Jake Bauers nearly quit baseball before his World Series run
In Good Morning America's interview, Jake and Lauren Bauers explain how a family turning point helped bring him back to Milwaukee.
Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 77,843 views a day, 12 times a normal first day on this channel (6,298).
Jake Bauers speaks out before World Series with wife
Things we can learn from the video
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- 0:33Moves between major-league teams and the minors left Bauers considering retirement after 2024.
- 0:46Lauren supported his decision and was prepared to return to teaching elementary school.
- 1:33Lauren's second pregnancy brought family practicalities into the decision, helping prompt Jake to recommit to baseball.
- 2:05Bauers describes returning to Milwaukee with a changed mindset.
- 2:57The Brewers call themselves the "average Joes," a nickname Bauers uses while describing their clubhouse camaraderie.
- 3:42Lauren says watching Jake come home and play with their children is her favorite part of his career.
Lauren Bauers was ready to return to teaching elementary school. Her husband, Jake, had spent years moving between major-league teams and the minors, and he was considering leaving baseball behind.
"I just felt like it could have been time to move on," the Brewers first baseman tells Will Reeve in Good Morning America's interview. Lauren's answer was straightforward: "Yeah, I'll support whatever you decide."
Then she discovered she was pregnant with their second child. The practicalities of raising a family entered the conversation, including health insurance, and Jake recommitted to playing. His promise to himself: "It's gonna be different. I'm gonna do it different."
That decision gives the interview its striking contrast. The player describing an almost-retirement after 2024 is sitting down as the NLCS MVP, preparing for a World Series against Tampa Bay, the team with which he made his major-league debut.
The segment drew about 53,000 views in its first twelve hours, an unusually fast start for a regular GMA upload. The comments include requests for Milwaukee to keep Bauers and observations about Lauren's support, though any talk of his next contract remains viewers' speculation.
Bauers describes a Milwaukee clubhouse that calls itself the "average Joes." Lauren's favorite part of his career, meanwhile, happens away from the stadium: watching him return home and play with their children. "Watching him come home, playing with them, throwing them in the air is my favorite part."
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What viewers say
What a story! Bring it home Jake!
@bizmureefa1921See it on YouTubewow to say he's had a fun year is an understatement, gotta finish it now
@BxR76See it on YouTubeHis wife seems like someone who is genuinely supportive and will do anything for her husband and at the same time is full of confidence in herself they make a great couple
@fluffyausomearcadebaseball1730See it on YouTube
Public comments from the video's page on YouTube
- Channel
- Good Morning America
- Subscribers
- 5,510,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 8,401,775
- Channel views, pace per day
- 410,709 (on a normal day: 1,203,501)
- Video published
- October 20, 2026
- Video views so far
- 52,738 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 77,843
The numbers
The Bauers interview is drawing views well ahead of GMA's usual pace for regular videos. Its comment section is also already busier than a typical full first day.
💡 Test your knowledge
With which team did Jake Bauers make his major-league debut?
Reeve notes that Bauers is preparing to face his debut team, the Tampa Bay Rays, in the World Series.



