Wheeler's own Brandon Woodruff is a World Series champion
- Story byNortheast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo
- Wheeler's own Brandon Woodruff is a World Series champion
The tiny town of Wheeler is now home to a World Series champion.
Native son Brandon Woodruff has earned a ring after his Milwaukee Brewers finished off Tampa Bay in five games, winning 4-1 on Wednesday night. It's the first World Series title in franchise history.
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Woodruff, 33, has spent his entire professional career in the Brewers organization, including the last 10 in the majors – making him the longest-tenured current Brewer. He's been one of the team's most consistent pitchers – when healthy. Woodruff missed the entire 2024 season with an injury to his throwing shoulder, and he has battled similar ailments the past two seasons. He made 12 starts in 2025 and nine starts this year.
After pitching on July 4, Woodruff was shut down due to shoulder issues and did not pitch the rest of the regular season. His numbers: a 2-2 record and 2.98 ERA.
But surprisingly, the right-hander did not need surgery and got healthy enough to be included on Milwaukee's World Series roster. And then, in Game 3 on Monday, Woodruff got the final three outs of a 10-1 win. He allowed one run on two hits and had one strikeout.
Following the series-clinching win, a post on Instagram by a local television station featured Woodruff, who was asked how he was going to celebrate.
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"I'm probably gonna get a little drunk, and I'm going to do it with my boys. And then we're gonna bring the party back to Milwaukee, and they're probably gonna do some damage as well," he said.
For his career, the guy teammates call Woody has a 55-30 record, 3.10 ERA with 918 strikeouts over 790 1/3 innings. He's a two-time All-Star selection.
After a stellar career at Wheeler High School, Woodruff was taken in the fifth round of the 2011 MLB draft by Texas. But he decided to play for Mississippi State, where he worked as both a starter and a reliever. In 2014, Milwaukee selected Woodruff in the 11th round.
