to be a true force as the month of October nears, and are essentially a lock to make it to the 2025 postseason.
To put this historic stretch into perspective: Milwaukee is actually the first team since the 2019 Houston Astros to go on multiple 10-plus game winning streaks in a single season. They're 26-4 in their last 30 games, and 54-19 in their last 73. But for as dominant as this team has been, baseball history suggests that this won't end well come playoff time, as a lot of the teams that have gone on such win streaks have not gone on to win the World Series.
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Brewers' recent success may not translate to postseason
Below is a table where we will take a look at various teams throughout Major League history to go on multiple 10-plus game winning streaks in a single season and where they ultimately finished the year.
Team/Season | Final Results |
|---|---|
New York Mets (1969) | Won World Series |
Houston Astros (1969) | Missed Postseason |
Kansas City Royals (1977) | Lost ALCS |
Pittsburgh Pirates (1978) | Missed Postseason |
St. Louis Cardinals (2001) | Lost NLDS |
Atlanta Braves (2013) | Lost NLDS |
Toronto Blue Jays (2015) | Lost ALCS |
Los Angeles Dodgers (2017) | Lost World Series |
Houston Astros (2019) | Lost World Series |
The record books show that teams that go on multiple win streaks of 10 games or more during a single regular season typically don't finish the season well, or at least that it doesn't always translate to postseason success. Obviously, that won't be the cause of the Brewers not winning the World Series if they in fact fall short, but it certainly is interesting to see where all of these teams ended up. Some of the teams listed in the table didn't even make it to October at all.
Most teams got to experience playoff baseball, but the only team on the list that won the World Series was the 1969 New York Mets, who had to overcome a huge deficit against the Chicago Cubs to win the National League pennant.
But if the table is any indication, October may not bode too well for the Brewers as they try to accomplish something that has never been done in franchise history. Milwaukee has only been to the World Series once, making it in 1982 when they were still in the American League. But they fell short against the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
The Brewers will certainly be a force to be reckoned with in October. The road to the World Series might end up going through Milwaukee. But if they don't win it all, they'll join the list of teams to have multiple double-digit winning streaks and not win a title.