And with that, another season is in the books.

The Brewers capped off one of the most dominant postseason runs in MLB history with the franchise's first-ever World Series title on Wednesday, defeating the Rays in five games. The victory was a culmination of a month’s worth of high-pressure playoff baseball that delivered countless iconic plays.

On the sport’s biggest stage, the matchups didn’t disappoint. In the wake of the Brewers’ championship, here are this year’s 12 most memorable playoff moments.

It can seem cruel for a 162-game season to be decided over the course of a best-of-three wild-card series, six months of stellar play often undone by an off weekend. But if that’s the harsh reality of October baseball, the inverse is also true: the playoffs offer a chance at atonement, and perhaps no other big-name player needed that opportunity more than Atlanta’s Austin Riley.

A franchise cornerstone who rose to stardom during the Braves’ 2021 championship run and signed a 10-year, $212 million contract two years later, Riley has spent the past three seasons trying to recapture what’s been lost. From ‘21 to ‘23, he ranked second among all third basemen with 16.1 fWAR, averaged 36 homers per year and made two All-Star teams. Since then, injuries and ineffectiveness have taken root and made him a shell of his former self, culminating with a career-worst 81 wRC+ this season.

So when he came to bat with two outs in the bottom of eighth inning in Game 1 of the wild-card series with the Braves trailing 3–2 against the Phillies, you’d forgive Atlanta fans for not having a ton of faith. But with one swing, Riley shook free of the frustrations that had built up over the past few years and found redemption.

It was an exalting moment that lifted the Braves to victory, but it was so much more than that for a player who’s spent the last three years searching for answers. It’s too soon to say the old Riley is back, but at least for one swing, it was like he never left.

Over the past decade, no player has taken more at-bats for the Phillies than Bryce Harper. Kyle Schwarber and Alec Bohm rank Nos. 3 and 4 in that department, the trio serving as part of the backbone for the franchise’s five consecutive playoff teams. And with all three entering various states of transition—Bohm is a free agent, while Harper and Schwarber are in their mid-30s—it’s fitting that, with Philadelphia’s backs against the wall in an elimination game, it was them who came to the rescue.

Schwarber and Harper provided the most dramatic moments with back-to-back moon shots in the eighth inning to tie Game 2 of the wild-card series against the Braves, silencing the crowd at Truist Park.

Bohm followed suit with a two-out, opposite field shot in the 10th to put the Phillies up for good. The celebration was short-lived, as the Phillies would lose Game 3 to bring another title-less end to the season. If this offseason brings about significant changes to the roster’s core, then Game 2 will be remembered as the last gasp for this era of Philadelphia baseball.

The Yankees have won 27 championships and played in an astonishing 449 postseason games. In over a century’s worth of October baseball, never had their offense been so stymied as the night they faced Drew Rasmussen.

The Rays’ ace completely dominated New York in Game 1 of the ALDS, striking out 10 while allowing just one hit in a 1–0 Tampa Bay win. The lone hit the Yankees scratched across was not even one worth celebrating, as catcher Austin Wells got thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple.

Drew Rasmussen's no-hitter is over but the Rays team up to get Austin Wells at third base 😮 pic.twitter.com/WyRUMuvneE

— MLB (@MLB) October 4, 2026

It was a postseason performance for the ages by a pitcher who’s emerged as one of baseball’s best over the past two years. Rays stars have a knack for getting overlooked by the national crowd, but Rasmussen transcended any of that by stuffing baseball’s most iconic franchise into a locker.

Munetaka Murakami to the moon

The White Sox were among the most feel-good stories of the baseball season, making a return to the playoffs just two years after losing 121 games. With Pope Leo’s blessing, they began their postseason run against the division-rival Guardians, then announced their October presence with authority thanks to one swing by rookie sensation Munetaka Murakami.

MUNETAKA MURAKAMI!@WHITESOX LEAD! pic.twitter.com/0FgVkJKpgo

— MLB (@MLB) October 3, 2026

Murakami enjoyed a thrilling first year in the big leagues after arriving from Japan, launching 35 homers in 127 games. This was his only playoff blast, though it proved to be the difference in a 3–0 Game 1 victory. Chicago ultimately squandered a 2–0 series lead in the series, but the team’s two-year rags-to-riches odyssey deserves to be remembered.

Every championship run requires at least a little bit of luck. For the Brewers, they got their fortunate bounce in the ninth inning of Game 1 of the NLDS against the Padres, when a potential go-ahead home run from Ty France instead turned into a flyout after the ball ricocheted off the roof at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

Oh. My. Goodness.

This ball hit by France looked to potentially be a go-ahead home run, but it hit the roof and was caught, and was ruled an out. pic.twitter.com/E6pnoausP7

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 4, 2026

It’s not the sort of thing you see too often at a baseball game, let alone in a moment as dramatic as this one. In a series defined by tight margins (more on that in a moment), this was a particularly cruel way for San Diego to fall achingly short once again in October.

Padres closer Mason Miller turned in one of the most dominant seasons from a closer in baseball history, with 38 saves, a 1.67 ERA and 129 strikeouts over 70 innings. But when called into action to protect a one-run lead in Game 2 of the NLDS in Milwaukee, his command abandoned him at the worst possible moment. Three walks loaded the bases, and with two outs, Jackson Chourio delivered the knockout blow, turning around a two-strike, 101 mph fastball into a two-RBI walk-off single.

