What was Jake Bauers' favorite at-bat from the Milwaukee Brewers' National League Championship Series sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers? His fourth-inning two-run double in the decisive Game 4 win? His epic two-run homer in Game 3 to put the Brewers ahead?
Maybe his iconic 12-pitch at-bat in Game 2 that chased Yoshinobu Yamamoto from the game? When you have that many choices, the performance is worthy of some hardware. That's why Bauers was named the NLCS MVP following Thursday's 6-4 win at Dodger Stadium, which sealed the Brewers' first trip to the Fall Classic in 44 years.
When asked by MLB on FOX's Alex Rodriguez which moment stood out, Bauers went with his Game 3 homer, which saw him work Dodgers starter Blake Snell into an 11-pitch battle before launching the ball into right-field seats. "That's a special one. I'll never forget that," Bauers said, with his wife and parents joining him on the field in the Brewers' celebrations following the win.
The 31-year-old journeyman first baseman was nearly done with baseball in 2024, but he's part of a Brewers team that will be heading to the World Series for the first time in 44 years. Now on the fifth team of his career, Bauers has emerged as a clubhouse leader for the Brewers during a season in which he hit 26 homers with 86 RBIs. Bauers explained to David "Big Papi" Ortiz that his previous struggles at the plate have given him confidence to be more comfortable.
Along with his two-run double in Game 4 that cut into the Dodgers' lead, he got a bases-loaded walk to tie things up in the fifth inning. "I've been through a lot. Been through a lot in this game.
Doubted myself a ton, and somewhere along the way, I just let it go. I chose to be confident. I chose to believe in myself," Bauers said.
Asked by Derek Jeter how he remains calm during the big-pressure moments, Bauers explained it's about accepting that he will make mistakes and get down. "If you're trying too hard, you're going to chase pitches. You're not going to get the job done.
It's really just about letting the game come to me as much as I can, and just meeting it where I can." Bauers' turnaround season can certainly be credited to experience and veteran poise. His postseason success can be slightly credited to his father's lucky "Rake Bauers" T-shirt, which Stu Bauers has worn to each of the Brewers' four games of this series. "There's no words that can put in the pride, the joy.
There's just no words. It's amazing," the elder Bauers said,.
