MLB WORLD SERIES: RAYS VS BREWERS

October 22, 2026

Pat Murphy

American Family Field

Milwaukee Brewers

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. What did you see from Woodruff's live session this week, and do you think it's enough to have the confidence to put him on a World Series roster?

PAT MURPHY: We haven't made that decision yet. I thought he threw the ball really good. It's almost incredible that the kid has worked his way back. His mind was on this. He was very quiet about it, but his mind was on this. It's kind of incredible, and he threw the ball really well. Just ask the hitters he faced.

There's a lot more to it. There's rules we have to deal with, like you can't replace him, all that kind of stuff. So that will be a discussion today.

Q. To have it be the Rays as the opponent, some similarities between the organizations, how do you look at the matchups, the particular challenges they present? And do you see these organizations and these rosters as similar?

PAT MURPHY: I don't know the American League -- I just don't know the American League that well. We prepare for that team that week, and then it's onto the next. You only play them once usually.

I respect the hell -- watching what I watched this week, I respect the hell out of them. They've done an incredible job of winning baseball games. Similarities on the field and that kind of thing -- yeah, they win a lot of games. They've got some real talent. They try to beat you in different ways, which is similar.

I don't know about the whole organization. Arnold was there, so I give him a hard time every time he mentions that he signed Snell or whatever. But I don't know the similarities in the organizations.

Obviously Tampa Bay has been good before. I respect them. And Kevin Cash I've known for a long time, not so much personally, but I've just respected the job he's done in that organization.

Q. What do you think of what Freddy Peralta has done as he turned his season around?

PAT MURPHY: I love that kid, man, I just do. If you're around him every day, like this kid is just joyful. It's just a beautiful spirit that comes to do his job. He doesn't look at himself as better than others. He's just a great teammate. If you can't be around him for a while and not feel warm -- Sophia did a piece on him. When was that? When did you do that piece on Freddy?

Q. Three years ago.

PAT MURPHY: Three years ago Sophia did a piece on him and where he's from and went down there and the whole thing. If you could not get emotional about that and see the way he gives, I just love this kid. Was that your question?

Q. What he's done since he got here?

PAT MURPHY: Just a matter of time before Freddy broke through because he was great for us for so many years. I still remember his first game in '17 against the Rockies. He threw one pitch, just threw a high cutter, high cutter, high cutter. The Rockies had a great lineup, Blackmon and Arenado and the rest of that crew was really good.

Anyways, he dominated in his first outing, and his parents had come to see him pitch in Triple-A. First time they were ever going to see him pitch. Our Triple-A was in Colorado Springs. We happened to be in Colorado that same weekend. He had to call his parents and say, no, you still fly in, but I'm pitching up the road. What a story. And then he dominated.

This kid has been making great stories like that ever since. Yeah, what he's done in Tampa. The velo's ticked up, the vert's ticked up. It's awesome. I love it.

Q. What are some elements of the college game that you brought here to the pros in your now many years in the pros? How have you evolved or changed since your days at Notre Dame and ASU?

PAT MURPHY: You've asked me that same question like 46 times.

Q. Have I?

PAT MURPHY: Seriously, in the last two years. This is the 46th time.

Q. 47 now.

PAT MURPHY: No, this is 46.

Everybody grows; everybody learns. I didn't bring any elements from the college game necessarily. You're just trying to find ways to play winning baseball, and you take your personnel the best you can. I'm still learning how to do it. I'm still learning how to operate.

You just grow. Back then -- I don't even remember. I know I wasn't very good. You know you're committed to growing, and different things help you grow. Couns bringing me here and thinking I could help him. Little did he know how much he helped me teach me the Major League game. I didn't really want to do it, to be honest with you. That's the best opportunity I had, and I care about him. It ended up being a godsend.

I don't know if that answered your question, but you just threw me off with that same question 46 times.

(Laughter.)

Q. One question on Big Woo. You mentioned you haven't made that decision yet. What are the pros and cons of each, leaving him off or perhaps putting him back on? What are you working through in your mind to make it make sense?

PAT MURPHY: Obviously it would be great for him, the organization, and he could help us. We have three pitchers that haven't pitched yet, or at least two that haven't pitched yet. It's a seven-game series. There's no man on second in the extra innings, so you've got to be conscious of length. How much length can this guy give us? He's faced five hitters.

And the injury thing. The thing has continued to be a problem in his life. Now he's got a clean bill of health according to the trainers, but if that same injury comes up again, then we can't replace him.

So those are the things we've got to weigh heavily. What is he going to give us? We'd love to do it. It's a great story. But we have responsibility to those 20-some guys in there and to the organization and to the city and to whoever else we're responsible to.

