1982 Milwaukee Brewers
American League Champions
American League East Champions
LeagueAmerican League
DivisionEast
BallparkMilwaukee County Stadium
CityMilwaukee, Wisconsin
OwnersBud Selig
General managersHarry Dalton
ManagersBuck Rodgers and Harvey Kuenn
TelevisionWVTV
(Steve Shannon, Mike Hegan)
RadioWISN (AM)
(Bob Uecker, Dwayne Mosely)
← 1981 Seasons 1983 →

The 1982 Milwaukee Brewers season was the 13th season for the franchise. The team finished with the best record in MLB (95–67) and won their first and only American League pennant.

As a team, the Brewers led Major League Baseball in a number of offensive categories, including at bats (5733), runs scored (891), home runs (216), runs batted in (843), slugging percentage (.455), on-base plus slugging (.789), total bases (2606) and extra-base hits (534).[1]

Offseason

Regular season

Season standings

The Brewers traveled to Baltimore needing to just win one game out of a four-game finale against the Orioles. The Brewers dropped the first three. They then won the last regular season game of the year in what was essentially a one-game playoff against the Orioles.[6]

AL East 		W L Pct. GB Home Road
Milwaukee Brewers 95 67 0.586 — 48–34 47–33
Baltimore Orioles 94 68 0.580 1 53–28 41–40
Boston Red Sox 89 73 0.549 6 49–32 40–41
Detroit Tigers 83 79 0.512 12 47–34 36–45
New York Yankees 79 83 0.488 16 42–39 37–44
Cleveland Indians 78 84 0.481 17 41–40 37–44
Toronto Blue Jays 78 84 0.481 17 44–37 34–47

Record vs. opponents

1982 American League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team BAL BOS CAL CWS CLE DET KC MIL MIN NYY OAK SEA TEX TOR
Baltimore — 4–9 7–5 5–7 6–7 7–6 4–8 9–4–1 8–4 11–2 7–5 7–5 9–3 10–3
Boston 9–4 — 7–5 4–8 6–7 8–5 6–6 4–9 6–6 7–6 8–4 7–5 10–2 7–6
California 5–7 5–7 — 8–5 8–4 5–7 7–6 6–6 7–6 7–5 9–4 10–3 8–5 8–4
Chicago 7–5 8–4 5–8 — 6–6 9–3 3–10 3–9 7–6 8–4 9–4 6–7 8–5 8–4
Cleveland 7–6 7–6 4–8 6–6 — 6–7 2–10 7–6 8–4 4–9 4–8 9–3 7–5 7–6
Detroit 6–7 5–8 7–5 3–9 7–6 — 6–6 3–10 9–3 8–5 9–3 6–6 8–4 6–7
Kansas City 8–4 6–6 6–7 10–3 10–2 6–6 — 7–5 7–6 5–7 7–6 7–6 7–6 4–8
Milwaukee 4–9–1 9–4 6–6 9–3 6–7 10–3 5–7 — 7–5 8–5 7–5 8–4 7–5 9–4
Minnesota 4–8 6–6 6–7 6–7 4–8 3–9 6–7 5–7 — 2–10 3–10 5–8 5–8 5–7
New York 2–11 6–7 5–7 4–8 9–4 5–8 7–5 5–8 10–2 — 7–5 6–6 7–5 6–7
Oakland 5–7 4–8 4–9 4–9 8–4 3–9 6–7 5–7 10–3 5–7 — 6–7 5–8 3–9
Seattle 5–7 5–7 3–10 7–6 3–9 6–6 6–7 4–8 8–5 6–6 7–6 — 9–4 7–5
Texas 3–9 2–10 5–8 5–8 5–7 4–8 6–7 5–7 8–5 5–7 8–5 4–9 — 4–8
Toronto 3–10 6–7 4–8 4–8 6–7 7–6 8–4 4–9 7–5 7–6 9–3 5–7 8–4 —


