Pat Murphy, who won the National League Manager of the Year in his first two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, has signed a new three-year contract, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Thursday.
Murphy, 67, was entering the final year of his deal. This new contract replaces the final season and includes a club option for the 2029 season. ESPN’s Jeff Passan said Murphy is receiving $8.95 million in new money, making him one of MLB’s highest-paid managers.
Before joining the Brewers, Murphy’s only previous MLB managing experience came on an interim basis during the 2015 season after Bud Black was fired. Murphy, who had been the Triple-A manager when promoted, was not retained by the Padres after that season. Coincidentally, then-Brewers manager Craig Counsell had tried to hire Murphy, his former Notre Dame coach, before the 2015 season, but the Padres blocked the move.
But that allowed Murphy to join Counsell’s staff in 2016 as bench coach, a position he held until Counsell went to the Chicago Cubs after the 2023 season, when Murphy replaced his former player as the Crew’s manager.
Murphy picked up where Counsell left off, winning the NL Central in 2024 and 2025, giving the Brewers three straight division championships. Each year, the Brewers edged out Counsell’s Cubs. Murphy was named NL Manager of the Year in each season, the first Brewers skipper to win the award in team history.
The Brewers finished 93-69 in 2024, a one-game improvement over Counsell’s final season, then posted the best record in MLB in 2025 at 97-65. The Brewers, who lost to the New York Mets in the NL Wild Card Series in 2024, then beat Counsell’s Cubs in the NL Division Series in 2025 before being swept by the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 2025 record was surprising due to a 0-4 start to the season and a number of injuries that decimated the starting rotation. But once the Brewers got healthy, they put together an 11-game winning streak, followed by a club-record 14-game streak.
Murphy has blossomed into a fan favorite, not just in Milwaukee but across baseball.
In 2025, he became famous for pocket pancakes, a pancake that he kept in his pocket so he could munch on it when he was hungry. He also stuffs other types of food for safekeeping, a practice he has been doing for years, but only became noteworthy when he did it during a nationally televised game.