A state away from his old stomping grounds, Milwaukee Brewers' manager Pat Murphy crossed another box off his list.
Make a World Series.
The Brewers completed a sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series on Thursday night, 6-4 at Dodger Stadium.
Murphy's crew not only made history for Milwaukee, but Tempe as well.
A World Series Sun Devil
With Murphy's ticket now punched to the 2026 Fall Classic, he joins Bobby Winkles as a former ASU manager who has made the MLB World Series.
However, Winkles' trip to the dance in 1974 with the Oakland Athletics was as their third-base coach, meaning Murphy is the first-ever former Sun Devil to make the World Series as the team manager.
If you include players, Murphy joins an exclusive (along with uber talented) pool of former Sun Devils.
Austin Barnes (2017, 2018, 2020)
Ian Kinsler (2011, 2018)
Andre Ethier (2017)
Jason Kipnis (2016)
Dustin Pedroia (2007, 2013)
Barry Bonds (2002)
Ken Phelps (1989)
Marty Barrett (1986)
Reggie Jackson (1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1981)
Ken Landreaux (1981)
Rick Monday (1977, 1978, 1981)
Larry Gura (1980)
Bobby Winkles* (1974)
Sal Bando (1972, 1973, 1974)
Duffy Dyer (1969)
Gary Gentry (1969)
Now, Murphy has a chance to become the first former Sun Devil to win a World Series in six years.
What Murphy Thinks Of ASU Nowadays...
There were memorable times in Tempe during Murphy's tenure from 1995 to 2009, but it did not end in a memorable fashion.
Amid program investigations, Murphy resigned from the job in 2009, with reports from The Arizona Republic signaling that Murphy was pushed out the door by the school. The former ASU skipper would then go on to become a coach for the San Diego Padres in 2010.
Murphy talked about his days in Tempe earlier this month:
“I wasn’t a great coach,” Murphy told Cronkite Sports. “But we had some great baseball teams. I was really trying to find myself back then, trying to navigate life raising a son by myself. I was just trying like hell to be impactful. My ego was still involved, more than it should’ve been.”
Murphy has been on record calling his situation at ASU a "gross injustice", but he also takes a lot of accountability for how it all unfolded.
Murphy on the "Diggin' Deep" Podcast in 2025:
"I had a bullseye on me because I was really outgoing. I'd say whatever to anybody, I'd mess with anybody. So when they came around, I mean, the violations that they had. The girl that did the investigation never saw a college baseball game. She was fired a year and a half later for unethical conduct, not dealing with our case. But she had no idea what she was doing. She was a nervous wreck, and I handled it so bad. I was so bad to her,"
"I was so bad to the whole NCAA because I knew I did nothing wrong, and the ticky-tack stuff they're talking about. I'm like, that can't, that can't hook me. That didn't give us any competitive advantage,"
So that happened, and I'm like, and the president's like, the football team was already on probation, so the athletic department was on probation, and then we have other violations, which happened over and over, but they were ridiculous,"
"We didn't log our phone calls. I'm using a university phone. If I wanted to call you illegally, I'd use another phone. Like, we're using the university phone, so how's that? I just logged it, but because I didn't log it, it's a major violation."
Where Would ASU Be With Murphy Today?
The tricky situation at the end of the 2000s leaves ASU baseball asking "what could've been" in 2026.
Murphy was a 4x Conference Manager of the Year during his time in Tempe, coaching the Sun Devils to multiple conference championships and multiple trips to the College World Series.
Ever since then, ASU has been searching for a return to the Murphy-esque success. ASU has not won a regional since 2011, a conference title since 2010 or made the CWS since 2010.
Now, with Willie Bloomquist at the helm, who played under Murphy in the '90s, the question remains: is Pat Murphy the ultimate "one who got away" for Arizona State?
While fans in Tempe reminisce, the former Sun Devil skipper will be leading the Milwaukee Brewers into their first World Series since 1982, facing either the Cleveland Guardians or Tampa Bay Rays, in search of the franchise's first title.
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