Notable transactions

Roster

1982 Milwaukee Brewers
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Game log

Regular season

1982 regular season game log: 95–67–1 (Home: 48–34; Away: 47–33–1)
April: 9–8 (Home: 3–4; Away: 6–4)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Loss Win Save Attendance Record Box/
Streak
– April 6 Indians Postponed (Cold) (Makeup date: September 2)
– April 8 Indians Postponed (Snow) (Makeup date: September 2)
– April 20 Blue Jays Postponed (Cold) (Makeup date: August 12)
May: 13–16 (Home: 7–8; Away: 6–8)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Loss Win Save Attendance Record Box/
Streak
June: 20–7–1 (Home: 5–5; Away: 15–2–1)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Loss Win Save Attendance Record Box/
Streak
July: 16–11 (Home: 11–5; Away: 5–6)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Loss Win Save Attendance Record Box/
Streak
– July 6 @ White Sox Postponed (Rain; Site change) (Makeup date: July 15)
August: 19–11 (Home: 10–6; Away: 9–5)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Loss Win Save Attendance Record Box/
Streak
September: 17–11 (Home: 12–6; Away: 5–5)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Loss Win Save Attendance Record Box/
Streak
October: 1–3 (Home: 0–0; Away: 1–3)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Loss Win Save Attendance Record Box/
Streak
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement
Bold = Brewers team member

Postseason Game log

1982 Postseason game log: 6–6 (Home: 5–1; Away: 1–5)
AL Championship Series: vs. California Angels 3–2 (Home: 3–0; Away: 0–2)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Box/
Streak
1 October 5 7:25 p.m. CDT @ Angels 3–8 John (1–0) Caldwell (0–1) – 64,406 0–1 L1
2 October 6 7:15 p.m. CDT @ Angels 2–4 Kison (1–0) Vuckovich (0–1) – 64,179 0–2 L2
3 October 8 2:15 p.m. CDT Angels 5–3 Sutton (1–0) Zahn (0–1) Ladd (1) 50,135 1–2 W1
4 October 9 12 Noon CDT Angels 9–5 Haas (1–0) John (1–1) Slaton (1) 51,003 2–2 W2
5 October 10 3:20 p.m. CDT Angels 4–3 McClure (1–0) Sánchez (0–1) Ladd (2) 54,968 3–2 W3
World Series: vs. St. Louis Cardinals 3–4 (Home: 2–1; Away: 1–3)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Box/
Streak
1 October 12 7:30 p.m. CDT @ Cardinals 10–0 Caldwell (1–0) Forsch (0–1) – 53,723 1–0 W1
2 October 13 7:20 p.m. CDT @ Cardinals 4–5 Sutter (1–0) McClure (0–1) – 53,723 1–1 L1
3 October 15 7:30 p.m. CDT Cardinals 2–6 Andújar (1–0) Vuckovich (0–1) Sutter (1) 56,556 1–2 L2
4 October 16 12:20 p.m. CDT Cardinals 7–5 Slaton (1–0) Bair (0–1) McClure (1) 56,560 2–2 W1
5 October 17 3:45 p.m. CDT Cardinals 6–4 Caldwell (2–0) Forsch (0–2) McClure (2) 56,562 3–2 W2
6 October 19 7:20 p.m. CDT @ Cardinals 1–13 Stuper (1–0) Sutton (0–1) – 53,723 3–3 L1
7 October 20 7:20 p.m. CDT @ Cardinals 3–6 Andújar (2–0) McClure (0–2) Sutter (2) 53,723 3–4 L2
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement
Bold = Brewers team member

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
C Ted Simmons 137 539 145 .269 23 97
1B Cecil Cooper 155 654 205 .313 32 121
2B Jim Gantner 132 447 132 .295 4 43
3B Paul Molitor 160 666 201 .302 19 71
SS Robin Yount 156 635 210 .331 29 114
LF Ben Oglivie 159 602 147 .244 34 102
CF Gorman Thomas 158 567 139 .245 39 112
RF Charlie Moore 133 456 116 .254 6 45
DH Roy Howell 98 300 78 .260 4 38

