Brewers Sweep Dodgers, Reach First World Series Since 1982

Milwaukee is returning to the Fall Classic for the first time in 44 years. The Milwaukee Brewers completed a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 6-4 victory on Oct. 15 at Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium, clinching the National League pennant and securing their first World Series appearance since 1982.

First baseman Jake Bauers earned NLCS Most Valuable Player honors for his performance throughout the series. Veteran outfielder Christian Yelich hoisted the Warren C. Giles Trophy on the field as manager Pat Murphy and owner Mark Attanasio joined a sprawling clubhouse celebration that included pitchers DL Hall, Trevor Megill, and Abner Uribe alongside position players Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick, and Jacob Misiorowski.

The 1982 squad, famously nicknamed Harvey’s Wallbangers after manager Harvey Kuenn, lost a seven-game World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals. That roster featured Hall of Famers Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Rollie Fingers. For more than four decades, no subsequent Milwaukee team managed to navigate the expanded modern playoff format to reclaim the NL crown, making this sweep of the heavily favored Dodgers a watershed moment for one of baseball’s smallest-market franchises.

A distinct cultural prelude unfolded roughly 1,700 miles away from Los Angeles just before the decisive game. At Marquette University, carillonneur Mark Konewko played “Roll Out the Barrel” — universally known as the “Beer Barrel Polka” — on the school’s campus bells. The Czech polka, composed by Jaromír Vejvoda in 1927, has served as the seventh-inning stretch anthem at Brewers home games since the franchise relocated from Seattle to Milwaukee in 1970. Konewko’s rendition marked the first time the song was performed on the university’s instrument.

Konewko, who directs the Marquette chorus and chamber choir, has served as the university’s official carillonneur since 1999. He succeeded William Geisheker, the only other person to hold the post since the Paccard-cast bronze carillon was installed in the Marquette Hall tower in 1967. The tower itself dates to 1923, engineered specifically to project the sound of heavy bells across campus.

The Marquette instrument features 48 bells operated through a complex system of wooden levers and pedals resembling a piano keyboard. Its largest bell weighs approximately 5,000 pounds. According to the World Carillon Federation, only about 170 traditional carillons exist in the United States. Wisconsin holds three: Marquette, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Green Bay. Marquette supports the tradition through a dedicated student guild and a three-credit academic course covering the history and mechanics of the instrument.

The Brewers now await the winner of the American League Championship Series to determine their opponent in the 2026 World Series.