40 Seasons of Brewers Baseball, 32 Meaningless?

[BrewCrewForever]

As I sat at my desk in my cubicle today listening to another bad Brewers baseball game. It started to really sink in that this season is lost and it's another meaningless season where games in September won't matter. We got teased a bit during that nice 5 game win streak and have now been beat down 2 games in a row.

 

So I was thinking, how many seasons have the Brewers actually had good, meaningful seasons that they were competitive, fun and in it? I came up with 8.

 

1978

1981

1982

1987

1992

2005 (were not really "in it" but made it to .500 for first time in forever)

2007

2008

 

This was just off the top of my head, were any other season really all that good? Thoughts?

[Jimbo]

I'm still going to go with '78-'83, '87-'88, plus the last four listed.

 

They were an AL powerhouse six straight years, and the '88 was still alive heading into the final weekend.

[Schlitz001]

It's a lot more fun to cheer for a competitive team in September. I really learned that for the first time in 2008. But every year has been meaningful to me, most especially the teams of my childhood of the late '80s and early '90s.

[greeg35]

Yeah, sitting around the radio and TV with my dad, brothers, and sisters, more recently texting about games and team activities with my brothers and being in an oddly grouped bunch of fans in an e-mail group. Reading and learning on brewerfan.net. Looking forward to sharing baseball with my son.....all those years had meaning. I'm glad there was and is baseball in Milwaukee.

In understand why it does; but its too bad stuff boils down to winning and losing for so many.

[BrewCrewForever]

Yeah, sitting around the radio and TV with my dad, brothers, and sisters, more recently texting about games and team activities with my brothers and being in an oddly grouped bunch of fans in an e-mail group. Reading and learning on brewerfan.net. Looking forward to sharing baseball with my son.....all those years had meaning. I'm glad there was and is baseball in Milwaukee.

In understand why it does; but its too bad stuff boils down to winning and losing for so many.

I just want to state for the record that loving the Brewers and baseball does not just boil down to winning and losing for me. I love this team and sport no matter what. I was just thinking about what seasons had more juice and were better for the club as for as winning teams and more meaningful games played down the stretch. I can always find great moments in any season and honestly just watching baseball makes me happy. I'd much rather it be baseball season and watching the Brewers lose than having no baseball in the cold of Wisconsin winters.

[JimH5]

I don't consider Brewers baseball to be meaningless in the same way I don't consider my crappy golf game to be meaningless.

 

With golf, I no longer care if I ever get better. I have been terrible for more than 30 years, and still enjoy to play once in awhile.

 

With the Brewers, they will always provide for me a "Hope Springs Eternal" quality. They fill my summer nights with entertainment, I occasionally can go to the games and have a sausage and a beer, and even terrible teams will win 40 percent of the time.

 

I've spent the past 2 1/2 years living overseas. where American baseball isn't even known as a sport, and I've also spent 3 years living in Jacksonville, FL, a minor league town with no interest in MLB. Both of those experiences made me appreciate the Brewers even more, regardless of their on-field performance.

 

It would be far better for them to be regular contenders, always in the hunt. But they haven't been, and I'm still here, so I guess it's still meaningful.

[RockCoCougars]

I'm still going to go with '78-'83, '87-'88, plus the last four listed.

 

They were an AL powerhouse six straight years, and the '88 was still alive heading into the final weekend.

This would be my list as well. I might actually include 1997 too. That team was right in the hunt towards the end.

[nsimps]

91 and 92 were good years as well. In '92 we would have been in the playoffs with the expanded format. I still think the 1992 team is why Bud Selig pushed for the wild-card format.

[dlk9s]

I looked back at that 1992 team and man, it seemed like a strange team to be so good. Looking up and down the roster, it doesn't seem like they should've even been close to the playoffs. But, as it turns it, they were in many ways the opposite of this year's team.

 

Second last in the AL in homers.

Fourth last in SLG.

 

Second in BA.

First in SB (by almost 100!).

Second in SAC.

First (best) in GIDP.

 

First in ERA.

First (best) in BB allowed (by far).

First in WHIP.

Second last in K's by pitchers.

Second in K/BB.

 

First in Fielding % (yeah, crap stat, but still).

[RockCoCougars]

I looked back at that 1992 team and man, it seemed like a strange team to be so good. Looking up and down the roster, it doesn't seem like they should've even been close to the playoffs. But, as it turns it, they were in many ways the opposite of this year's team.

 

Second last in the AL in homers.

Fourth last in SLG.

 

Second in BA.

First in SB (by almost 100!).

Second in SAC.

First (best) in GIDP.

 

First in ERA.

First (best) in BB allowed (by far).

First in WHIP.

Second last in K's by pitchers.

Second in K/BB.

 

First in Fielding % (yeah, crap stat, but still).

I would kill to have Garner as manager now. He might actually utilize some of the speed on this team. Looking back, Don Rowe did a heck of a job with that pitching staff as well. They had a great bullpen, and it seems like many of the starters had career type seasons that year. Too bad half of the team bailed after the season- they would have had a really nice base for the next several seasons.