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Don Money 96 275 78 .284 16 55
Marshall Edwards 69 178 44 .247 2 14
Ed Romero 52 144 36 .250 1 7
Mark Brouhard 40 108 29 .269 4 10
Ned Yost 40 98 27 .276 1 8
Larry Hisle 9 31 4 .129 2 5
Rob Picciolo 22 21 6 .286 0 1
Kevin Bass 18 9 0 .000 0 0
Bob Skube 4 3 2 .667 0 0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Mike Caldwell 35 258.0 17 13 3.91 75
Pete Vuckovich 30 223.2 18 6 3.34 105
Moose Haas 32 193.1 11 8 4.47 104
Bob McClure 34 172.2 12 7 4.22 99
Randy Lerch 21 108.2 8 7 4.97 33
Don Sutton 7 54.2 4 1 3.29 36

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Jim Slaton 39 117.2 10 6 3.29 59
Jerry Augustine 20 62.0 1 3 5.08 22
Doc Medich 10 63.0 5 4 5.00 36

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Rollie Fingers 50 5 6 29 2.60 71
Dwight Bernard 47 3 1 6 3.76 45
Jamie Easterly 28 0 2 2 4.70 16
Pete Ladd 16 1 3 3 4.00 12
Doug Jones 4 0 0 0 10.13 1
Chuck Porter 3 0 0 0 4.91 3

Postseason

ALCS

Main article: 1982 American League Championship Series

Game 1, October 5

Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Milwaukee 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 7 2
California 1 0 4 2 1 0 0 0 X 8 10 0
W: Tommy John (1-0)   L: Mike Caldwell (0-1)   S: None
HR: MIL – Gorman Thomas (1)  CAL – Fred Lynn (1)
Pitchers: MIL – Caldwell, Slaton (4), Ladd (7), Bernard (8)  CAL – John
Attendance: 64,406

Game 2, October 6

Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Milwaukee 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 5 0
California 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 x 4 6 0
W: Bruce Kison (1-0)   L: Pete Vuckovich (0-1)   S: None
HR: MIL – Paul Molitor (1)  CAL – Reggie Jackson (1)
Pitchers: MIL – Vuckovich  CAL – Kison
Attendance: 64,179

Game 3, October 8

Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
California 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 8 0
Milwaukee 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 5 6 0
W: Don Sutton (1-0)   L: Geoff Zahn (0-1)   S: Pete Ladd (1)
HR: CAL – Bob Boone (1)  MIL – Paul Molitor (2)
Pitchers: CAL – Zahn, Witt (4), Hassler (7)  MIL – Sutton, Ladd (8)
Attendance: 50,135

Game 4, October 9

Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
California 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 5 5 3
Milwaukee 0 3 0 3 0 1 0 2 0 9 9 2
W: Moose Haas (1-0)   L: Tommy John (1-1)   S: Jim Slaton (1)
HR: CAL – Don Baylor (1)  MIL – Mark Brouhard (1)
Pitchers: CAL – John, Goltz (4), Sanchez (8)  MIL – Haas, Slaton (8)
Attendance: 51,003

Game 5, October 10

Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
California 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 11 1
Milwaukee 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 x 4 6 4
W: Bob McClure (1-0)   L: Luis Sánchez (0-1)   S: Pete Ladd (1)
HR: CAL – None  MIL – Ben Oglivie (1)
Pitchers: CAL – Kison, Sanchez (6), Hassler (7)  MIL – Vuckovich, McClure (7), Ladd (9)
Attendance: 54,968

Game 5 proved to be the most dramatic of the series. The Angels got a quick 1-0 lead in the first on a double by Brian Downing and a single by Fred Lynn. But Milwaukee tied the game in the bottom of the inning when Paul Molitor doubled and eventually came home on a sacrifice fly by Ted Simmons. The Angels made it 2-1 in the third on an RBI single from Fred Lynn, and stretched the lead to 3-1 in the fourth on a run-scoring single from Bob Boone. Milwaukee cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth on Ben Oglivie's homer. The score remained unchanged until the bottom of the seventh, when disaster struck the Angels. Milwaukee loaded 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. The Milwaukee bullpen kept the Angels off the board in the final two innings, and the Brewers took home the franchise's first American League pennant.

