For the second consecutive season, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy takes home the National League Manager of the Year award.
Murphy is now the only NL manager in Major League Baseball history to win the award in back-to-back seasons. He became the first Brewers manager ever to win the honor last year in his first season on the job after replacing Craig Counsell. In the American League, only former Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox and Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash have accomplished that feat.
Murphy received 27 of 30 first-place votes and ran away with the award. He was listed on all but one of the ballots collected, too. Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona and Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson were also finalists for the award. Francona received two first-place votes, and Thompson received one.
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In Murphy’s first year, the Brewers exceeded expectations despite losing star pitcher Corbin Burnes in free agency. The team finished first in the NL Central with a 93–69 record.
Once again this past season, the Brewers surpassed expectations under Murphy’s leadership. Despite a slow start to the season marked by injuries and lingering nightmares of the “Torpedo bats” from an early March game against the New York Yankees, the Brewers finished 97–65, improving by four games from the previous year and posting the best record in the regular season. It also marked their third straight NL Central title.
Murphy achieved this success by developing young talent, including NL Rookie of the Year finalist third baseman Caleb Durbin and All-Star rookie pitcher Jacob Misiorowski. Murphy’s reputation for nurturing young players dates back to his college coaching days at Notre Dame and Arizona State.
The Brewers’ multiple winning streaks over the summer and their 22–13 road record, the best in the league during the second half of the season, made them one of the most consistent teams down the stretch.
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Their strong regular-season performance carried into the playoffs. After failing to advance past the wild-card round last year, the Brewers reached the National League Championship Series this season. However, they were ultimately swept by the 2025 World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