FULL AT-BAT: Jackson Chourio vs. Mason Miller 🍿

The Brewers walk it off to take a 2-0 lead in the NLDS! pic.twitter.com/muBNJw1YKw

— MLB (@MLB) October 5, 2026

It was just the fourth blown save for Miller of the season, and Chourio became just the fifth player in playoff history to turn defeat into victory when facing a two-out, two-strike hole.

Baseball fans love an effectively wild, flame-throwing pitcher. It’s why Nolan Ryan earned folk-hero status, and why Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh once intentionally threw one at the mascot. The next-best thing to pinpoint command is pure, unpredictable gasoline, and no current pitcher embodies that archetype better than Gavin Williams, who led the American League in strikeouts (248) this year and in walks (83) the year before. And this postseason, he put everything together.

In 16 ⅔ playoff innings, Williams faced 64 hitters and struck out 33 of them. He walked only six, thoroughly dominating opposing batters each time he toed the rubber. He saved his best when Cleveland needed him most in Game 5 of the ALDS, fanning 12 White Sox over 5 ⅔ shutout innings while giving up just one hit.

All 12 of Gavin Williams' Game 5 strikeouts 😤 https://t.co/1hSAVvkBUK pic.twitter.com/m338iiKfbc

— MLB (@MLB) October 11, 2026

Garrett Mitchell breaks hearts

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, that Brewers center fielder Garrett Mitchell picked an especially cruel way to honor one of great moments in Padres/Petco Park history. With San Diego facing elimination and trailing 3–1 in the eighth inning of Game 4 of the NLDS, Manny Machado hit what seemed destined to be a game-tying home run to center field. Instead, Mitchell brought it back, and took the air right out of the building.

GARRETT MITCHELL TAKES AWAY A GAME-TYING HOME RUN 🤯 pic.twitter.com/UVjEXP3VA7

— MLB (@MLB) October 8, 2026

It was a near-perfect replication of the famous Adam Jones home run robbery in the 2017 World Baseball Classic (also at Machado’s expense).

Jake Bauers knows how to be patient. The 31-year-old enjoyed a breakout season for Milwaukee, launching 26 home runs with a 143 wRC+ just two years after being on the brink of retirement, which he only staved off when his wife became pregnant and his family needed the health insurance.

So it was perfect that his two biggest playoff moments during the Brewers’ run to the title were marathon at-bats.

The first was a face-off with Dodgers’ October boogeyman Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2 of the NLCS. The result was an epic 12-pitch walk that loaded the bases with two outs and led to a go-ahead single by Christian Yelich in an eventual 7–4 win. The next was even more dramatic: an 11-pitch battle with Blake Snell that ended in a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning of Game 3 two nights later.

Every pitch from that UNREAL Jake Bauers at-bat 😤

11 pitches. One unforgettable moment. pic.twitter.com/QpDMUMMPFP

— MLB (@MLB) October 15, 2026

Those moments alone were enough to earn Bauers NLCS MVP honors—and earn a place in playoff hero history.

By the time the top of the fifth inning of Game 3 came around, Milwaukee was already in command of the World Series, with a 2–0 lead after winning the first two games of the series. But in what felt like an instant, the Brewers turned an advantage into a full-on blitzing.

After two of the inning’s first three batters were retired, eight consecutive Brewers reached base safely, ballooning the lead to 10 runs and effectively sealing Milwaukee’s first championship. The eight two-out runs were a World Series record, and fittingly all came without a single home run.

ALL 8 FIFTH-INNING RUNS IN ONE VIDEO pic.twitter.com/Umvvau3c5V

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) October 27, 2026

Milwaukee’s rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt seemed to etch himself in the history books with one swing—only for Tampa Bay to rally against the dying of the light and live to see another day.

Pratt, who managed just three home runs during the regular season, launched a go-ahead blast in the top of the 12th inning of Game 4 in what felt like the series’ defining blow. Instead, the Rays fought back to win it in the bottom half of the frame, with all five batters reaching safely, culminating in a walk-off single by Ben Williamson.

BEN WILLIAMSON
WALK-OFF
RAYS SURVIVE! pic.twitter.com/bjHolx3L4m

— MLB (@MLB) October 28, 2026

For a team as balanced as the Brewers, it feels very on brand that it’s taken this long for a mention of the World Series MVP, William Contreras. The backstop was outstanding all series long, so choosing a singular moment of brilliance is a tall task. Especially considering how varied Contreras’s contributions were: He hit .381/.435/.429 in the series, threw out four base runners and was successful in 10 out of 13 ABS challenges.

Even in one of the rare instances in which he challenged unsuccessfully, he did so with unmatched swagger.

William Contreras vs Yandy Díaz stare contest during ABS challenge pic.twitter.com/3o9M0GfdES

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 28, 2026

Contreras was the steady pulse throughout the Brewers’ October onslaught, with multi-hit efforts in six out of 13 postseason games. He never blinked once, and was the worthy face of Milwaukee’s historic title.