The 1982 Milwaukee Brewers are just another one of the major reasons that I love that decade dearly. I thought I would spend an issue just recapping that season and acknowledging some of my childhood heroes that made up that team. If you are not from these parts, you might not remember this team as fondly as I do, but believe me when I tell you it was a special group of players.

As a reminder, the Brewers used to be in the American League (until 1998) and there used to be only 2 divisions in each league with no wild card either (until 1994). I will start with the 1981 season because a couple significant events occurred. Before that season, the Brewers made a major trade sending a group of players (including Sixto Lezcano who was one of my personal favorites) to the St. Louis Cardinals for some major contributors. The Brewers received Ted Simmons, Rollie Fingers and Pete Vuchovich. I will talk about each player's contributions later, but Fingers would go on to win both the MVP and Cy Young awards after the 1981 season. The 1981 season was shortened due to a players' strike, so the season was broken into two halves. At the end of the season, the winners of the two halves would play each other to determine who would play for the Pennant. The Brewers had the best overall division record for the season and won the second half of the season. Unfortunately, they would lose to the Yankees in the mini-series and would not move on to the ALCS.

The success in 1981, would lead to raised expectations for the 1982 season. The season would not get off to a strong start. On June 2nd, the team had a record of only 23-24 and was 7 games out of first place. At that point, GM Harry Dalton decided to fire manager Buck Rodgers and promote hitting coach Harvey Kuehn to take his place. Kuehn was the perfect choice and seemed to have an immediate impact.  "Harvey's Wallbangers" were born and the team went on to win 20 of the next 27 games taking over first place by July 11th.

Despite this surge, Milwaukee did not coast to the American League East title that year. The Brewers suffered a major loss when closer Rollie Fingers tore a muscle in his arm on September 2nd and was not able to pitch the rest of that season. One of the reasons for the Brewers success would not be there to help them when they needed it most. The regular season ended up going down to the final series and even the final game. The final series of the regular season had the Brewers traveling to Baltimore to take on the second place Orioles for four games. Four games was exactly how many games the Orioles trailed the Brewers in the standings, so Milwaukee only had to win one game to clinch the AL East title. Baltimore would win the first three games and in order to avoid a one-game playoff, the Brewers had to win the final game of the season. The Brewers would win that game behind pitcher Don Sutton who they had acquired in a late August trade that season. The Brewers had won the division and would now play the California Angels in a best of 5 for the right to go to the World Series.

The Angels had acquired Reggie Jackson prior to the '82 season giving them four former MVPs on the team (also Don Baylor, Fred Lynn and Rod Carew). They had won the AL West by 3 games over the Kansas City Royals. The series began in Anaheim where the Angels took both game 1 and game 2. Heading back to Milwaukee, the Brewers were up against history since no team had ever come back from an 0-2 deficit to win a League Championship Series. Don Sutton would pitch a masterful game 3 preventing the series sweep. The Brewers would win game 4 handily setting up a final game 5 which was sure to be exciting. In game 5, the Brewers trailed 3-2 heading into the bottom of the 7th inning. In that inning, Milwaukee would load the bases on two singles and a walk. Cecil Cooper then cracked the series-winning hit, a two-run single that put the Brewers ahead 4-3. Bob McClure and Pete Ladd kept the Angels off the board in the final two innings, and the Brewers took home the franchise's first (and only) American League pennant. I can remember the final out of the game which was a routine groundball to Yount (by Carew) who tossed it across the field to Cooper and then the celebration began.

The Brewers would move on to face the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. This would become known as the "Suds Series" since Milwaukee was the home to Miller Brewing and St. Louis to Anheuser Busch. Milwaukee would dominate game 1 winning 10-0 while Molitor set a World Series record with 5 hits. The Cardinals would come back and win both game 2 and 3. Then the Brew Crew battled back to win both game 4 and 5 taking a 3-2 series lead. St. Louis tied the series back up after a dominating 13-1 win in game 6 which would create a final game to decide the World Series winner. Unfortunately, the Brewers would lose game 7 and would not become World Series champs. It was an exciting 7-game series and the result may have been different if Rollie Fingers would have been available at the back of the bullpen for the Brewers. Either way, I was proud of my team and ecstatic that they made it as far as they did. I would have never expected to wait 26 years before they would even make the playoffs again.

