Pat Murphy won the National League Manager of the Year award on Tuesday night, becoming the first manager in either league to win it three straight years. iimiTV’s full report of the announcement, the vote and the record is Murphy Wins Third Straight Manager Award.
The follow-up story is what Murphy did with the moment on Tuesday night and into Wednesday. Still in a Milwaukee hospital bed a day after right hip replacement surgery, he gave the credit away again, explained the lesson he says powered the run, apologised for a message he got wrong a year ago, and was already talking about next season.
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Pat Murphy Manager of the Year Lesson Was Trust
Speaking with TMJ4 News after receiving the honour, Murphy called the season “just really magical, destined when you think about it,” then pointed away from himself. “That was the most gratifying part, just to see our players celebrate, just be so proud of their accomplishments, and it was all about doing it together,” he said.
MLB marked the milestone on X, posting that Murphy is the first person to win Manager of the Year in three consecutive seasons.
Asked what he would carry forward, Murphy named trust, and Brewer Fanatic’s account of his remarks gives the example he used. “One of the big things is you have to trust your players, no matter how young,” he said. “You have to trust Cooper Pratt. You have to trust him. When he senses you trust him, he’s going to play better.” In his TMJ4 interview he put the same point more plainly: “You have to trust in your players, you know, they sense that.”
That trust sat inside the belief system Murphy kept returning to. “One of the things that stuck out for me this year is that you do have to have a belief system,” he said. “Can you train your brain to stay in that ‘win tonight’ attitude and not waste time worrying about things that you might not be able to control and have that belief?” Brewers president of baseball operations and general manager Matt Arnold used the same phrase in the club’s statement, as Brewer Fanatic reported: “With his ‘win tonight’ approach, Pat Murphy led our club to another historic season and the first World Series championship in franchise history. His leadership has played a tremendous role in our success, and this third consecutive Manager of the Year Award is a well-deserved recognition of everything he means to our organization.”
Murphy accepted the award live on MLB Network from that hospital bed, in the appearance below.
Murphy Drops The Underdog Card He Regrets
The clearest admission in Murphy’s remarks was about last October. Jake Bauers acknowledged last month that the Brewers felt overmatched in the 2025 NLCS, when Los Angeles swept them in four games, and Murphy accepted his share of that this week. “I’m sorry I played that underdog card,” he said. “I probably shouldn’t have played that and used that as an excuse for why we didn’t play well. No, I don’t care who the underdog is. I don’t care who the favorite is. It’s about getting in the ring and fighting it out.”
He also named the week he first believed this year’s club was different. In his conference call with reporters, Murphy recalled being swept by San Diego in August, with Milwaukee only three games ahead of the Cubs on August 12, then going to Los Angeles with a banged-up lineup and taking three of four from the Dodgers. “We played Gary Sanchez at first, Jonathan Ornelas at second, Andrew Vaughn at third and Jake Bauers in the outfield,” he said. “We won three out of four there. That was a little bit of an indication. These guys just bounced back.” Milwaukee won the NL Central by 14 games and went 11-2 in the postseason.
Milwaukee heard the news the way Murphy would want it heard, as a team honour. Anthony Luchini, owner of Kelly’s Bleachers, told TMJ4 what Murphy did in three years was “unbelievable,” and fan Todd Meloy praised how Murphy “understands the nuances of the game so well.” The Brewers’ own post was shorter: “IT’S A PAT MURPHY THREE-PEAT. Congratulations to our 3x NL Manager of the Year,” as reported from the club’s X account.
TMJ4’s report from Milwaukee, carrying Murphy’s interview and the fan reaction in full, runs below.
What The Three-Peat Sets Up Next
The settled numbers give the run its scale. The BBWAA’s official results show Murphy with 20 first-place votes and 124 points, the only manager named on all 30 ballots, and across his three wins he has now taken 74 of a possible 90 first-place votes. He sits one award behind the all-time record of four held by Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa and Buck Showalter.
A run at that record is not hypothetical. Murphy is under contract with Milwaukee through 2028, with a club option for 2029, and he was already framing 2027 as work, not a victory lap. “I just know I have work to do and I have to be better,” he said on the conference call. “I’ll have new challenges next year. Hopefully, the results are team wins. Personal recognition in my career is not the important thing. It’s to try to do good for the game and impact as many people as you can. It’s not about me. It’s about serving others.”
Awards week moves on without him now, to the Cy Young winners announced Wednesday and the MVPs on Thursday. Murphy’s part in it is finished, and so is his recovery excuse. He told TMJ4 he does not take long to reflect: “I am constantly thinking about what can be done better.”
