Brewer Time Machine...1982. For the anxiety-laced folks

[jaybird2001wi]

I hate to be an internal optimist, but the 1982 Brewers battled until the very last day to claim the American League East Division. I know it basically makes us all want to head into the doctor to get EKGs after every floundered game, but it is true. I scooped this article up with a simple net search. Although I wish we would run away with the title right now, it may not happen that way... so let's reminisce based on Robin Yount's mentality in 1982...

 

Robin Yount: the game I'll never forget: Brewers Hall of Famer recalls 1982 season finale when Milwaukee clinched division title over Baltimore Orioles

Baseball Digest, Sept, 2003 by Al Doyle

I DON'T REMEMBER MUCH ABOUT MY first game for the Brewers, but I remember the first grounder that was hit to me.

We were playing the Red Sox, and a high chopper was hit over the mound. Cecil Cooper, who became a teammate later, was on first. With the inexperience of an 18-year-old who had been out of high school for less than a year, I caught the ball and didn't know how to go into second base, and I ended up getting spiked.

Everyone in Wisconsin remembers the Brewers going to the World Series in 1982, and it came down to the last game of season before we won the A.L. East.

The final four games of the season were in Baltimore. We came in with a three-game lead and lost the first three games. The Orioles tied us going into the final game, and we were going against Jim Palmer.

We were in Baltimore facing a great pitcher, and we were on a losing streak. Not too many people expected us to win, and one thing was certain. It was the time to have a great game. We may have lost three in a row, but There was a quiet confidence in the clubhouse.

I hit a homer in the first inning and had another homer and triple in the game. The other guys also came through, and we won, 10-2. That's one game I'll always remember. It came down to one game for the championship and that's all we had on our minds. We knew we could go out and win it.

You couldn't write a better script. I'd rank that as my best game, especially under the circumstances.

Then we played Angels in the American League playoffs, and that was another exciting series. We lost the first two games before winning the third game, 5-3. Don Sutton started and won it for the Brewers, and Paul Molitor had the game-winning homer.

We took the fourth game and came from behind to win the fifth game, 4-3, at home. I didn't hit much during that series, but I did catch a grounder hit by Rod Carew for the final out of the game. That was my most memorable moment of the playoffs. It was so noisy that you couldn't hear anything on the field.

We should have won the World Series against the Cardinals. Even without Rollie Fingers in the bullpen (he missed the postseason with an injured shoulder), we had some chances to do that. We went back to St. Louis up 3-2, and all we had to do was win one game, but the Cardinals beat us 13-1 in Game 6 and 6-3 in Game 7.

When I was a kid, I dreamed of hitting a home run in the World Series, and I did that in Milwaukee. Willie McGee took away another homer from me. The Cardinals were one of the best defensive teams I've ever seen.

Looking back, I don't know if you could have had more do-or-die games in a few weeks than the Brewers did at the end of the '82 season. There were five big games, counting the final game of the regular season against the Orioles, the last three games of the playoffs and the last game of the World Series. We won them all but the last one.

A lot of people ask about the game where I got my 3,000th hit. There was a little buildup to that in Milwaukee. We came home for a three-game series against the Indians, and I needed three hits to reach 3,000.

I joked with Bud Selig that I'd get one hit in each of the games to draw more fans. That's exactly how it worked out.

I needed one more hit in the second game to reach 3,000, and I had a final at-bat in the eighth inning. The pitcher threw four straight balls, and none of them were near the plate. It was Cushion Night, and the fans started booing and throwing their cushions.

It finally happened in the eighth inning of the last game of the series. Jose Mesa was pitching for the Indians, and I lined a single to right center. Molitor and (Jim) Gantner were the first players to congratulate me.

I was a pretty introverted, laid-back kid when I came to the majors. Playing in a place like Milwaukee was ideal for someone like me. The personality fit the surroundings. It was certainly a situation that was meant to be.

ROBIN YOUNT FILE

Yount dominates the Brewers all-time statistics. -He leads the team in games played (2,856), at-bats (11,008), hits (3,142), doubles (583), triples (126), home runs (251), runs scored (1,632) and RBI (1,406).

