Milwaukee's Baseball Underdogs and Socialist Governance Share a Common Heritage of Have-Nots Beating the Odds
Source: Peter Dreier. "Milwaukee’s Proud History of Baseball — and Socialism." October 23, 2026. jacobin.com
The Gist
The author argues that the Brewers reaching the World Series as a small-market underdog echoes Milwaukee's long history of ordinary people beating richer, more powerful opponents, both in baseball and in politics. He points to the city's decades of effective socialist government as proof, and says the city's baseball and socialist histories are more connected than people realize.
Conclusion
The Brewers' 2026 World Series run is a reminder of Milwaukee's progressive heritage: in the first half of the twentieth century, Milwaukee's baseball and socialist political histories were intertwined, with the city's 'have-nots' repeatedly beating the odds against wealthier, better-resourced rivals.
Premises
- In politics, labor, and baseball alike, organized people can sometimes defeat organized money, even though money confers a significant advantage.
- Big-market, high-payroll baseball teams usually dominate the World Series, so a small-market team like the Brewers (smallest market, 19th in payroll) reaching the World Series is an exception that required strong pitching, small ball, and savvy management.
- Milwaukee's Socialists, allied with unions and immigrant communities, won and held power over nearly forty years (Seidel, Hoan, Zeidler) despite opposition from the business establishment.
- The Socialists were effective, practical governors ('sewer socialists'), delivering public health improvements, parks, public housing, sanitation, education, worker protections, and balanced budgets, and were praised by Time and Fortune as among the best-run cities in the U.S.
- Socialist-era Milwaukee's political and baseball histories are intertwined in ways not often appreciated (this link is asserted in the visible text and apparently developed in the truncated portion of the article).
Assumptions
- Underdog success in baseball and in politics is analogous enough that the comparison reveals something meaningful about Milwaukee's character.
- The Brewers' 2026 success is related to, or fittingly evokes, Milwaukee's socialist past rather than being a coincidence.
- Praise from mainstream outlets like Time and Fortune is a valid measure of the Socialists' success.
- The truncated sections substantiate the claimed baseball-socialism connection (e.g., through figures like Bill Veeck, per the URL, and the history of the Brewers/Braves).
- Being a 'have-not' is a meaningful shared identity across the political and sporting domains.