Brewers 1982

Covering the Milwaukee Brewers throughout the 1982 season, in real-time, as it would have happpened.

Ben Oglivie

Brewers Blown Back

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Rangers 6, Brewers 3
Brewers now 65-46 (1st by 4.5 games)
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Moose Haas
Moose Haas couldn't stop the barrage of Rangers singles.

MILWAUKEE — Today was a day to be a singles hitter at County Stadium. Unfortunately, a singles-hitting team the Brewers are not.

You see, the there was a stiff wind blowing in today. On several occasions, Brewers hit baseballs that would appear to be home runs on any other day. Paul Molitor hit such a drive in the sixth inning that was caught. Ben Oglivie hit another that should have been caught, but the wind so confused outfielder Larry Parrish that the ball bounced off of his chest for a bases clearing double.

“Wind was the thing,” manager Harvey Kuenn lamented later. “Balls were holding up — the ones you thought would drift.”

Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers hit singles off of Brewers starter Moose Haas. Lots of them. In the seventh inning, trailing the Brewers 3-2, the Rangers reached on six hits, all singles, to take a 6-3 lead. It’s all they would need.

The loss snapped the Brewers’ three game winning streak, but they won two of three in the series and Kuenn is satisfied.

“I’m happy to get two out of three anytime,” Kuenn said. “I’d take two out of three the rest of the year.”

And that’s pretty much what the Brewers have been doing under Kuenn. Since he took over for Buck Rodgers, Milwaukee is 42-22, winning 66% of their games. So that philosophy certainly holds true.

The homestand continues tomorrow with a five-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays, beginning with a double header that starts at 6 PM CT.

Ain’t No Stoppin’ the Brewers

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Brewers 11, Rangers 3
Brewers now 65-45 (up by 4.5 games)
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Ben Oglivie
Ben Oglivie broke out of his slump with a home run and four RBI.

MILWAUKEE — This game belonged to the Brewers from the start. Jim Slaton set the Rangers down in order in the top of the first, and the Brewers’ offense scored four in the bottom of the inning. That’s all they’d need.

Once again, they did everything right. Slaton, stepping in for the demoted Randy Lerch, allowed only two runs in seven innings pitched. The previously struggling Ben Oglivie went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI. Every starter other than Marshall Edwards had at least a hit, and four Brewers had two.

It’s almost getting to the point where running through all of the positives is exhausting. Just about everything is going well. And not only “well,” but “really well.”

At 65-45, this team now has the best record in all of baseball. They lead the Red Sox by a season-high 4.5 games in the AL East. So pardon Brewers fans if they’re getting a bit giddy.

That giddiness is spilling over into the organization itself. In the midst of the five-run sixth inning, County Stadium’s scoreboard lit up with the line “There ain’t no stopping,” inspired by the popular disco song “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” by McFadden & Whitehead. There were similar slogans posted throughout the game.

Brewers manager Harvey Kuenn, attempting to keep a level head, was not impressed with the hype. “It’s too early to get caught up in a pennant race,” Kuenn asserted, “there are a lot of games left. I think it’s a bit out of place,” he said, referring to the scoreboard messages.

Maybe. But Brewers fans are pumped. We can feel it. This is our year. And we’re going to enjoy every minute of it.

Molitor Homer Caps Dramatic Win

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Brewers 7, Indians 6
Brewers now 63-45 (1st by 2.5 games)
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Paul Molitor
Paul Molitor was the hero with a two out, two-run home run in the ninth.

CLEVELAND — That. Was. AWESOME!

Heading into the ninth inning, the scoreboard in Cleveland updated to show the Boston Red Sox leading the Chicago White Sox. With the Brewers trailing 6-5 and holding a 2 1/2 game lead over Boston in the AL East, the lead seemed to be trickling away.

With two down and the bases empty, there appeared to be little hope. But then Jim Gantner hit a ground ball through the right side for a hit. And then Paul Molitor came to the plate.

Len Barker, Cleveland’s starter, tossed in a 3-1 fastball. Molitor launched a high fly ball to left center field. Outfielder Rick Manning raced to the track and leapt for the ball, but it barely escaped his grasp for a two-run home run to give the Brewers the lead.

“He looked like he had lost some velocity,” Molitor explained, regarding Barker’s ninth inning performance. “I know I was tired and I didn’t throw 140 pitches.

Everyone was tired, you see, because of the extreme humidity on this hot Cleveland afternoon. As Molitor rounded the bases, Gorman Thomas then led the charge out of the dugout to mob Molitor at the plate.

“It’s all part of the thrill,” Thomas said after the game, sipping a mug of beer. “I was as happy as a pig in a brand new, well watered sty.”

Of course, that celebration, combined with likely dehydration, resulted in back spasms for Gorman, and Marshall Edwards replaced him in centerfield for the bottom of the ninth.

Rollie Fingers pitched a perfect ninth and the Brewers held on for the stunning victory.

It’s one of those games that separates champions from good teams. Pete Vuckovich didn’t have his best stuff, but the offense did enough to stay in the game.

Gorman Thomas, before injuring his back, was more than just a cheerleader. He hit a two-run homer in the third to give the Brewers a 3-1 lead. Then, with the game tied at three with one out in the sixth and the bases loaded, Roy Howell hit a possible double play ball to shortstop Mike Fischlin, who attempted to step on the bag and turn two. Instead, Gorman Thomas bared down on him from first and upended the shortstop while the ball went flying. Two runs scored as a result.

Had that play not happened, the double play may have been turned and no runs scored. No runs, no dramatic victory in the ninth.

“It just proves what I’ve been saying all along,” manager Harvey Kuenn said later. “This team never quits, even with two outs in the ninth they are battling.”

