Jake Bauers Almost Retired Two Years Ago, But Stayed In Baseball Solely To Keep His Family's Health Insurance, Now He's Helping The Brewers Surge Towards a Possible World Series Title

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The Brewers are the talk of the baseball world right now and rightfully so. What they're doing to the Dodgers right now is unbelievable. They've got the two-time defending champs on the ropes and looking shell-shocked. 

It really has been a full team effort for Milwaukee to go up 3-0 here. The lineup 1-9 has made life hell for the Dodgers pitching staff. Their bullpen has returned the favor by completely shutting down LA's prolific offense. 

Last night the start of the night was Jake Bauers. His 11 pitch at bat spoiling pitch after pitch before ambushed Blake Snell for the lead was something else. 

It's the kind of moment a hitter dreams of. A silencer go ahead homer on the road in the postseason to stun the crowd. 

The Jake Bauers story is crazy. This guy's career was over after his stint in Seattle. He couldn't stick anywhere in the league. In 2020 and 2022 he couldn't crack the big leagues. Despite a little bit of a breakthrough with the Yankees, Bauers was on the verge of retiring from the sport two years ago. The only reason he kept going was because his wife became pregnant and they needed health insurance since she wasn't going to go back to being a teacher anymore.

(WSJ) Two years ago, Jake Bauers wanted to retire. He had been playing professional baseball since he was just 17, spending more than a decade bouncing across seven different organizations with little success. After batting .199 for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2024, he was frustrated, burned out and ready to move on. 

Then came the news that changed his life in ways he never could have imagined. Bauers’ wife, Lauren, learned she was pregnant with the couple’s second child. Suddenly, Jake’s plan to become a stay-at-home dad while Lauren returned to her teaching job no longer seemed viable. They needed health insurance—so Bauers begrudgingly decided to give his floundering athletic career one last chance. 

And because he kept going not only is he experiencing a breakout season at 31 years old, but he's given the Brewers some of the best at bats of the entire postseason. 

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Set to become a free agent in a class that's pretty barren, Bauers might find himself stumbling into a decent contract this offseason for a team that needs a first baseman. Well deserved for this man.