Brewers trio WBC World Series same year feat joins rare baseball list

The Brewers trio WBC World Series same year achievement became official when Milwaukee beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 to win the World Series. Jackson Chourio, William Contreras and Antonio Senzatela added that title to the World Baseball Classic championship they won earlier in the year with Team Venezuela.

With Milwaukee’s clinching victory, Chourio, Contreras and Senzatela became the third, fourth and fifth players in baseball history to win the World Baseball Classic and the World Series in the same calendar year. Their March title came in Miami, where Venezuela beat the United States 3-2 to win its first-ever WBC championship.

A short list gets three new names

Before the Brewers’ trio joined the list, only two players had completed the same-year double: Alex Bregman and Luke Gregerson.

Bregman won the 2017 World Baseball Classic with Team USA and later won the 2017 World Series with the Houston Astros. That season was described as his first full big-league campaign, with Bregman a 22-year-old at the time.

Gregerson was also part of Team USA’s 2017 WBC title and Houston’s 2017 World Series championship. He was a veteran reliever in the Astros’ bullpen that year.

Seven months separated Venezuela’s WBC celebration in Miami and Milwaukee’s World Series celebration in Florida, creating a rare link between international baseball and Major League Baseball’s championship stage.

Chourio’s WBC role came after a spring setback

Chourio’s path through the World Baseball Classic was affected by a broken hand suffered during spring training. Because of that, he was limited in the tournament and batted ninth for Venezuela.

Even in a reduced role, he had a meaningful moment in the semifinal against Italy. Chourio executed a hit-and-run during Venezuela’s seventh-inning rally, then later scored the go-ahead run on Maikel Garcia’s RBI single.

Garcia was named tournament MVP, and Venezuela went on to secure the title by beating the United States 3-2 in the final.

Contreras had a different March, then a major October

Contreras’ WBC contributions were limited, but not because of injury. Royals veteran Salvador Perez, Venezuela’s captain, handled much of the catching and was behind the plate for the title game.

Contreras appeared in four games in March and went hitless. One of his lasting images from the tournament came after the final, when he walked onto the podium with his older brother, Willson Contreras, to receive their medals together. Willson Contreras was identified as the Boston Red Sox first baseman.

By October, William Contreras had a much larger role for Milwaukee. He spent the postseason guiding the Brewers’ pitching staff, including a bullpen game in the NLCS clincher against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Two titles in one baseball year

The achievement connects two different versions of the sport’s biggest stages: the World Baseball Classic, played for national teams, and the World Series, the peak of the MLB season.

For Chourio, Contreras and Senzatela, the double places them beside Bregman and Gregerson in one of baseball’s smallest championship groups. Milwaukee’s Game 5 win over Tampa Bay did more than deliver a World Series trophy; it completed a calendar-year sweep that had been matched by only two players before them.