The Milwaukee Brewers named Jacob Misiorowski their Game 1 World Series starter against the Tampa Bay Rays, handing the ball to a 24-year-old right-hander in his first full major league season for the franchise’s biggest game in more than four decades.
The decision puts Misiorowski’s velocity front and center in a series between two teams still chasing their first championship. He threw 1,115 pitches of 100 mph or higher this season, obliterating the previous high of 673 since tracking began in 2008, according to The Independent.
The Main Development
Brewers manager Pat Murphy introduced Misiorowski to reporters with a nod to his unconventional path, saying “Forrest Gump, everyone.” The line captured the novelty of a pitcher with less than a full season of major league experience taking the mound in Game 1.
Misiorowski’s own description of his rookie status matched the moment. “I’m still fresh to this and have no idea what the hell is going on,” he said. The admission stands in contrast to the stakes: a Game 1 start in the World Series, the sport’s final round.
What It Means
Misiorowski’s fastest pitch this season reached 105.5 mph on June 27 against the Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong. That mark is on track to break Noah Syndergaard’s 101.1 mph record for a World Series starter, set in 2015, and could challenge Aroldis Chapman’s overall Series high of 103.2 mph from 2016, per The Independent.
His postseason track record so far has been uneven. Misiorowski did not complete the fifth inning in either of his first two playoff starts this year. Batters have swung at 94 of his 182 postseason pitches and fouled off 51, a sign hitters are timing his velocity even when they are not squaring it up.
Context And Background
Across the regular season and playoffs combined, Misiorowski has struck out 263 batters in 182 innings. Bleacher Report has called him the league’s most dynamic starter entering the World Series.
The matchup itself carries historical weight. Milwaukee returns to the World Series for the first time since losing to St. Louis in 1982, a 44-year gap.
Tampa Bay has lost its two previous Series appearances, to Philadelphia in 2008 and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020. This marks the first World Series since 1980 featuring two franchises still searching for their first title.
Both clubs built their rosters without relying heavily on power. Milwaukee scored a major league-low 32.1% of its runs on home runs this season, and Tampa Bay was second-lowest at 34.4%. The Brewers ranked 19th in payroll as of Aug. 31 and the Rays 25th, the first time since 1991 that both World Series teams sat in the bottom half of league payrolls.
Player Impact
Misiorowski framed his approach to winning games in broader terms than raw power. “It’s cool that you don’t have to be that team to hit 170 home runs a game or whatever. You can win a baseball game so many different ways,” he said. The comment reflects the identity of a Brewers team that has advanced on pitching and situational offense rather than the long ball.
What’s Next
Misiorowski is set to take the mound in Game 1 of the World Series against Tampa Bay, with his command and ability to work deep into games likely to shape how Milwaukee approaches its bullpen plans for the rest of the series.
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