3 thoughts from an eventful week for the Brewers

This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy's Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

MILWAUKEE -- From the “in case you missed it” department, here are three thoughts about what has been an eventful week for the Brewers:

1. Pat Murphy had so many interesting things to say about becoming the first Brewers skipper to win the National League Manager of the Year Award during not one but two media sessions on Tuesday night -- first a conference call with members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, then on a Zoom call with local reporters, many of whom were doing double duty while covering the Marquette game at Fiserv Forum.

There was one question and answer that didn’t make it into our coverage, but it is worth revisiting here -- because it not only reflects on what was important to Murphy in his debut season as a Major League manager, but also spins forward to what he hopes to improve on in 2025. Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel simply asked Murphy if there was anything about 2024 that gave him particular satisfaction.

“I’ve got a lot of things I learned this year that I’m real satisfied with,” Murphy said. “Understanding the length of the season. And understanding -- I was really proud of Spring Training. I really was. As much as I detest parts of Spring Training, I was proud of how we ran it.

“And I was proud that I didn’t try to control everything. That’s been a weakness of mine. I try to have my hand in everything and try to control everything. But I let go of things. I let guys coach. I’m still not good at losses. [Even] back-to-back losses, I’m bad. But I’m proud of the way the guys competed. I don’t know if I had anything to do with that or not, but I was really proud of that. They showed up every day, and that’s all you can really ask for from your team. When your team executes what you want, that’s really cool.”

Murphy will turn 66 next week. He’s been coaching for more than 40 years, since getting a job as head baseball coach and assistant football coach for the Maryville College Fighting Scots in 1983. And he’s still trying to improve.

2. I didn’t have an NL Rookie of the Year Award vote this year, but I thought my BBWAA colleagues got it right when they voted Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes first, Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill second and Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio third.

Chourio’s late-season surge was worthy of recognition, especially considering he’s only 20 years old, but it was a two-horse race between Skenes and Merrill for the top spot. I can see the argument for the seven writers who voted Merrill first, especially if you use WAR as a guide (Merrill’s fWAR topped Skenes' by a full win, 5.3 to 4.3). Merrill logged a full season and put up sensational numbers (130 wRC+, .826 OPS) while playing the outfield for the first time in order to best fit the team’s needs.

I still would have been a Skenes voter based on his historic, dominant debut. No rookie pitcher in the Live Ball Era made as many starts as him (23) and had a lower ERA (1.96). As my colleague Alex Stumpf wrote, Skenes was appointment viewing every time he pitched. It’s hard to weigh the contributions of an everyday player vs. a starting pitcher, but in my humble view, Skenes deserved this honor.

One note that shouldn’t be overlooked: Both the Padres and the Brewers paid a price for Skenes’ win. They would have earned an extra Draft pick -- a Prospect Promotion Incentive selection after the first round -- because Merrill and Chourio were both in the Majors on Opening Day and received a full season of service time.

3. There was a bunch of news this week beyond awards, from some non-roster invitees to big league camp (right-hander Deivi Garcia, infielder Ray Delgado and outfielder Jimmy Herron) to Willy Adames declining the Brewers’ qualifying offer to Minor League pitchers Logan Henderson and Chad Patrick being added to the 40-man roster.

With all of that, one piece of news may have slipped under the radar. New White Sox manager Will Venable announced he’d hired a bench coach: Chicago native Walker McKinven, who’d been with the Brewers as a run prevention coordinator. McKinven was a critical conduit between Milwaukee's pitchers and catchers, helping devise game plans and transform a series of bat-first catchers into solid receivers, most recently William Contreras, who finished fifth in NL MVP voting. That subtle strength of the organization is a huge reason why the Brewers have consistently ranked near the top of the league in preventing runs.

It’s a product of the Brewers’ recent success that their coaches are in high demand. Besides McKinven’s departure, Milwaukee lost first-base coach (and baserunning guru) Quintin Berry to Craig Counsell’s Cubs, for whom Berry will be third-base coach. Word was that the D-backs interviewed Brewers associate pitching coach Jim Henderson for a spot on their staff, and that third-base coach Jason Lane received interest from the Orioles. And remember, it took a multiyear deal with Chris Hook to keep the popular and successful Brewers pitching coach in Milwaukee.