'It was about each other': The Brewers and Pat Murphy admire the masterpiece they built

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Construction requires purpose.Before materials are collected. Before architects render blueprints. Before the site gets chosen. There must be vision. The building of something, anything monumental, is less about machinery and labor. But about inspiration. It's the ultimate binding force. Human ingenuity powered by a bent for progress, a hope for excellence.It's the purpose that fuels the willingness to build. And shared purpose produces the buy-in.The work in progress that was the Brewers, a project eight years in the making dating back to Christian Yelich's arrival in 2018, was finally ready for the ultimate ribbon-cutting on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field. An unveiling of their finished work.It took just five games to deconstruct the Rays. But it took eight years to build a team worthy of this moment. And it took the Brewers 57 years to find the right construction workers to deliver the franchise's first-ever World Series championship."They decided to be uncommon," manager Pat Murphy told CBS Sports following his team's 4-1 Game 5 win. "And when they made that decision that it was about each other — when it's about each other and it's a team, you can accomplish anything."Yelich, the 34-year-old captain, is at the center of all of this. He arrived in Milwaukee in 2018 and quickly became an MVP that season. A name that offered a glimmer of what the future could be. The Brewers made it to the NLCS that first year with Yelich, falling one game shy of a World Series trip. Yelich was the ultimate building block for a club in dire need of one. He became the franchise. And the Brewers became perennial contenders, making the playoffs in every season with Yelich except 2022.But then something else was required.When the legs grew a little heavier with age. When the swing slowed. When the five tools became four, then three, then two. When the player who once carried a franchise had to learn what it meant to be carried by one.His playing time dwindled. He didn't say a word.Matchups against lefties began casting doubt over whether his name would appear on the lineup card. He didn't say a word. He played. He inspired. He led.And now, playing more of a supportive than a starring role, he's a World Series champion. "It's an awesome feeling, man," he said, "and just so happy for our team, our city, all the guys, man. It's just it's the best feeling ever."There's Murphy in all of this, too.A man who has traveled a long road. You hear it in his voice. In his perspective. There's failure in it. He spent a quarter-century as a college coach, most notably at Arizona State, where he was among the premier coaches in the sport. Much like Pat Casey at Oregon State, now also on the Brewers' staff, or Augie Garrido at Cal State Fullerton, Murphy was the kind of coach high school players dreamed of playing for.But an NCAA investigation in 2009, one that ultimately cleared Murphy of unethical conduct but found fault with his oversight of the program, brought his college coaching career to an abrupt end.And even after all of that, Murphy, drenched in champagne amid the lingering aroma of cigars, admitted something dumbfounding. "I wasn't a very good coach," he said. "I had a lot of wins maybe."Exactly 1,000 of them.But a reset was required.Unlearning and relearning.Murphy joined the Padres as a special assistant. He managed the Eugene Emeralds, Tucson Padres and El Paso Chihuahuas. He even managed the Padres themselves on an interim basis before joining the Brewers in 2015 as bench coach under Craig Counsell, his former player at Notre Dame.The teacher had to become a student again.He had to be built back up."There was so much I had to grow," he said.There's David Hamilton, who returned to the organization that drafted him after a stint with the Red Sox. In Boston, he lost his way. His confidence disappeared. The game looked too fast for one of baseball's fastest players. The Red Sox tried to change him, encouraging him to pull the ball in the air, much as they do with many of their hitters. But it didn't work.So when he returned to Milwaukee, Murphy had a message for him: Hit more ground balls to the opposite field. Bunt more. "Really just trying to get on base," he said. "I think getting on base ultimately helps the team win."There's Jake Bauers, a man who once considered retirement amid his struggles, now a World Series champion."It all changed for me when I realized it wasn't about me," he said.There's Sal Frelick, the overlooked, undersized glue guy who, according to his manager, might have broken his hand after being hit by a pitch in Game 5. But Murphy trusted him to stay in the game. "I said, when this last out is recorded and we're the last man standing, Sal Frelick will be on the field. That's just because of who he is," Murphy said.Catcher William Contreras required a different kind of work.Milwaukee's pitbull.Pet him, and he just might nip you, according to Murphy.But that doesn't mean Murphy is afraid to put his paws on him.He benched Contreras at the end of September for failing to hustle down the first-base line.It was done with love. Murphy leads with love, but never at the expense of discipline. And with Contreras, he came to understand something else. "The ones that are toughest to love need the love the most," Murphy said. "And he's a guy that needs the love, and it has to be real."Contreras went on to put together one of the best postseasons in recent memory, becoming World Series MVP. William Contreras named World Series MVP: Brewers catcher impacted 2026 title in multiple ways Mike Axisa Champagne and beer filled the visitors' clubhouse. The cramped quarters were an afterthought amid the joy engulfing the room. The smell of victory permeated the air. The speakers boomed. The Game's "Hate It or Love It" blared over the sound system. "Hate it or love it, the underdog's on top."The Brewers, undoubtedly, were the underdogs. Despite winning 97 games the previous season, preseason projections pegged them for roughly 80 to 84 wins.They traded Freddy Peralta to the Mets. Their rotation leaned heavily on young arms: Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Henderson and Kyle Harrison, alongside an aging, oft-injured Brandon Woodruff.But Milwaukee found a way.They found a Cy Young Award winner in Misiorowski, the premium talent with a 105-mph fastball. Misiorowski tossed 5⅓ scoreless innings. Even without his typical swing-and-miss stuff, the right-hander limited the Rays to just two hits."This is crazy," a wide-eyed Misiorowski said on the field.Crazy is fitting here, too.Because the Brewers have repeatedly found ways to survive the departures of players who once seemed indispensable. Josh Hader. Corbin Burnes. Devin Williams. Even manager Craig Counsell and former president of baseball operations David Stearns.Yet Milwaukee, steered by Matt Arnold, who succeeded Stearns as president of baseball operations following the 2023 season, has continued to scout, draft and develop talent. Many of the anchors of this championship team were homegrown: Cooper Pratt, Jackson Chourio, Misiorowski, Brice Turang, Aaron Ashby, Abner Uribe, Garrett Mitchell, Frelick, Luis Lara and Henderson."We invest a lot of minutes in acquisition and development," Arnold said. "We've got to make sure that pipeline is very strong. That's our foundation."Many have tried. Few have done it like Milwaukee.Murphy stepped back onto the field early Thursday morning as a champion. The sea of Brewers fans that had overtaken Tropicana Field all week made their presence known. They chanted his name. They cried. Together. Because it had been a long time.Too damn long."Walk with me," he said.The cheers grew louder. The smiles wider. The cries more profound.Murphy stopped. Soaking in his organization's creation. A vision realized. Something built, not bought."I needed them more than they needed me," he said of his players.And yet, the Brewers aren't finished. A project eight years in the making still has work to do, much like the people who helped build it."We're always under construction," Murphy said.