Whether you love dramatic finishes, thrilling moments or incredible individual performances, the 2026 MLB playoffs provided a little bit of everything. A week after the Milwaukee Brewers lifted their first World Series championship trophy, experts picked the best single moments, games and series from the entire postseason. What was the defining moment of the entire MLB playoffs? Bradford Doolittle recalled being at all the Brewers' playoff games except the two in San Diego, where Ty France's ball off the ceiling and Jackson Chourio's catch became a pivotal play.
David Schoenfield highlighted the NLCS, where Jake Bauers' 12-pitch walk in Game 2 wiped out Yoshinobu Yamamoto, allowing Christian Yelich to deliver the go-ahead hit. Jeff Passan noted the fifth inning of Game 3 of the World Series, where the Brewers scored eight runs to extend a 2-0 advantage to 10-0, birthing an undeniable moment. Buster Olney covered the division series between the Padres and Brewers, where Mason Miller's struggles in the ninth loaded the bases against Gary Sanchez.
The postseason featured wild-card thrillers and World Series heroics, showcasing the best of every round. All through the Brewers' run, it felt like so many borderline moments, whether resolved by luck or skill, went Milwaukee's way. You take baseball's best team and then give it the majority of the breaks and you have what we ended up with: a champion that went 11-2 en route to winning it all.
Source: ESPN MLB · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing