Feeling the need to shake things up, a team trades for a future hall-of-fame pitcher midway through the season and then fires its manager in an attempt to “spark” the struggling team. On the last day of the season, the team clinches a playoff-berth with a huge home run from its budding superstar.
Not only was that the storyline for this year’s Brewers, oddly enough it was the exact same scenario which played out 26 years ago, the last time the Brewers made it to the post-season. The parallels between the 1982 Brewers team and this year’s 2008 Brewers are too eerie to be coincidence.
In 1982, the Brewers fired manager Buck Rodgers and replaced him with Harvey Kuenn, a favorite among players. In 2008, the Brewers fired manager Ned Yost and replaced him with Dale Sveum, also a player favorite.
Looking to shore up their starting pitching, ’82 General Manager Harry Dalton trades for all-star pitcher Don Sutton, who pitches the team to a post-season clinching victory the last game of the year. Also looking to bolster the starting rotation, ’08 General Manager Doug Melvin acquires CC Sabathia, all-star and Cy Young winner. Sabathia leads the Brewers to victory the last game of the year, also clinching a playoff-berth.
In the same 1982 regular-season finale, All-star Robin Yount came up big for the Brewers, hitting two huge home runs. All-star Ryan Braun comes up to the plate in the bottom of the 8th inning of the ’08 finale and hits a decisive two-run home run.
Although separated by 26 years, the two Milwaukee playoff teams have followed similar paths to the post-season. Regular-season statistics of the two clubs also show comparable numbers for each of the team’s superstars.
Let’s compare each team’s unequivocal star. For the ’82 team, it’s clearly Robin Yount. For the ’08 team, Ryan Braun. In 1982, Yount had 210 hits, 114 RBI’s, 29 home runs, and a sizzling .331 batting average. Braun, in 2008, put together 174 hits, 106 RBI’s, a .285 batting average, and also socked 37 home runs. “Rockin’ Robin” slightly edges out Braun when comparing the two, but the “Hebrew Hammer” deserves some recognition for the better nickname.
1982 First Baseman Cecil Cooper and 2008 First Baseman Prince Fielder also shared similar regular-seasons. Cooper ended the year with 121 RBI’s, 32 home runs, and a .313 batting average. Fielder had 102 RBI’s, 34 home runs, and a .276 average. Although there is parity among statistics, stature is another story. Cooper weighed in at 190 pounds during his playing days while Fielder finds himself at 270 pounds.
And there are more peculiarities linking this season’s Brewers with the ’82 team. Current manager Dale Sveum was drafted in the first round of the 1982 amateur draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Also, the Brewers honored the 1982 team prior to a game in 2002, a game in which the Brewers were playing host to this year’s first-round opponent, the Philadelphia Phillies.
The 1982 team went 95-67, winning the American League Eastern Division. Defeating the Angels in the ALCS, the Brewers advanced to the World Series. After a convincing Game 1 victory, the St. Louis Cardinals overmatched the Crew for the remainder of the series.
Today’s Brewers went 90-72 this year and clinched a spot in the National League Wild Card.
But this past Sunday, Milwaukee wrapped up their first playoff series since ’82 by falling to the Philadelphia Phillies, three games to one.
With the two clubs regular seasons invariably linked and both teams failing to capture a World Series title, current Brewer fans should hope that next year does not parallel what happened in 1983.
A year after making it to the World Series, the ’82 team finished 5th in the American East Division, subsequently falling subject to a quarter-century post-season drought. For the sake of the city, team, and fans, lets hope the Brewers make it to the playoffs before 2034.
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