Brewers fans head into 1983 with the wonderful ’82 season still fresh in our collective cranium. As Mr. Loomer pointed out in his previous two posts, this is what you do at the end of the year (at least, this is an ’80s trend).

I balked at first, but considering he’s bigger, stronger and faster than I and that he could grind me into cornmeal with his powerful fists, I feel it best to compile the list of the 10 most memorable moments from the ’82 season.

It will be impossible to keep it to 10, but it won’t hurt to try.

1. Cecil Cooper’s two-run single in Game 5 of ALCS

On Oct. 21, 1975, Coop had a front-row seat for history. In the 12th inning of Game 6 of the ’75 World Series between the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox, Coop watched teammate Carlton Fisk “wave” his 12th inning home run fair.

Seven years later in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, Cooper — the Crew’s only position player who had played in the postseason — from his exaggerated left-handed crouch, smacked a 1-1 pitch into left field. But did he smack it too hard? Could Angel left fielder Brian Downing reach it for the third out of the inning and kill the Brewers’ bases-loaded rally?

As he worked his way up the first base line, Cooper waved for the ball to get down. It did and as Charlie Moore slid into home with the game-tying third run, Jim Gantner slid in right behind with the game-winning fourth and the two hugged at home plate. County Stadium went bananas. Two innings and six Angels outs later, the Brewers went to the World Series.

2. Robin Yount’s first homer in Baltimore, Oct. 3

Rockin’ Robin cemented his Most Valuable Player status on the final day of the 1982 season with a heroic performance. The Brewers had gagged away the first three games of the series and needed to win or the season was over.

Yount’s first-inning, opposite-field homer was a signal that Game No. 163 (the Crew and the Orioles had played to a weather-suspended tie earlier in the season) would be all right. And it was. Milwaukee trounced Baltimore 10-2 and advanced to the ALCS.

3. Ned Yost’s homer in Boston

This homer from the unlikeliest of sources ended up saving the Brewers’ season.

4. Game 1 World Series

Not only was it the Brewers’ first World Series game, but it was their finest moment of the Fall Classic. From Molly’s record-setting five hits to Mike Caldwell’s three-hitter, Harvey’s Wallbangers didn’t get better than this.

5. Buck Rodgers fired, Harvey Kuenn hired on June 2

Favorites to win the AL East, the Crew was 23-24 on June 1. That wasn’t good enough for Bud Selig and Harry Dalton, who pulled the plug on manager Buck Rodgers. They tabbed Harvey Kuenn and Harvey’s Wallbangers were born. The Crew went 72-43 with Kuenn at the controls.

Harvey Kuenn ran away with the Manager of the Year award… even on his wooden leg.

6. Brewers acquire Don Sutton, Aug. 31

An ace for the stretch run, Sutton went 4-1, including the AL East clincher in Baltimore.

7. Ben Oglivie’s two-out, ninth-inning homer

We now enter the Ben Oglivie portion of the countdown with Benji, who had an average offensive year compared to other Crew members. But as Loomer noted in Pete Vuckovich’s No. 2 pitching performance, Benji hit a humongous two-out solo homer in the ninth inning against the Red Sox on Sept. 20 to send the game into extra innings. The Brewers would win in 11 and keep Boston and Balitmore at bay for another day.

8. Yount-Cooper-Oglivie go back-to-back-to-back

Harvey Kuenn may have been named manager three days earlier, but Harvey’s Wallbangers were born in Oakland on June 5 when Robin and Coop smacked solo shots off Dave Beard and then Benji welcomed Bob Owchinko with a solo dinger of his own. To show they were serious, Ted Simmons and Gorman Thomas went back-to-back in the ninth to seal the 11-3 win.

9. Ben Oglivie’s sliding catch on Oct. 5

While the final score of the Crew’s last game in Baltimore, 10-2, implied a rout, the Crew led 5-2 in the eighth and the Orioles were threatening with two men on and two out. Pinch hitter Joe Nolan sliced a looping fly ball to left field. Benji, shaded toward right for the left-handed Nolan, raced from left center to the tiny corner of Memorial Stadium, slid as if he were stealing second and robbed Nolan of an extra base hit and the Orioles of a sure two runs. The Crew would score five in the ninth to clinch their first AL East title.

10. Brewers’ eight-game winning streak, July 9-18

After the Crew made noise throughout the early summer, they went on an eight-game tear in the middle of July in which all of baseball took notice. The Crew was one game out of the AL East lead when the streak started on July 9 with a 9-6 win over the Royals and had a 1.5-game lead when they beat the White Sox 9-3 on July 18. After that streak, the Crew would be no more than one-half game out of first and took the division lead for good on Aug. 3.

As was the case with our Top 10 Hitting Performances of 1982, putting this list together was no easy task. There were several noteworthy pitching performances throughout the season, so cutting the list down to 20 and then 10 was difficult.

It should also be noted that such a list is naturally slanted towards starting pitchers. If I have to choose between a complete game or three dominating relief innings, I’ll pick the complete game every time. Such a list doesn’t do a guy like Rollie Fingers justice, so I do get creative to shine a light on the bullpen.

So here is our list. I considered raw stats, importance of the game and level of competition. After the Top 10, I also list the “Next 10.” What do you think?

1. Mike Caldwell, 10/12/82
Opponent: St. Louis Cardinals (Game 1 of World Series)
Location: St. Louis
Score: 10-0 Brewers
Line: 9 innings (shutout), 3 hits, 0 runs, 0 earned runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts

It was a statement game. Game 1 of the World Series in St. Louis. On the turf, where the speed of the Cardinals was expected to flourish. In front of the Cardinals faithful. What happened? The Brewers scored runs. And Mike Caldwell was simply untouchable. How untouchable? He allowed only one hit through the first seven innings. Caldwell proved in this game that we gave teammates Don Sutton and Pete Vuckovich way too much of the glory. Caldwell was as dependable as they came.

2. Pete Vuckovich, 9/20/82
Opponent: Boston Red Sox
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 4-3 Brewers (11)
Line: 11 innings (complete game), 11 hits, 3 runs, 1 earned run, 4 walks, 2 strikeouts, 1 HBP

It wasn’t the prettiest line, but then again Pete Vuckovich wasn’t pretty. Nothing about his game was pretty. He put runners on and got out of jams. But there was much more about this game that made it special. Had the Brewers lost, Baltimore would have pulled to within a game of the Brewers in first place. Though he allowed three runs (one earned) in the sixth, he’d hold the Red Sox scoreless from that point forward, surrendering but a single hit. This may be the greatest part of Vuke’s feat. Not only did he pitch 11 strong innings, but he did so in a heated battle, dueling Dennis Eckersley, and saved his best for last. Eckersley pitched nine strong innings of his own, but a clutch two-out, solo home run by Ben Oglivie pushed this game into extra innings. It was an epic game, and Pete Vuckovich gave an epic performance.

3. Don Sutton, 9/7/82
Opponent: Detroit Tigers
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 4-0 Brewers
Line: 9 innings (shutout), 7 hits, 0 runs, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 9 strikeouts

Sutton was strong in his first appearance as a Brewer, but the Crew came up short in a 4-2 loss to the Indians. Milwaukee fans got a true taste of what it was their team had acquired in his second start, what would truly be a Sutton-esque performance. It appeared the Brewers offense would do their new pitcher no favors, as they were held to one hit through four innings. The game remained scoreless until the 8th inning, when the Brewers finally broke through for four runs. It’s easy to win when your team scores runs, and the Brewers often did that. But for Sutton to be practically flawless through a such a tightly contested game was beyond impressive.

4. Pete Vuckovich, 7/3/82
Opponent: Boston Red Sox
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 7-0 Brewers
Line: 9 innings (shutout), 3 hits, 0 runs, 0 earned runs, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts

This stat line, on the surface, was actually a bit more impressive than Vuke’s classic 11 inning battle against these same Red Sox on September 20. But the Brewers gave Vuke an early cushion and he needed to only go nine innings in this contest. The win gave the Brewers and Red Sox a tie for first place in the AL East, the first time Milwaukee would taste the top since April 15. Vuckovich only allowed hits in the 5th and 9th innings. A dominating performance indeed.

5. Don Sutton, 10/8/82
Opponent: California Angels (Game 3 of ALCS)
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 5-3 Brewers
Line: 7 2/3 innings, 8 hits, 3 runs, 3 earned runs, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts

Down two games to none in the ALCS, the Brewers were desperate for a win. Their offense was scuffling, and they needed a gem from their ace. Don Sutton brought it. Sutton was flawless through the first seven innings against the offensively charged Angels, but gave up three runs in the eighth. Even so, he came up big when the Brewers needed him most.

6. Pete Ladd, 10/5/82 – 10/10/82
Opponent: California Angels (Games 1, 3 and 5 of ALCS)
Location: Milwaukee and California
Score: 8-3 Angels, 5-3 Brewers, 4-3 Brewers
Line: 3 1/3 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts

The Brewers nearly threw away a chance at the playoffs because of their bullpen. Without Rollie Fingers, a reliable reliever failed to step forward. It was this flaw that led many to believe that the Brewers could not succeed in the playoffs. Pete Ladd proved everyone wrong. He was perfect in the ALCS, pitching 3 1/3 innings of hitless, scoreless, runnerless ball, while striking out five. It was unexpected. And it was great.

7. Mike Caldwell, 9/17/82
Opponent: New York Yankees
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 14-0 Brewers
Line: 9 innings (shutout), 3 hits, 0 runs, 0 earned runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts

The Yankees may not have been a factor in the AL East race, but the win gave the Brewers a two game lead over the surging Orioles. Caldwell, as he had been so many times in 1982, was a flawless workhorse. He wouldn’t blow away Yankees batters on this day, but he pitched masterfully anyway, allowing but four baserunners in a complete game shutout.

8. Mike Caldwell, 9/22/82
Opponent: Boston Red Sox
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 3-1 Brewers
Line: 9 innings (complete game), 4 hits, 1 run, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts

Imagine that? It’s our friend Mike Caldwell once again with a Mike Caldwell-like line. There’s nothing new to see here, really. The big difference is that the game came against the rival Red Sox, and the loss buried them to eight games back of the Brewers. Caldwell gets stronger the deeper he goes, and this game was a brilliant example. He didn’t allow a single baserunner from the seventh through the ninth innings.

9. Jim Slaton, 7/5/82
Opponent: Chicago White Sox
Location: Chicago
Score: 10-4 Brewers
Line: 6 1/3 innings (relief), 3 hits, 0 runs, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts

Not an impressive stat line, you say? What if I told you Jim Slaton pitched all 6 1/3 innings in relief? Slaton came in and succeeded where the starter Randy Lerch could not. After 2 2/3 innings, Lerch was knocked from the game. Slaton came in with two runners on and a 6-4 Brewers lead. Rarely do you see a reliever throw more than six innings, and even more rarely do you see a reliever succeed in such a situation. The greatest relief game by a Brewers pitcher of 1982 brought the team to within a half game of first place.

10. Don Sutton, 10/3/82
Opponent: Baltimore Orioles
Location: Baltimore
Score: 10-2 Brewers
Line: 8 innings, 8 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, 5 walks, 3 strikeouts

No, this wasn’t a Sutton-esque performance. The stat line, littered with hits and walks and lacking high number punch-outs, more closely resembled that of teammate Pete Vuckovich. But understand the situation. The Brewers had lost four straight. Their backs were up against the wall, tied with the Orioles on the last day of the season. The offense was struggling and the Brewers were in Baltimore facing ace Jim Palmer in a do or die final game. Sutton wasn’t flawless, but he was great enough to take the Brewers to the playoffs.

Honorable Mention (The Second 10)

There are several other performances that didn’t quite make the cut, but are deserving of recognition. In no particular order, here are the “Second 10.”

Mike Caldwell, 8/4/82
Opponent: Toronto Blue Jays
Location: Toronto
Score: 8-0 Brewers
Line: 9 innings (shutout), 7 hits, 0 runs, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout

Bob McClure, 8/29/82
Opponent: Oakland A’s
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 8-1 Brewers
Line: 9 innings (complete game), 3 hits, 1 run, 1 earned run, 0 walks, 6 strikeouts

Pete Vuckovich, 4/24/82
Opponent: Texas Rangers
Location: Texas
Score: 4-1 Brewers
Line: 9 innings (complete game), 3 hits, 1 run, 1 earned run, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts

Bob McClure, 8/12/82 (Game 1 of DH)
Opponent: Toronto Blue Jays
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 7-1 Brewers
Line: 9 innings (complete game), 5 hits, 1 run, 1 earned run, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts

Moose Haas, 5/20/82
Opponent: California Angels
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 4-1 Brewers
Line: 9 innings (complete game), 6 hits, 1 run, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts

Mike Caldwell, 5/8/82
Opponent: Minnesota Twins
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 12-1 Brewers
Line: 9 innings (complete game), 5 hits, 1 run, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts

Mike Caldwell, 4/22/82
Opponent: Toronto Blue Jays
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 7-0 Brewers
Line: 9 innings (shutout), 4 hits, 0 runs, 0 earned runs, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts

Don Sutton, 9/19/82
Opponent: New York Yankees
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 14-1 Brewers
Line: 8 innings, 8 hits, 1 run, 1 earned run, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts

Mike Caldwell, 9/10/82
Opponent: New York Yankees
Location: New York
Score: 5-3 Brewers
Line: 9 innings (complete game), 9 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts

Jim Slaton, 5/4/82
Opponent: Kansas City Royals
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 9-5 Brewers
Line: 4 1/3 innings (relief), 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts

It’s the offseason. It also happens to be the end of the year (1982, to be exact). As such, every cheeseball writer is throwing together a “Best of 1982” article. And since I’m a cheeseball writer, I will follow suit. That’s what we do.

When I sat down to write my “Top 10 Brewers Performances of 1982” masterpiece, I thought it would be easy. There were a few signature performances that we knew would be on that list. But as I did my exhaustive search of the season, I realized that cutting the list to 10 would be tricky.

In the end, I decided to split up the hitting and pitching performances. As it is, I had a difficult time cutting this list down to a top 10 (or even top 20, for that matter). The Brewers were an electric offensive team, so it was easy to find big offensive performances littered throughout the year.

So here you go, the Top 10 Brewers Hitting Performances of 1982. The order was determined by a combination of raw numbers, importance of the game and what the individual’s contributions meant to the win. Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, not surprisingly, found themselves on this list three times apiece. Gorman Thomas made it twice while Ben Oglivie and Mark Brohard each made an appearance. At the bottom, you’ll find the “best of the rest.”

1. Robin Yount, 10/3/82
Opponent: Baltimore Orioles
Location: Baltimore
Score: 10-2 Brewers
Line: 3-for-4, 2 home runs, 1 triple, 2 RBI, 4 runs scored, 1 HBP

It couldn’t have been anyone else, right? It may not have been the most productive performance of the season at the plate for a Brewer, but it was certainly the biggest and most timely. Tied for first place after losing three consecutive games to the Orioles, the Brewers needed to win in Baltimore on the final day of the season or miss out on the playoffs. The momentum was completely on Baltimore’s side, and the enemy had ace Jim Palmer on the mound. Robin Yount set the tone for his struggling teammates, hitting solo homers off of Palmer in the first and third innings, giving the Brewers a 3-0 lead. It turned into a laugher, but much of the credit for this win goes to Yount for giving the Brewers the early cushion against a very tough pitcher.

2. Ben Oglivie, 6/20/82
Opponent: Detroit Tigers
Location: Detroit
Score: 7-5 Brewers
Line: 3-for-3, 3 home runs, 5 RBI, 3 runs scored, 1 walk

The Brewers came into this game in third place in the AL East, five games back of first and three games back of the second place Tigers. Harvey Kuenn had taken over the Brew Crew nearly three weeks earlier, and the team made a miraculous turnaround. At this point, the Brewers had won four games in a row and were facing Oglivie’s former team in a pivotal series. The Tigers took an early 4-0 lead, but Oglivie helped close the gap to 4-2 on a two-run homer in the second. After the Tigers pushed the lead to 5-2, Oglivie hit another two-run homer in the fourth to cut the deficit to one. He would then hit a third consecutive homer, a solo shot in the sixth, to take the lead. Oglivie won this game by himself.

3. Robin Yount, 9/24/82
Opponent: Baltimore Orioles
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 15-6 Brewers
Line: 3-for-5, 2 home runs, 6 RBI, 3 runs scored

Holding onto a three-game lead with about two weeks remaining, the Brewers needed to play well in the two final series against the Orioles. This game would be the first of the series in Milwaukee, and a loss would bring the Orioles to within two games. With Don Sutton on the mound, the Brewers fell into an early 4-0, first inning hole. Yount, though, hit a two run homer in the first to cut the Orioles’ lead to two. With the game tied in the fourth, Rockin’ Robin hit an RBI single to take a 5-4 lead. Finally, Yount capped a six-run sixth with a three-run home run to give the Brewers a 15-6 lead that would stand.

4. Mark Brouhard, 10/9/82
Opponent: California Angels (Game 4 of ALCS)
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 9-5 Brewers
Line: 3-for-4, 1 home run, 3 RBI, 1 double

Mark Brouhard is one of the last players you’d expect to find on a list like this one. The fact that his performance was unexpected and on a big stage has a lot to do with why he is here. Starting left fielder Ben Oglivie was struggling and nursing an injury, so Harvey Kuenn inserted the little used Brouhard into the starting lineup for a must-win Game 4, the Brewers trailing two games to one. Brouhard responded by being the star of the game. In a scoreless game in the third, Brouhard hit an RBI single that resulted in three runs scored (including himself), due to errors. He then reached and scored on RBI singles by Jim Gantner in both the fourth and sixth innings to pad the Brewers’ lead to 5-0 and then 7-1. The Angels, though, fought back, pulling to within two runs in the eighth on a grand slam by Don Baylor. Brouhard responded with a two-run homer, giving the Brewers important insurance runs that would lead to their second win of the series. It would be Brouhard’s only appearance in the postseason.

5. Gorman Thomas, 7/27/82
Opponent: Texas Rangers
Location: Texas
Score: 8-2 Brewers
Line: 2-for-3, 2 home runs, 5 RBI, 2 runs scored, 1 HBP

Down by a half a game to the Boston Red Sox, a win combined with a Boston loss would result in a half game lead for the Brewers. Down 1-0 in the 4th to the Rangers, Stormin’ Gorman hit a booming 3-run homer to give the Brew Crew the lead. His next time up, Thomas hit a two-run homer to extend the Brewers’ lead to four. Gorman would reach four times and drive in important run after important run in this crucial win for first place.

6. Paul Molitor, 9/18/82
Opponent: New York Yankees
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 6-4 Brewers
Line: 3-for-4, 1 home run, 1 triple, 4 RBI, 2 runs scored, 1 walk, 1 stolen base

With a few weeks remaining in the season, the Brewers clung to a two game lead in the AL East. While the Yankees weren’t a factor, they could certainly play the role of spoiler. Down 2-1 in the second inning, Molitor connected on an RBI single to tie up the game. The Brewers would again fall behind, trailing 4-2 in the fourth. Molitor would again come through in the clutch, connecting on a two-run triple to tie it up. Later that inning, Molitor would score the go-ahead run on a Robin Yount single. Still leading 5-4 in the 6th, Molitor launched a home run to finish off the Yankees 6-4. He’d account for all but one of the runs in this game.

7. Paul Molitor, 10/12/82
Opponent: St. Louis Cardinals (Game 1 of World Series)
Location: St. Louis
Score: 10-0 Brewers
Line: 5-for-6, 5 singles, 2 RBI, 1 run scored

I had a hard time determining what to do with this one. It was the World Series. The first game. One of the most famous performances by a Brewer to this point. Paul Molitor set a World Series record with five hits in a game. But beyond that? I have a hard time putting it ahead of the other games listed so far. In fact, I struggle with even putting it in the top 10. The reason is that, while his five hits were record breaking, the performance didn’t carry the Brewers to victory. Each of his hits were singles, he scored one run and drove in two. Nice, but not all that big in a 10-0 win. Then again, getting on base helped extend some of these big run innings, but we’re reaching a bit. Still, it was a record breaking performance on the biggest stage. So there you go.

8. Gorman Thomas, 8/26/82
Opponent: Oakland A’s
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 10-3 Brewers
Line: 3-for-4, 2 home runs, 6 RBI

The opponent may not have been an important division rival, but the Brewers needed to keep winning in August to preserve their lead in the division. A win on this day would give them a 5 1/2 game lead over Boston. Down 1-0 in the second, Thomas hit an RBI single to tie the game. He’d later score the go-ahead run in that inning on a sacrifice fly. Holding onto a one run lead in the third, Gorman hit a 3-run homer to make it a 6-2 Brewers lead. With two down in the 7th, Thomas capped his day with a two-run homer to make it 9-3.

9. Robin Yount, 10/17/82
Opponent: St. Louis Cardinals
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 6-4 Brewers
Line: 4-for-4, 1 home run, 1 double, 1 RBI, 2 runs scored

It may not be the most eye-popping stat line, but it was a big performance in a big game. Tied up at two wins apiece, the Brewers would win this game to put them a game away from a World Championship. Yount singled and later scored in the first inning to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead. Nursing a 3-2 lead in the 7th, Yount added some insurance by smacking a solo home run. It was Yount’s second four-hit game of this World Series.

10. Paul Molitor, 5/12/82
Opponent: Kansas City Royals
Location: Kansas City
Score: 9-7 Royals
Line: 4-for-5, 3 home runs, 4 RBI, 3 runs scored

Up until now, all of the Top 10 performances have been in winning fashion. Despite the loss to the Royals on May 12, I couldn’t keep Molitor’s performance off of this list. Molitor would lead off the game with a home run, as he so often does, to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead over the third place Royals. He hit a solo home run in the fifth and an RBI single in the seventh to keep the Crew in the game. Down 9-6 in the 9th with menacing closer Dan Quisenberry on the mound, Molitor hit his third solo shot of the game. The Brewers may have lost, but Paul Molitor did everything he could to win this game.

Honorable Mention (The Second 10)

There are several other performances that didn’t quite make the cut, but are deserving of recognition. In no particular order, here are the “Second 10.”

Cecil Cooper, 7/3/82
Opponent: Boston Red Sox
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 7-0 Brewers
Line: 3-for-5, 2 home runs, 3 RBI, 1 double, 2 runs scored

Robin Yount, 8/24/82
Opponent: California Angels
Location: California
Score: 7-3 Brewers
Line: 4-for-5, 1 home run, 2 doubles, 3 RBI, 2 runs scored

Cecil Cooper, 6/29/82
Opponent: New York Yankees
Location: New York
Score: 11-4 Brewers
Line: 3-for-5, 2 home runs, 3 RBI, 3 runs scored

Gorman Thomas, 7/2/82
Opponent: Boston Red Sox
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 14-5 Brewers
Line: 2-for-5, 2 home runs, 4 RBI, 2 runs scored

Paul Molitor, 6/21/82
Opponent: New York Yankees
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 6-2 Brewers
Line: 4-for-4, 1 home run, 2 doubles, 2 RBI, 3 runs scored, 1 walk, 1 stolen base

Gorman Thomas, 6/13/82
Opponent: Detroit Tigers
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 13-5 Brewers
Line: 3-for-3, 2 home runs, 4 RBI, 2 runs scored, 2 walks

Ted Simmons, 5/2/82
Opponent: Minnesota Twins
Location: Minnesota
Score: 11-4 Brewers
Line: 2-for-5, 2 home runs, 6 RBI, 2 runs scored

Robin Yount, 6/19/82
Opponent: Detroit Tigers
Location: Detroit
Score: 10-3 Brewers
Line: 2-for-3, 2 home runs, 4 RBI, 3 runs scored, 1 walk

Ben Oglivie, 9/22/82
Opponent: Boston Red Sox
Location: Milwaukee
Score: 3-1 Brewers
Line: 4-for-6, 1 double, 2 RBI, 1 run scored

Robin Yount, 10/12/82
Opponent: St. Louis Cardinals (Game 1 of World Series)
Location: St. Louis
Score: 10-0 Brewers
Line: 4-for-6, 1 double, 2 RBI, 1 run scored

Unlike the elder (five whole years elder) Rob Peterson, I can’t lay down explicit detail about where I was and how I felt the day that the Milwaukee Brewers lost Game 7 of the 1982 World Series. The truth is that I lived many of the details of the 1982 season for the first time while we relived them during the past four months. But I can try to put into words what that team meant to me and still means to me this day.

Many of my youngest memories as a child growing up in Wisconsin are around two things: baseball in general or the Brewers more specifically. As a first grader in 1981, I knew every Milwaukee Brewer, their uniform number and batting stance. My older brother and I would have games in the back yard or on one of the dozens of family camping trips where we’d act out game action.

We were The Batting Stance Guy before there was a Batting Stance Guy. [Note: You can watch BSG imitate some of my favorite stances here.] We knew that Ben Oglivie was left-handed and had an up-right, crazy-caffeinated approach. He waggled the bat up high, almost nervously. So did we. Cecil Cooper, on the other hand, took the opposite approach. Also a lefty, he was just too damned cool to get worked up. Slow, laid back, low and relaxed. Cecil Cooper didn’t hit like Rod Carew, Rod Carew hit like Cecil Cooper. Because of those two players, I became a quasi-switch hitter at a young age.

You remember the little things, but not many of the details as a six and seven year-old. Coop was my favorite player, and there’s a picture of me decked out in Brewers gear with a hand-made COOOOOOOP! cardboard sign before heading to County Stadium. Everyone loved Rollie Fingers, and you can bet my brother and I made our own fake handlebar mustaches to look like him.

The sad thing is that I was not in Wisconsin when the Brewers went to the World Series in 1982. Soon after my last day of first grade, we left for a year in Iowa during the summer of 1982. No more Bob Uecker. No more local coverage.

It’s funny, really. For many years, I forgot why it was there was a gap when recalling the 1982 season. Yet I could remember things from 1981. It’s mainly because I was cut off from watching, listening to and even reading about the Brewers for that glorious year.

I remember KNOWING about what was happening at the end of the 1982 season against the Orioles. And the insanity that happened against the Angels. And I’ll always remember that Rollie was hurt, the Brewers destroyed the Cardinals in a game before the Cardinals returned the favor. Little things.

But I didn’t remember the details of how each game was lost, likely because I didn’t see them all. Or hear about them. Or see the newspaper pictures. Or see the stories retold over and over on the local news. So looking back, I really missed out on that experience.

But it was the awesomeness of this team that started coming together in the late 70s and early 80s that got me hooked on the Brewers. We moved to Iowa and I remained a fan. We came back to Wisconsin for a year, then hit the road for Michigan for five. I could have become a Tigers fan, being in Tigers country and having regular access to Ernie Harwell. But I didn’t. I hated the Tigers.

Not even during the rough times of the mid-80s. I wore my Brewers apparel with pride. In 1987, I remember that glorious 13-0 start. My brother and I charted each win and loss throughout the season on graph paper. There was that nice 13 game spike, but also a 12 game drop later. We recorded one of the nationally televised games that happened somewhere around win 11. Robin, Molly, Cooper and Gantner were the only guys left from 1982. I remember being in our living room, listening to the amazing Easter Sunday game when Dale Sveum and Rob Deer hit ninth inning homers to extend the streak.

I remember becoming a BJ Surhoff fan that year, and getting to watch a rare nationally televised Brewers game against the Yankees in County Stadium. Bottom of the ninth (or was it the 10th?) of a back and forth game, BJ at the plate with the bases loaded. Crowd chanting, “BJ! BJ! BJ!” What does he do? Lays down a bunt. Base hit, game over.

I saw BJ later that year at a baseball card show in Michigan. In fact, we only went to that show because he was going to be there. Decked out in my Brewers attire, I approached what seemed to be a god-like figure to me then behind the raggedy table.

“I like your uniform.”

I just stood there, stunned. Probably laughed and said something back awkwardly. But it was awesome.

We lived in Michigan, but my brother and I listened to every game on the radio. Yes, it was close to impossible, but we bought some antenna wire and taped it up on my brother’s wall to listen to Uecker call the games. We often had to battle the static and thunderstorms, but we didn’t miss a game.

What does 1987 have to do with 1982? The point is that I became a baseball fan because of the team that became the 1982 Brewers. I remained a Brewers fan even though the ages I became a fan were at five and six. It’s because the players on that particular team, the team that would eventually play in and lose the World Series in 1982, were special.

I regularly meet people who have transplanted to a new city and state as an adult and then become a fan of that new team. Or fans who are so tired of their team’s lack of success that they find a “second team.” These people disgust me. I guess this is why.

I would later spend high school in Wisconsin, but I’ve spent a total of about 11 years in the Cheese State. Four of those hardly count because I was either pooping myself or too young to care. But I’m still a Milwaukee Brewers fan, the most loyal there can be. And why?

Because of those 1982 Milwaukee Brewers, that’s why. They didn’t always win. They were far from perfect. They didn’t play great defense. They had deficiencies in the bullpen. But they were a fun bunch of dudes. Gorman, Robin, Molly, Coop, Rollie, Benji, Charlie, Vuke, Simmons, Gantner… Hell, even Roy Howell.

No, not Roy Howell. I hated that red-bearded bastard. But I loved those Brewers.

To say that the Brewers’ Game 7 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals hit me 100 times harder than most Brewers fans may seem like hyperbole, but considering what I had to do the morning after has stuck with me forever.