Those are all things we'll consider.

Q. This has obviously been a whirlwind week for you guys. I was wondering what it's been like for you personally since you got back from L.A. and also just kind of what the team, what you guys have done up to this point to prepare?

PAT MURPHY: We played baseball, that's how we prepared. We went out there and played baseball every day, live at-bats. You can't recreate real, you know what I mean? It's a long layoff, and if we want to use it as an excuse, then let people use it as an excuse, but I refuse to do that.

We needed a little bit of a break. It was an emotional series in L.A. Cross-country trip, all that. We had a few days where it was a little lighter, but then we've picked it up and gotten a lot of live ABs, but nothing simulates the game the way it is. What else did you ask?

Q. What's it been like for you, the demands and being able to navigate --

PAT MURPHY: Is this about the Russo thing, that I said no to Russo? Here's the story of Russo. Can I tell it, Mike? Why don't you tell it, Mike?

So I get blasted on my phone. I'm not on social media, Twizzler or Instacart, whatever. Sure enough, I get -- I have a lot of friends because I'm old. People start texting me, oh, great job. Russo's a jerk, whatever. I'm like who are they talking about? Maybe this is the wrong number.

Somebody sends me a little thing -- I don't know what you call them, a thing. Then it says, Pat Murphy, I'm a Hall of Famer, and he shut me down, dadadadada. That's all I see. I don't even watch the whole thing.

Mike walks by. I'm like, Mike, what the hell?

He goes, I tell him no the first minute.

I'm like, Mike, I don't want to tell that guy no. He put out a bunch of bad things about the Brewers. And he did.

So we called him right then and we did the show right then. We Facetimed. And he was like really, really soft and nice with me. I'm like the guy's not even being himself. Where's that drunk uncle I had, you know what I mean?

(Laughter.)

All right, enough of that. How is it for me personally? I'm grateful. Whatever I've got going on, it isn't that difficult. I'm very, very lucky. Oh, it's been hectic. So what, bro? It's been great.

My family is always coming in. There's nothing greater than having your four kids around you, and there's no greater feeling in the world than to have them all in the same room.

Q. When we see Yeli get the captain's patch, we've talked to you plenty about that. What have you seen from him this October or maybe for the guys who have not experienced October baseball to look to him and what he's been able to do as your team captain?

PAT MURPHY: I remember the day that I told him that this is the idea and he accepted, it was real for him. You can tell when you give someone something or you let somebody know something. It was real for Yelich. In a way that I was even shocked at. Since then, I don't know the numbers, but I just know this guy is on point. He's focused.

He feels that responsibility. And I think it's an easier responsibility for him to carry, because it's so natural, than to try to carry the pressure of, hey, I've got to get four hits or I've got to do this. He's way more important to this process than anyone knows.

Q. Have you seen a difference in the way that hitters are opposing Misiorowski's fastball in the playoffs so far? What do you want him to take into this series and into Game 1 after? He had to battle the first two times out in October.

PAT MURPHY: He hasn't been as crisp. I don't think people are up there thinking it's going to be 104, and I think they're elated if it's anything less than that.

They're obviously looking at an area. They're trying to exploit everything. He's exposed, like all these guys get at some point. He's exposed. So they're going to attack a certain way, and we're going to try to counter that attack the way we counter it.

It's all about Miz and his health and his mental state, and it's not easy. It's not easy what he's going through. This kid is way over his, what people would call his innings limit. I think we'll redefine that in years to come, how we approach that, but that's another day.

Yeah, you talk about taking on the responsibility of mentioning Yelich, Miz taking on this potential Cy Young winner -- that voting hasn't happened yet, or has it? It already happened? Does he know? Because I don't know.

Long story, he's taken on a lot of responsibility as a young 25-year-old kid. I think it's been a lot for him.

Q. Many times a bench coach takes a manager's job in another organization. It's a clean slate. I know it's a few years old, but as the saying goes, sometimes the bench coach relationship changes with players as the manager. What was that like for you? Was it smooth? Did you have to become more disciplinarian? Less? What was that transition?

PAT MURPHY: I'm totally different because it's a different role, so you have to take on a different role. The staff will tell you I was always in that staff room. We were always carrying on. We had the check game going. You guys know about the check game, and I was ruthless with that, and we just had a great time.

I don't even go in that room, and I barely talk to them. They probably don't like me very much. The bottom line is your role changes, and you have to understand that role. Your passion for the role probably remains the same, but I feel like you have to be different. Obviously I have a way different role with the players now.

You also can't change who you are. I'm not very complicated. It's just like simpleton. I don't try to be more important than I am because I know the real deal. This game is about players. I'm lucky.