Jake Bauers and the Milwaukee Brewers are in full celebration mode in the aftermath of their shocking sweep of the two-time-defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers to punch their ticket to the 2026 Fall Classic.
Bauers, 31, was named MVP of the National League Championship Series on Thursday, October 15, days after he credited his wife, Lauren, for his success. CBS58 Milwaukee reporter Lance Allen caught up with Lauren during the celebration, where she expressed her pride in her husband.
“I’m not surprised that he’s giving credit to everybody else because they do deserve it, too,” she said. “There’s so many guys tonight and every night [who] have put this team where they are, but he’s built himself to be the man that he is and the baseball player that he is so he does deserve it.”
Jake hit .286 in the NLCS with his biggest hit coming in the seventh inning of Game 3, when his two-run home run put the Brewers ahead, 3-2. He admitted in an interview with Fox Sports after the game that he almost retired after the 2024 season, a year in which he hit under .200.
“To be completely honest with you, the only thing that brought me back was that my wife got pregnant,” he said. “I’m like, ‘Well alright, we need health insurance for these kids.’ So that’s what brought me back.”
Jake and Lauren share daughter Marlee, 2, and welcomed a second child in 2025, whose name they have not revealed.
He also credited his wife before Game 2 for allowing him to chase his baseball dreams as they started their family.
“There’s a lot of people I can give credit to, a lot on the staff here for sure, but also I was thinking a lot about my wife,” he told reporters. “We have two kids, and she’s holding it down at home by herself a lot of the time, which it’s a lot. Those kids, they’re a blessing and we love them, but man, they’re a handful.”
Jake continued, “For her to do that and for her to allow me the opportunity to come here and kind of keep going and just support me any way she can, it’s been crazy. It’s been crazy to see her growth as a woman and a mom.”
He added, “I was standing out there last night listening to the national anthem, and I was thinking about her and just she stuck by me this whole time when it wasn’t always easy. I wasn’t always the best husband. I wasn’t always the best father.”
The Brewers will take on either the Tampa Bay Rays or Cleveland Guardians in the 2026 World Series, which begins Friday, October 23.
