Milwaukee beats Tampa Bay 4 to 1 in Game 5 and wins the first World Series title in the 57 year history of the Brewers

Milwaukee waited 57 years for this night. The Brewers beat Tampa Bay 4 to 1 in Game 5 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, October 28, and took the World Series four games to one. About half of the sellout crowd of 40,489 were Brewers fans, and many of them were crying and taking pictures at the same time when Brice Turang fielded the last ground ball.

The series went 3 to 2 and 5 to 4 for Milwaukee at home, then 10 to 1 in Tampa Bay, then a 4 to 3 loss in twelve innings in Game 4, then Wednesday 4 to 1 finish. Chandler Simpson doubled home the only Tampa Bay run with two outs in the ninth.

William Contreras won the Willie Mays World Series MVP award. He hit .381, eight hits in 21 at bats, with four runs batted in, and his double in the sixth inning on Wednesday scored Christian Yelich and made the score 3 to 0. He set a club record with 19 hits in the postseason. Behind the plate he threw out four runners trying to steal in the first four games, the first catcher to do that since Lance Parrish in 1984. Contreras also won the World Baseball Classic with Venezuela in March, so he leaves the year with two championships.

The season behind the title was the best the club has played. Milwaukee won 103 regular season games, a club record, and 114 games counting the playoffs. The Brewers swept the two time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. Los Angeles payroll of 338 million dollars was more than double Milwaukee's 144 million dollars, and Milwaukee plays in the smallest market in the major leagues. Reliever Aaron Ashby set a postseason record with 18 consecutive scoreless innings.

“This means everything to the city of Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin,” owner Mark Attanasio told USA Today. “This has never happened. They have always been supportive, but now they have something to really celebrate.” Hall of Fame outfielder Robin Yount was at the game with Paul Molitor, Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. Yount has said his one regret was never winning a World Series in Milwaukee. Attanasio said Yount wanted this title as much as anyone, perhaps more.