After 20 seasons (1974-93) with the Brewers, Yount was inducted to Hall of Fame in 1999, his first year of eligibility.

A two-time A.L. Most Valuable Player, Yount won the honor in 1982 and 1989. He is one of three players to be named an MVP at different positions, as an arm injury forced Yount to move from shortstop ('82 MVP) to center field ('89 MVP) in 1985. Stan Musial and Hank Greenberg won MVPs as first basemen and outfielders.

Yount is the only player to win a league fielding title at different positions--leading A.L. shortstops with a .985 fielding percentage in 1981 and topping outfielders with a .997 mark in 1986.

A clutch performance: Yount hit .414 (12 for 29) with two four-hit games in his only World Series. That capped a season when Yount had career highs in hits (210), batting average (.331), extra-base hits (87) and HRs (29).

[pebadger]

Not to be a buzzkill, because you post makes a valid point that is worth repeating every day, but:

 

The 1982 team was not really an out-of-nowhere group, or a young team that was still trying to figure itself out. That team had a lot of established players and had experienced success earlier. They played in the strike year playoffs in 1981 and were arguably the best team in the AL that season. In 1980, the Brewers won 86 games and finished 3rd in the AL East behind TWO 100 win clubs in NY and Baltimore, and I think two other teams in the division also finished with winning records. In '79 the Brewers won 95 games and finished second. People KNEW the Brewers were really good. Today, we're not even very sure if they're really any good at all right now.

 

I think the reason people are nervous about this team is the simple lack of success the Brewers have had in so very long, coupled with the fact that we have no previous experince on which to base any faith that certain guys will really come through when we need it. In fact, most have sort have come to expect the opposite. Wednesday's game in Pittsburg was just another unfortunate brick in that wall. The flow of the season has put the momentum of mindset in the wrong direction for a lot of fans too.

 

Looking forward to an exciting run through the end of the regular season. I expect it to be gut wrenching, but I have absolutely no idea how it will turn out. I just know that, unless the Cards somehow realy turn things around, it appears the only possible outcomes are blissful love and intense hate. A Brewers win means a Cubs loss, and a Brewers failure means a Cubs success. I know that I'm not the only one for whom this adds an unhealthy level of intensity to every pitch.

[Patrick425]

The 1982 team was not really an out-of-nowhere group, or a young team that was still trying to figure itself out.

Yeah, the 82 team had much more of a veteran mix in the line up.

 

Also, don't want to sound like a jerk. I guess I'm just older than most...but I thought everyone was aware of the final game of 82'. I think it's one of the most famous games in Brewer's history. I remember that day very clearly (I remember that weekend...I thought they were going to blow it). My sister just had a baby (my first niece), the day before. Everyone went to the hospital to visit, but I told my parents that there was no way I was missing the game. I can visit my sister and the baby later. So, they let me stay home and watch the game.

[JohnBriggs12]

I hate to be an eternal pessimest, but the 82 team did not have Ned Yost managing it or a Derrick Turnbow relieving and was not struggling to stay over .500.

[jeffy]

Turnbow is far from the weakest link in the bullpen or on the pitching staff. Overall he has done okay this year, I really don't get the anti-Turnbow thing, he seems to be a popular scape-goat among many fans, though. The melt down was last year, maybe it is time to forgive him for that??? Especially since the bigger problem was the manager who kept putting him out there to fail.

If he were used a little differently, he might be even better than he has been overall this year.

[1992casey]

Let's stay away from the details about how this year's team could be handled differently. There are lots of threads around to do that. In other words, we should avoid stuff like Turnbow getting into trouble when he isn't rested, Ned managing based on small sample sizes or whim, etc.

 

Drawing general comparisons between this year's team and 1982 seems to be fine. For instance... This year's core players are young; 1982 was a veteran team. This is the first time this group has been in a race; the 1982 team had been in the pennant race four of the five previous years, and the year they weren't in the race, the team was still good. This year's team is average, yet still in the race. The 1982 team was well above average. Neither team is running away with its division. Etc.

[MBHA]

The 2007 team may be better compared to the relatively young 1978 team that was the first winning team the Brewers had put out after 8 years of losing.