History Suggests New York Mets Are World Series-Bound After Beating Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers had made the postseason eight times before 2024, and each and every team that knocked them out went on to appear in the World Series.
The New York Mets defeat the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of National League Wild Card Series on Thursday, October 3, 2024, at American Family Field in Milwaukee, WI.
The New York Mets defeat the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of National League Wild Card Series on Thursday, October 3, 2024, at American Family Field in Milwaukee, WI. / Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Brewers may have been eliminated from the playoffs this week, but their presence in the postseason still looms large.

Thanks to Pete Alonso's historic, clutch home run in the ninth inning on Thursday night, the New York Mets emerged victorious in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series. That sent the Brewers packing, while the Mets got to punch their ticket to the NLDS.

And if past results are any indication, New York could wind up going much, much further.

As pointed out by MLB.com's Adam McCalvy, every team that has beat the Brewers in the postseason has gone on to – at the very least – win a pennant. Six of the eight teams to do so have finished October as World Series champions.

The Brewers, who played their inaugural season in 1970, made the playoffs for the first time in 1981. They lost to the New York Yankees in the ALDS, setting the Bronx Bombers on the path to their 33rd AL pennant.

The very next year, Milwaukee made it to the World Series themselves, but lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.

Following a 25-year postseason drought, the Brewers got knocked out by the eventual World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies in the 2008 NLDS. They reached the NLCS in 2011, only to come face-to-face with the Cardinals, who went on to win the Fall Classic as well.

The 2018 Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Brewers in the NLCS, then lost to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series, but the 2019 Washington Nationals, 2020 Dodgers and 2021 Atlanta Braves all went through Milwaukee on their way to a title. The 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks, although they didn't win the World Series, also defeated the Brewers en route to an NL pennant.

The Brewers' postseason opponents have created a pattern – one team will eliminate them, then lose in the World Series, while the next three teams to eliminate them will win the World Series. Since the D-Backs lost in the World Series in 2023, that means the Mets should win it all in 2024, per this purely coincidental pattern.

In order to do so, New York will have to make it past the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS. Game 1 of that best-of-five series is scheduled to get underway at 4:08 p.m. ET.

Follow Fastball On SI on social media

Continue to follow our Fastball On SI coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.

You can also follow Sam Connon on Twitter @SamConnon.


Published
Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a Staff Writer for Fastball on the Sports Illustrated/FanNation networks. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's All Bruins, 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' Bruin Blitz, the Bleav Podcast Network and the Daily Bruin, with his work as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk.