Brewers 1982

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

Cal Ripken

Ripken Wins AL ROY

Cal Ripken
Ripken played like a seasoned veteran in his rookie season.

Cal Ripken, Jr. has been announced as the runaway winner of the American League Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Ripken, who received 24 of 28 possible first place votes, hit .264 with 28 homers and 93 RBI. The voters undoubtedly considered factors other than offensive numbers since Minnesota’s Kent Hrbek (.301, 23 homers, 92 RBI) was equally as impressive with the bat.

This is a point that did not go unnoticed by ornery Twins owner Calvin Griffith who called the result “an out-and-out travesty.”

Griffith said that he thinks Ripken is a good player, but “by no stretch of the imagination is he the all-around baseball player that Hrbek is.”

The voters disagreed. And, really… The stats did as well.

Ripken’s Orioles team was more involved in the pennant race, though they lost the division to the Brewers on the final day. And Ripken is also a shortstop, which is a much more demanding position than first base, which is Hrbek’s position.

What do you think? Did the award go to the right player?

Player – Tm Pts 1st AVG HR RBI W ERA SV
Cal Ripken, BAL 132 24 .264 28 93      
Kent Hrbek, MIN 90 4 .301 23 92      
Wade Boggs, BOS 10 0 .349 5 44      
Ed Vande Berg, SEA 9 0   0 0 9 2.37 5
Gary Gaetti, MIN 4 0 .230 25 84      
D Hostetler, TEX 3 0 .232 22 67      
Von Hayes, CLE 2 0 .250 14 82      
Jesse Barfield, TOR 1 0 .246 18 58      

Robin Yount Stars in Brewers Win

Brewers 6, Orioles 3
Brewers now 31-29 (4th)
Box Score | Season Schedule

Robin Yount
Robin Yount proved again why he is the best shortstop in the game, but he may not play in the All-Star Game in Montreal on July 13.

BALTIMORE — Today’s win was a full team effort.

Bob McClure started and held the potent Orioles offense to three runs (two earned) on six hits in seven innings. Jim Slaton went the rest of the way and did what Jim Slaton does, allowing only a hit in two scoreless innings.

The Brewers got off to a good start in the first when Paul Molitor led off with a walk and Robin Yount then launched a homer to stake his roommate McClure to a 2-0 lead.

The Orioles would take the lead in the third when Dan Ford struck again with a two-run single. It was Ford who hit a grand slam yesterday to put that game out of reach.

The pitchers took over from that point until the eighth when a surprising defensive miscue gave the Brewers an opportunity. With two down, Mark Brouhard hit a routine grounder to rookie vacuum Cal Ripken, Jr.. Brouhard would reach safely when Ripken threw high to first, committing his first error in 44 games. After Molitor singled, Yount came through again with a triple off of the wall in right to give the Brewers a 4-3 lead.

The Brewers got some nice insurance runs in the eighth when Gorman Thomas led off with a booming home run to left and Marshall Edwards brought home Ben Oglivie with a sacrifice fly. But with Jim Slaton on the mound, those runs were merely recreational.

As has been the case so many times this season, Robin Yount was the star of this show. He went 2-for-5 and drove in four of the Brewers’ six runs. He is now hitting .313 with eight home runs and 36 RBI.

“If Robin Yount is not the starting All-Star shortstop,” said manager Harvey Kuenn, “then there’s something wrong with the balloting.”

Well, there’s likely something wrong with the balloting. As it currently stands, Yankees part-timer (and owner of a .153 batting average) Bucky Dent is leading all shortstops in the voting. Robin Yount sits third. Helplessly.

It’s okay. The Yankees can play in the meaningless All-Star Game. The Brewers will just keep winning the games that count.

Game Notes: The Brewers are considering calling up reliever Pete Ladd or starter Frank DiPino from Vancouver. Ladd is 9-1 and has allowed 32 hits in 40 2/3 innings. DiPino is 7-4 with a 3.17 ERA … Ted Simmons is second among catchers in the All-Star voting behind Chicago’s Carlton Fisk. Cecil Cooper is fifth among first basemen behind California’s Rod Carew. Molitor is seventh among third basemen behind Kansas City’s George Brett. Ben Oglivie is sixteenth among outfielders … Reliever Rollie Fingers (back spasms) may be available for tomorrow’s game … Cecil Cooper, who had been out of the lineup for five games with a hamstring injury, returned and couldn’t get the ball out of the infield in four at bats.

Brewers Salvage Final Game with Orioles

Brewers 9, Orioles 7
Brewers now 28-27 (3rd)
Box Score | Season Schedule

Ben Oglivie
Ben Oglivie's two-out, two-run double in the eighth would win today's game with the Orioles.

MILWAUKEE — Upon catching the final out in today’s Brewers’ win over the Orioles to salvage the final game in a four-game series, Gorman Thomas lifted his hands to the sky in jubilation. You’d think his catch had clinched an AL pennant.

But that’s how good it feels when you go seven straight games without winning at home. It’s a relief to score nine runs after three straight games in which your opponent doesn’t have to phone the bullpen.

And this was a game, like the season, that first seemed in their grasp before seemingly slipping away.

With the bases loaded and one out in the third, Roy Howell lifted a pop fly into foul territory on the third base side. Cal Ripken gave chase and slid in front of the tarp. He dropped the ball. On the very next pitch, Howell launched a two-run double to left to give the Brewers the lead. Fortunes appeared to be in the Crew’s favor.

The Brewers would take a 7-3 lead into the sixth inning. But Ken Singleton lifted a missile into orbit that finally landed ten rows deep into the bleachers in right center to trim the lead to two. Rollie Fingers came on in the seventh and allowed three hits that erased the Brewers’ lead.

The fans booed.

The fans may be a bit on the overreactive side, but they’ve seen this show before. They’re tired of it.

But this show had a different ending. With two down in the eighth and runners at first and second, Ben Oglivie lined a shot down the right field line out of the reach of Jim Dwyer for a two-run double. Staked to another two-run lead, Fingers wouldn’t falter this time. He pitched a perfect ninth for the win.

This win may not have clinched the American League pennant or even the division, but after three games of doubts and second guessing it was nice to see fortunes change.

Game Notes: 22,013 fans were in attendance, 6,319 of which were fan club admissions … Prior to today’s three-inning appearance, Rollie Fingers had pitched only 2 1/3 innings since June 1 … The Brewers face the AL East-leading Tigers next.