The city of Milwaukee staged a parade honoring the American League Champions. The fans celebrated the team as if they had won the World Series and the players were both surprised and gratified by the reception they received. I can still remember seeing the streets lined with thousands of people cheering as the players made their way through downtown and out to County Stadium. Once at the stadium packed with adoring fans, I remember Robin Yount making his entrance on a motorcycle which he drove around the track. The city truly appreciated the accomplishments, but more so just appreciated the team.

The '82 Brewers partied hard and played even harder. They tailgated with fans and slept off hangovers on training tables in the clubhouse. But when they stepped out on that field on game day, they were all business, scrapping and hustling and busting butt until the final out. The players also genuinely liked one another and did almost everything as a group. On the road, it was not unusual for 15 to 20 team members to go out together. Almost everyone on the team showed up hours before games to play flip, a silly warm-up game that took on a life of its own as the season progressed. They were comradery personified.

The team was also loaded with talent. The '82 Brewers had an all-star caliber player at nearly every position, crafty starting pitchers who went deep into the game and perhaps the best bullpen in baseball. The nickname "Harvey's Wallbangers" came from the prolific offense, though. Yount was named the AL most valuable player after batting .331 with 29 home runs, 46 doubles, 114 runs batted in and 129 runs scored. Cooper hit .313 with 32 homers and 121 RBI. Molitor hit .302 with 41 stolen bases and 136 runs. Oglivie had 34 homers and 102 RBI. Thomas had 39 homers and 112 RBI. They had quite the cast of characters on this team. I thought I would give you a further look at the roster from that amazing season. This is obviously not all of them, though almost every player on the team made a contribution of some sort over the course of the season.

Robin Yount, 19, Shortstop - Nicknamed "Rockin' Robin," he became the first shortstop in American League history to lead the league in slugging percentage. He would go on to lead the league in hits, doubles, and total bases as he was voted the American League Most Valuable Player. He had a .331 batting average with 210 hits, 29 HR, 114 RBI and 129 runs scored. Yount is one of four hall-of-famers that played for the '82 Brewers and he played his entire 19 year career in Milwaukee. I could go on talking about one of the greatest players ever to play the game, but I will leave it at that for now.

Paul Molitor, 4, Third Base - Nicknamed "The Ignitor," he did just that, igniting the Brewers offense. He had a .302 batting average with 201 hits, 19 HR, 71 RBI, 41 stolen bases and a league leading 136 runs scored. He would join Yount as one of four hall-of-famers that played for the '82 Brewers. He hit .355 during the World Series that year including setting a Major League record with 5 hits in one game.

Cecil Cooper, 15, First Base - Nicknamed "Coop," I can still hear the fans chanting "Coooooop" when he would come to the plate. He had a .313 average with 205 hits, 32 HR, 121 RBI and 104 runs scored. Those are MVP type of numbers which were overshadowed by his teammate Yount who would win the award. As mentioned earlier, Cooper's two-run single in the seventh inning was the decisive hit in Game 5 of the ALCS vs. California, propelling the Brewers into the World Series. Cooper had an outstanding career and is quite underrated because there probably was no better hitter in the league back in the early 80's.

Gorman Thomas, 20, Center Field - Nicknamed "Stormin' Gorman," the big guy did not look like your prototypical centerfielder. He more than held his own on the defensive side, but was more feared for his offense. He hit 39 HR while driving in 112 scoring 96 times himself. Thomas hit more home runs than any other player between 1978 and 1982. He was traded to Cleveland during the following season in a move that I still do not understand to this day.

Ben Oglivie, 24, Left Field - Nicknamed "Benji," the left-handed power hitter had 34 HR, 102 RBI and 92 runs scored while playing stellar defense in the outfield. In fact, he made a sliding catch in the left-field corner at Memorial Stadium in the eighth inning on the final day of the season to help the Brewers hold off Baltimore and win the AL East title.

Ted Simmons, 23, Catcher - Nicknamed "Simba," the switch-hitter had 23 HR, 97 RBI and 73 runs scored while leading all major-league catchers with a .995 fielding percentage, committing only three errors in 635 chances. He worked extremely well with the talented pitching staff which had a team ERA less than 4.00 and Vuckovich who would win the Cy Young Award that season.

Jim Gantner, 17, Second Base - Nicknamed "Gumby," Gantner hit .295 with 43 RBI and 48 runs scored. This Wisconsin native was in the line-up more for his outstanding defense than for his bat. He played along side Yount and Molitor for 14 seasons which I believe might be one of the longest streaks that any 3 players have had on the same team. That would never happen in today's game anymore.