I was 12 and in seventh grade at Eighth Street Middle School in downtown Milwaukee and Brewers Fever had swept through the school thanks to Typhoid Molly, Rockin’ Robin and the infectious play of the Crew. Plenty of us willingly succumbed to the symptoms — staring wide-eyed at Robin’s historic season, shortness of breath as the Brewers rally in the late innings, profuse sweating as the Crew plays a game with the season on the line.

Some of us had been in the throes of it for years, even when the Crew wasn’t rewarding us with good baseball. It started early with a trip to County Stadium for Helmet Day or Ball Day or Cushion Day and continued when Bud Selig brought the all-time home run king, Henry Aaron — “Hammerin’ Hank” — back to Milwaukee. You were crushed when they traded George “the Boomer” Scott to Boston for some guy named Cecil Cooper, but adopted Coop’s batting stance when, as a left-handed batter, you saw how effective it was in reducing the strike zone and how it helped to see the ball out of the pitcher’s hand without sacrificing power. You remember your dad picking you up at daycare after school and having him tell you the Brewers scored 11 runs to win their home opener against the Baltimore Orioles. You can’t forget the ’78 and ’79 seasons when the Crew was good enough to give fans hope and the phrase “Wait ‘Til Next Year” some bite. You remember Sixto Lezscano’s grand slam on Opening Day in 1980 and you remember Bambi’s heart attack derailing the season.

You remember the ’81 second-half title — and forgot the strike — because you were there on that gray Saturday in the left field grandstands thanks to Brewers/Pepsi Fan Club tickets you could use at any time during the second half of the season. You remember cheering until you were hoarse and then getting home and watching the news, basking in the beautiful, simple words Bob Uecker used to describe the clincher:

“Rollie’s ready and here he comes one-two. Suh-wing and a miss. Goodbye, Detroit, hello New York!”

And of course, the ’82 season — the hopes, the dreams, the desires — all coming to fruition in Baltimore and against California only to have it come crashing down in St. Louis. Want to know how naive I was? How much of a fan? I believed that in the ninth if the Brewers could load the bases, Roy Howell — Roy Howell — could hit a grand slam to put the Crew ahead 7-6.

That was part of the naivete. The magic had run out. The dream had died. It was no coincidence the line that flashed across the screen when I finally managed to turn off the TV resembled that of flatline on an electrocardiogram. I wept as hard as I ever had.

It didn’t help that I had to wake up in six hours and deliver the Milwaukee Sentinel to nearly 75 customers in the River West neighborhood. There was a picture of a woman at a bar, head down just behind a half-guzzled beer. I don’t remember the headline, but it probably had “loss” or “fall” in it. Every time I pulled a paper out of the bag, I saw that painful image. Every time it plopped on a stoop, it sounded like a slap in the face. It took me and my brother, who was with me that morning, half the route before we realized that we could turn the paper over and deliver it without the constant reminder of the pain of Game 7.

If anything, the parade down Wisconsin Ave. the day after the Game 7 loss was both an enervating and an inspiring show of love for a team that fell short of its ultimate goal. Though at times we became queasy, Brewers fans couldn’t get enough of the thrill ride that was the ’82 season. After Buck Rodgers was fired and Harvey Kuenn turned them loose, we threw our hands in the air and screamed in delight as we went along for a great ride. The parade and the ceremony at County Stadium were just the cars pulling into the station. The journey had been unprecedented. It had been excellent — at the plate, in the field, on the mound, in the stands, by the grills in the Stadium parking lot and in Brewers fans’ hearts.

While it may have looked strange to outsiders to see a city throw a parade for a bunch of losers, that’s not how it felt to us. We had to thank them somehow. They had won us over and Brewers fever had not abated, not even at Eighth Street Middle School. It was a school so small it didn’t have a gym and they had to bus students over to the old Lincoln High Gym on Ogden and Cass.

That Thursday, our bus had to go around the parade route to get to the gym, but we followed our usual route West on Wisconsin Ave. on the way back. Just as the last of the parade was making its way to County Stadium. The crowds had thinned, yet it still must have been strange to see a school bus take up the rear.

But it wasn’t, at least not to us. Time has dulled the memory of who started the chant, but inspired by going down the same route as our heroes, the students on the bus broke out in one loud, constant “Here We Go Brewers, Here We Go” chant until we pulled up in front of the school, where, thankfully, our teachers let us watch Robin Yount ride into the welcome home ceremony on television.

We still had the fever.

We still do.