Jake Bauers’s NLCS MVP adds another tasty layer to potential Guardians-Brewers World Series matchup

On Wednesday night, Jake Bauers swung his way into Milwaukee Brewers history with a go-ahead home run against the Dodgers in Game 3 of the NLCS. 

On Thursday night he added another chapter to his Brewers legacy with a two-run double to help bring Milwaukee back into the game followed by a bases-loaded walk an inning later that tied the game en route to the Brewers picking up a 6-4 win. 

Bauers finished the Brewers’ sweep of the Dodgers with six RBI across the four games to go along with a .983 OPS. Sweeps always limit the amount of production that a player is able to put together, but Bauers still managed to do enough to earn NLCS MVP. 

Jake Bauers could haunt the Guardians in the World Series 

While the Brewers made it to the World Series in 1982, Bauers became the first Brewer to win an LCS award since the Angels’ Fred Lynn won MVP for the series that year in a losing effort. 

The award is another feather in Bauers’ cap after he put together a career regular season with 26 homers and 86 RBI. Those numbers are a far cry from the .656 OPS with 14 home runs and 49 RBI in 160 games with the Guardians across the 2019 and 2021 seasons. 

He bounced around baseball after the Guardians let him go during the 2021 season, but he’s officially found a new home with the Brewers. He had middling success with Milwaukee in 2024 and ‘25 (though had some big swings in the postseason), but that all paled in comparison to what he did this season. 

Bauers’ career year sets up another interesting storyline should the Guardians end up taking on the Brewers in the World Series. The Guardians are in the midst of a series against the Rays that features plenty of familiar faces on the other side, and the Brewers clinching a spot in the Fall classic confirms that trend would continue in the World Series. 

It may not be to the same extent as the Rays having Yandy Díaz, Junior Caminero and Richie Palacios, but Bauers’ breakout season is another example of another former Guardians position player who found their footing somewhere other than Cleveland. 

The Guardians aren’t alone in their misfire on Bauers (he struggled with three other teams before landing in Milwaukee) and the Brewers also cut bait with him after the 2024 season. But Bauers re-signed with the Brewers on a minor league contract, and the rest is history.

It's some history that the Guardians may have to navigate in their quest to make some history of their own.

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