They don’t quit. They just win.

Game Notes: Outfielder Ben Oglivie has struggled mightily since the All-Star break, hitting .178 (16-for-90) and with only seven hits in his last 56 at bats.

Victory Sacrificed

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Indians 4, Brewers 3 (11)
Brewers now 62-45 (1st by 2.5 games)
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Bob McClure
Bob McClure pitched well enough to win, but he didn't get support.

CLEVELAND — For the second game in a row and the fourth time this season, the Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Indians played to extra innings. Following the Indians’ 11th inning win today, each team has one such a contest twice.

Not only did the Brewers have opportunities, but they had the lead. They took a 1-0 lead in the second on an RBI single by Don Money. They then extended that lead to two when Ben Oglivie singled home Cecil Cooper in the sixth.

The most damaging pitch of the game, however, occurred in the bottom of the sixth. Bob McClure, who had been pitching shutout ball for 5 2/3 innings, served up a two-out pitch that Andre Thornton sent over the wall for a two-run home run to tie the game.

The Brewers retook the lead on an RBI single by Jim Gantner in the top of the seventh, but back-to-back singles to lead off the bottom of the eighth would be too much to overcome. Mike Hargrove‘s double play ball resulted in a run, tying the game and eventually sending it to extra innings.

Dan Spillner walked both Ted Simmons and Ben Oglivie to open the 11th inning. Instead of letting home run hitter Gorman Thomas swing away — or at least force a wild Spillner to throw strikes — manager Harvey Kuenn called for the bunt. Thomas obliged, moving Simmons and Oglivie up a base.

Unfortunately, the Brewers may have sacrificed their best chance to win. Don Money was intentionally walked to load the bases and then Ed Glynn was summoned from the bullpen. That put the game on the shoulders of Charlie Moore and Jim Gantner. Moore popped to first and Gantner flied to center. Opportunity missed.

The question should be asked: Would you rather have Gorman Thomas and his AL-leading 26 home runs swinging away with runners at first and second and no outs or Charlie Moore with the bases loaded and one out? Do you trust Moore and Gantner enough to bring in a run that you’re willing to sacrifice Thomas?

Moore is hitting .242 and isn’t close to the extra base threat that is Thomas. I’ll answer the hypothetical for you: I’d much rather have Gorman swinging away.

But Kuenn chose to sacrifice, which may have been the expected strategy. But I can’t help but think things would have ended much differently had Gorman been given the green light.

Then, of course, came the bottom of the 11th. Andre Thornton flied out and speedster Miguel Dilone singled. He promptly stole second, and appeared to have stolen third. Instead, home plate umpire Larry McCoy said the pitch hit batter Ron Hassey on the foot, and Dilone was sent back to second. After Rick Manning flied to center, it appeared the Brewers dodged a bullet. Instead, Von Hayes hit a weak grounder to the right side, just out of the reach of the outstretched glove of Cecil Cooper.

“After Manning flew out,” Kuenn said after the game, “I thought we had escaped, but that ball Hayes hit just found a hole.”

It did. It’s easy to blame a bad bounce or bad luck. But the Brewers controlled their own destiny in this game, and they let it get away.

Luckily, the Boston Red Sox also lost, so the Brewers maintain a 2.5 game lead in the AL East.

Indians Throw Away Game to Brewers

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Brewers 4, Indians 2
Brewers now 58-42 (1st by .5 game over Boston)
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Mike Caldwell
Mike Caldwell recovered from a rough first inning to dominate the Indians.

MILWAUKEE — This was one of those games that the Brewers didn’t deserve to win. But if you want to get technical, the Cleveland Indians deserved to win it even less.

It was both American Legion Day and Wisconsin Tavern League Day, and in the bottom of the first inning the Indians would play defense like a bunch of drunk teenagers. But we’ll get to that.

With one down in the top of the first, Toby Harrah and Mike Hargrove hit back-to-back home runs off of Brewers starter Mike Caldwell to give the Indians an early 2-0 lead. The Indians had already hit six home runs off of the Brewers in two-plus games while “Harvey’s Wallbangers” had yet to hit one. It didn’t look good.

But then one of the most ridiculous half innings in recent memory happened. After Gorman Thomas singled in Paul Molitor to make it a 2-1 game, Ben Oglivie hit a liner right at second baseman Larry Milbourne with Robin Yount at third and Thomas at first. Thomas ventured a little too far off of first, and Milbourne fired over in an attempt to turn the inning ending double play. Instead…

What happened next could easily be written in the longest run-on sentence in the history of the English language. But instead, I’ll break it down as succinctly as possible:

1) Milbourne’s throw sailed wide and off of Hargrove’s glove at first.
2) Hargrove and Thomas collided and fell to the ground.
3) Yount took off for home plate.
4) Hargrove de-tangled himself from Gorman Thomas, picked up the ball and fired it home. That ball sailed over a divin Robin Yount and catcher Chris Bando‘s glove.
5) Thomas took off for second, and when the Indians were slow to track down the errant throw, he headed for third.
6) Bando found the ball, fired towards third base and into left field.
7) Gorman Thomas scored.

Three errors on one play that led to two runs. It was a play you’ll typically only see in youth league baseball.

While it was a lead the Brewers would not relinquish, the win could ultimately be attributed to their pitching. The only additional run scored in this game was on a Gorman Thomas double play ball in the third. After a shaky first inning in which he allowed two runs on three hits, Mike Caldwell settled down to dominate the Indians through the eighth. He’d shut out Cleveland for the next seven innings, allowing only two hits. Then Rollie Fingers took the mound to throw a perfect ninth for his 23rd save.

The win moved the Brewers back into first place, a half game ahead of the Boston Red Sox, who fell 7-5 to the White Sox.