Milwaukee is the center of the baseball world right now. It’s a matter of fact. The Brewers have taken the league by storm, winning 103 games. They’ve punched their ticket to the postseason, clinched their fourth consecutive NL Central title and put the league on notice, earning themselves not only a first-round bye, but the top overall seed in MLB.

This city is a baseball town, though. It’s who we are, and that passion carries beyond the big leagues to the three other pro teams in the American Association of Professional Baseball. And while the Brewers still have a way to go to reach their first World Series since 1982, the Milwaukee Milkmen once again stood on the doorstep of greatness, playing in their third AAPB Miles Wolff Cup Final since 2020.

Milwaukee Milkmen

The pun-loving Milkmen put together an udderly fantastic season. Led by pitcher Jhordany Mezquita (12-1 with a 2.90 ERA), Yordys Valdés (.315 batting average) and pitcher Davis Welch (5-0, 1.83 ERA in 39.1 innings), the team finished the season with a 58-42 record, topping their division and finishing just behind their finals opponents, the Kansas City Monarchs, for the best record in the AAPB in 2026. They hung their hats on defense and pitching this year, allowing the fewest runs in the league (475), a strategy that’s clearly paid off in the playoffs.

In the Miles Wolff Cup Playoffs, the team railroaded the Cleburne Railroaders in the first round before downing the Kane County Cougars in the Division Championship Series last week. Unfortunately, though, the Kansas City Monarchs proved to big of an ask this time around, falling just short in the finals.

Kansas City Monarchs

One team stood in the way of the Milkmen’s dreams this season, and it was one steeped in history and tradition. Once the Kansas City T-Bones, the club took on a new name in 2021, one etched in baseball lore and crowded with legends: The Kansas City Monarchs.

Founded in 1920, the original Kansas City Monarchs are one of the Negro National League’s most famous clubs. They won the first-ever Negro National League World Series in 1924, won 10 pennants and beat MLB to night games by five years with portable lighting. Take a trip to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, and you’ll see the iconic KC logo everywhere, with names like Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks and Buck O’Neil. And while the team shut down in 1965, its legacy lives on in history books and stadiums across the country.

This Monarchs team is a loving tribute to the city’s past, shedding its meat-inspired team name for a more lore-shrouded one in 2021. A portion of the club’s proceeds go to protecting that history at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, and they’ve continued on their winning ways, too, with four league titles since their T-Bones days in 2008 with the Northern League and then 2018, 2021 and 2023 with the AAPB.

They finished the regular season with the best record in the league (59-41), only behind the Milkmen in runs allowed (483) and third in the league with runs scored (631), a potent combination when it comes to playoff baseball.

En route to the final, the Monarchs caged the Sioux Falls Canaries in a best-of-three series before clipping the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in a best-of-five Division Championship Series. They were headlined by infielder Luken Baker (.336 batting average), Ryan Garcia (8-4 with a 3.10 ERA) and Jimmy Endersby (7-4 with a 3.84 ERA). Together, they clinched their third title in five years.

Miles Wolff Cup Series Dates and Times

Game 1

Kansas City Monarchs – 2

Milwaukee Milkmen – 0

Kansas City leads 1-0 

Game 2

Kansas City Monarchs - 4

Milwaukee Milkmen - 0

Kansas City leads 2-0 

Game 3

Milwaukee @ Kansas City

Kansas City - 3

Milwaukee Milkmen - 1

Kansas City wins series 3-0

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