Pete Vuckovich, 50, Starting Pitcher - Nicknamed "Vook," he was quite intimidating on the mound and quite strange as well. He wore two different shoes, screamed at opposing base runners and was so competitive, he would pretend to vomit behind the mound in order to break a batter's concentration. All that being said, he had an 18-6 record with a 3.34 ERA and 105 strikeouts on his way to winning the AL Cy Young award in 1982.

Mike Caldwell, 48, Starting Pitcher - Nicknamed "Iron Mike," the lefty was the veteran leader of the Brewers pitching staff. In 1982, he won 17 games with a 3.91 ERA eating up over 258 innings. He would win 2 games during the World Series including shutting out St. Louis on just three hits in Game 1.

Don Sutton, 21, Starting Pitcher - Sutton did not join the Brewers until late August, but his veteran presence made an impact especially when he pitched Milwaukee to a 10-2 victory in Baltimore on the final day of the season to clinch the AL East crown. He was 4-1 in the 7 games he started for the team during the regular season with none more important than that big win against the Orioles. He would also pitch the Brewers to a win in game 3 of the ALCS shutting out the Angels for 7 strong innings. He is one of the four hall-of-famers to play for the '82 Brewers and though he had a 22 year career, Sutton still claims that he never enjoyed himself more than his time spent in Milwaukee.

Moose Haas, 30, Starting Pitcher - His real name was Bryan, but everybody called him Moose. He did not have one of his best seasons in 1982, with an 11-8 record, a 4.47 ERA and 104 strikeouts. He did come up big in Game 4 of the ALCS against California, winning that game to even up that series and setting the stage for the thrilling Game 5 triumph.

Rollie Fingers, 34, Relief Pitcher - Immediately recognized by his trademark handlebar mustache, the Brewers may have indeed won the World Series had Fingers not gone down with an arm injury at the end of the season. Pete Ladd would take over as closer and do an admirable job, but would not be the dominant pitcher Fingers had been up to that point. After winning both the MVP and Cy Young in the 1981 season, he would follow that up with 29 saves and a 2.60 ERA in 50 appearances. He is one of the four hall-of-famers to play for the '82 Brewers and was the most dominant relief pitcher of his era. He was always one of my favorites.

So that is a recap of some of my favorites from that great team. Here is a link to a video by This Week in Baseball about the '82 Brewers which is worth watching.  I remember reading the media guides back then to the point of nearly memorizing them.  For instance (file under the useless knowledge category), I still remember the full name of the Brewers pitching coach Cal McLish.  To those who care, it is Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish.  There is no reason that I should remember that, but I do along with so many other things about my early 80's Brew Crew.

Baseball economics prevent a small-market team, like Milwaukee, from assembling a roster loaded with veteran sluggers and established pitchers, as it did back in the early '80s. The average major league salary was $241,497 back in 1982 compared to well over $3 million today. Given those numbers, there is no way the Brewers could afford to pay Gorman Thomas, Rollie Fingers, Don Sutton, Jim Slaton, Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Ben Oglivie, Don Money, Ted Simmons and Cecil Cooper. Every one of them played in at least one All-Star Game, and all were on the 1982 team. This is further evidenced by the fact that the Brewers have not been back to the playoffs in 26 years and the New York Yankees (highest payroll in baseball) missed the playoffs for the first time in 13 years.  But I sure enjoyed the True Blue Brew Crew while it was possible (and it didn't even really matter that they didn't actually win the World Series).

That will wrap up this issue of Kickin' it Old School. With the MLB playoffs starting and the Brewers participating for the first time in 26 years, I thought it was only fitting to go revisit 1982 and my favorite baseball team. Hopefully this year's Brewers will create some similar memories, but no matter what happens, I only hope that they can remain competitive and it is not another quarter decade before they make it back again. Thanks for reading. If you are looking for more of my 80's related issues, please click there. For all other issues, click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the search box in the right hand column. If you enjoy Kickin' it, please come back often and I always appreciate referrals. Go Brewers! Peace and much love.

Check this out: I enjoy the versatility of the word "dude" and there is a particular Bid Light commercial that demonstrates this point with pure genius. There is a good chance that you have seen this commercial before, but just in case you haven't or if you appreciate it as much as I do, here is a link to watch it. Enjoy it, dude!

Quote of the day: "Swing hard, in case they throw the ball where you're swinging." -Duke Snider

Download this: Since this issue was about the 1982 Brewers, I thought I would give you a song recommendation from that year... "I Can't Go For That" by Daryl Hall & John Oates