1982 World Series

Main article: 1982 World Series

Though the teams had never met, the cities had an existing commercial rivalry in the beer market, as St. Louis is the home of Anheuser Busch while Milwaukee is the home of Miller Brewing. This led to the Series being nicknamed the "Suds Series".

Paul Molitor set a World Series record with his fifth hit in the 9th inning of Game 1. Robin Yount would set another record in the 7th inning of Game 5 by becoming the first player in Series history to have two four-hit games in one Series.

Cardinals catcher Darrell Porter was given the Series MVP award. Brewers pitcher Mike Caldwell, who won two games, would have been a strong candidate, as well as Molitor. Paul Molitor would eventually win the Series MVP Award 11 years later as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. As it was, the winning team won the MVP. The only player on the losing team to win the MVP was Bobby Richardson of the 1960 New York Yankees.

Both participants are currently in the NL Central, due to the transfer of the Brewers from the American League to the National League in 1998. This raises the possibility of the Brewers eventually playing a World Series in two different leagues.

Game 1

October 12, 1982, at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Milwaukee Brewers 2 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 4 10 17 0
St. Louis Cardinals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1
W: Mike Caldwell (1-0)   L: Bob Forsch (0-1)
HR: MIL Ted Simmons (1)

Game 2

October 13, 1982, at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Milwaukee Brewers 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 10 1
St. Louis Cardinals 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 1 X 5 8 0
W: Bruce Sutter (1-0)   L: Bob McClure (0-1)
HR: MIL Ted Simmons (2)

Game 3

October 15, 1982, at Milwaukee County Stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis Cardinals 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 1 6 6 1
Milwaukee Brewers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 5 3
W: Joaquín Andújar (1-0)   S: Bruce Sutter (1)   L: Pete Vuckovich (0-1)
HR: STL Willie McGee 2, (2)    MIL Cecil Cooper (1)

The Brewers bats were initially stymied by Cardinals starter Joaquín Andújar, while rookie Willie McGee shocked everyone with two home runs off Brewers ace Pete Vuckovich, helping give the Cardinals a 5-0 lead. In a scary moment, Andújar was knocked out of the game when Cecil Cooper hit a line drive that hit Andújar in the leg, though the injury turned out to not be very serious. With bullpen ace Bruce Sutter pitching in relief, the Brewers attempted a comeback in the 8th inning. With two out, Cecil Cooper hit a 2-run homer to put Milwaukee on the board. The Brewers then got two base-runners, with Gorman Thomas representing the tying run. Thomas hit a deep fly ball to right-center field, but McGee, becoming the star of the game, made a leaping grab to rob Thomas of a potential game-tying home run. The Cardinals scored an insurance run in the 9th, and Sutter closed out the Brewers for the 6-2 Cardinals win and giving St. Louis a 2-1 Series lead.

Game 4

October 16, 1982, at Milwaukee County Stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis Cardinals 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 8 1
Milwaukee Brewers 0 0 0 0 1 0 6 0 X 7 10 2
W: Jim Slaton (1-0)   S: Bob McClure (1)   L: Doug Bair (0-1)

The Cardinals pounced early on Brewers starter Moose Haas, scoring 3 runs in the second and had a 5-1 lead going into the seventh inning. From there, the Brewers bats suddenly came alive. Jim Gantner started the scoring with an RBI double. After a Paul Molitor walk, Robin Yount followed with a bases-loaded 2-run single to put the Brewers within 1 run. Cecil Cooper then scored Molitor with an infield hit to tie the game. 3 batters later, with two outs, Gorman Thomas hit a 2-run double to give the Brewers the lead. Bob McClure then finished the Cardinals off for the save, giving the Brewers a crucial Game 4 win, tying the Series 2-2.

