When the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays take the field for the opening game of the 2026 World Series, both franchises will be chasing the first championship in their respective histories. For the Brewers, the Fall Classic appearance marks their first return in 44 years, while the Rays enter looking to cement a breakthrough for their organization.
Yet the two men directing the dugouts from opposite sides are already familiar with the high stakes of a national championship game. Long before reaching the major league ranks, Brewers manager Pat Murphy and Rays manager Kevin Cash crossed paths nearly three decades ago on the collegiate diamond.
In 1998, Murphy was firmly established as a prominent college head coach, leading the Arizona State Sun Devils after previous successful stints at Notre Dame. That year’s Arizona State squad earned the No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament and advanced to the College World Series, setting up a high-stakes opening-round matchup against the No. 3-seeded Florida State Seminoles.
Among the players on the Florida State roster that season was a sophomore first baseman named Kevin Cash. Though Cash went 0-for-5 at the plate during that specific contest, the opening-round meeting delivered an offensive thriller that captured attention.
Arizona State ultimately secured an 11-10 victory, propelled by a decisive go-ahead three-run rally in the seventh inning. The back-and-forth affair featured the type of dynamic play often associated with modern squads, including aggressive base running, tough plate appearances, and contact hitters spraying the ball across the field.
Following that opening win, Murphy guided the Sun Devils all the way to the 1998 championship game. Arizona State ultimately fell just short of the national title in another high-scoring barnburner, losing 21-14 to USC.
For Cash, his collegiate career continued with another trip to the College World Series in 1999. He later signed with the Toronto Blue Jays as an undrafted free agent, eventually making his major league playing debut in 2002 before transitioning into coaching and managerial roles.
Murphy made the jump to the major leagues in 2010, working within the coaching ranks for the San Diego Padres and the Milwaukee Brewers. San Diego’s last World Series appearance came in 1998, the same year Murphy’s Sun Devils clashed with Cash’s Seminoles.
Now, nearly thirty years after their first postseason collision in college baseball, Murphy and Cash find themselves occupying opposing dugouts once again, with a professional championship on the line.