Game 5

October 17, 1982, at Milwaukee County Stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis Cardinals 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 4 15 2
Milwaukee Brewers 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 2 X 6 11 1
W: Mike Caldwell (2-0)   S: Bob McClure (2)   L: Bob Forsch (0-2)
HR: MIL Robin Yount (1)

Game 6

October 19, 1982, at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Milwaukee Brewers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 4
St. Louis Cardinals 0 2 0 3 2 6 0 0 X 13 12 1
W: John Stuper (1-0)   L: Don Sutton (0-1)
HR: STL Darrell Porter (1)    Keith Hernandez (1)

Game 7

October 20, 1982, at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Milwaukee Brewers 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 7 0
St. Louis Cardinals 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 2 X 6 15 1
W: Joaquín Andújar (2-0)   S: Bruce Sutter (2)  L: Bob McClure (0-2)
HR: MIL Ben Oglivie (1)

Joaquín Andújar and Pete Vuckovich opposed each other once again. The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when the Cardinals scored first on a Lonnie Smith RBI single. Ben Oglivie tied it for the Brew Crew in the fifth with a solo homer, and they took a 3-1 lead in the sixth when Jim Gantner scored on an error and Cecil Cooper hit a sacrifice fly.

But, in the bottom of the sixth, Vuckovich began to run into trouble. With one out, Ozzie Smith singled and Lonnie Smith doubled him to third. Brewers manager Harvey Kuenn then pulled Vuckovich in favor of Bob McClure, who intentionally walked pinch-hitter Gene Tenace to load the bases. Keith Hernandez then tied the game with a two-run single. George Hendrick then gave the Cardinals the lead with an RBI single.

The Cardinals punctuated the scoring with two runs in the eighth on RBI singles by Series MVP Darrell Porter and Steve Braun. Andújar pitched seven strong innings and Bruce Sutter pitched the eighth and ninth for his second save.

Composite box

1982 World Series (4-3): St. Louis Cardinals (N.L.) over Milwaukee Brewers (A.L.)

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis Cardinals 1 5 3 4 5 12 3 3 3 39 67 7
Milwaukee Brewers 3 1 3 1 5 4 7 4 5 33 64 11
Total Attendance: 384,570   Average Attendance: 54,939
Winning Player's Share: – $43,280,   Losing Player's Share – $31,935 * Includes Playoffs and World Series

Awards and honors

League leaders

*= Tied with Reggie Jackson

All-Stars

All-Star Game

Starters

Reserves

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

The Brewers' farm system consisted of five minor league affiliates in 1982.[10]

Level Team League Manager
Triple-A Vancouver Canadians Pacific Coast League Dick Phillips
Double-A El Paso Diablos Texas League Tony Muser
Class A Stockton Ports California League Duane Espy
Class A Beloit Brewers Midwest League Terry Bevington
Rookie Pikeville Brewers Appalachian League Tim Nordbrook

Notes

  1. ^ "Sortable Player Stats". MLB.com. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  2. ^ Pete Ladd at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ "Tom Pagnozzi Stats".
  4. ^ John Flinn at Baseball Reference
  5. ^ Baseball's Top 100: The Game's Greatest Records, p. 52, Kerry Banks, 2010, Greystone Books, Vancouver, BC, ISBN 978-1-55365-507-7
  6. ^ October 3, 1982: Brewers hold off Orioles' charge in season finale, SABR (Society for American Baseball Research), Lee Kluck.
  7. ^ "Rob Picciolo Stats".
  8. ^ Dale Sveum at Baseball Reference
  9. ^ Don Sutton at Baseball Reference
  10. ^ "1982 Milwaukee Brewers Minor League Affiliates". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2020.

References

Categories