Ed Romero

Grading the Brewers: Hitters

November 28

Paul Molitor and Robin Yount — Robin Yount and Paul Molitor led a potent Brewers offense in 1982

It would be easy to give every Brewer a grade of A for the 1982 season because they came within one win of a World Series title. But while the team will receive an A (whoops, did I ruin the surprise?), like the Brewers season, nothing is easy, not even grading this team.

[View the Pitching Grades]

It will come as no surprise that Robin Yount received the highest grade while others such as the injured Larry Hisle bottomed out.

INFIELDERS

Cecil Cooper, 1B
Is there a better first baseman in the American League? Nope. He’s a legit Triple Crown threat each season. For the third consecutive full season, Coop hit at least .300 (.313), he slammed 32 homers and was second in the AL with 121 RBI. He added 38 doubles as a part of his 205 hits and scored a career-high 104 runs. He committed only five errors.
Grade: A

Jim Gantner, 2B
Played in 132 games, the fewest of all the regular Brewers infielders, which isn’t surprising, considering his hard-charging style and his ability to hang in when runners are bearing down on him. For a guy who hit from the nine-hole, a .295 average wasn’t too shabby. He’s not a masher (four homers), but a good bottom of the order guy.
Grade: B

Paul Molitor, 3B
The Ignitor lived up to his name as he provided the spark for the American League’s most potent offense. Led the league in AB (666), plate appearances (751) and runs scored. Hit .302 and had career highs in homers (19), RBI (71) and stolen bases (41). One of the best baserunners you’ll ever see. Adequate in the field.
Grade: A

Robin Yount, SS
Simply one of the finest seasons ever by a shortstop. His 129 runs, most ever by a shortstop. His 114 RBI, third all-time. Add to that a .331 batting average with 29 taters, 46 doubles, 12 triples and you get a .578 slugging percentage, which was .001 behind Ernie Banks for best ever. But Banks hit .285. Yount hit for power and average. Would have won the AL batting title if Willie Wilson had been man enough to play the last day of the season. He led the league in hits (210), doubles, slugging percentage and total bases with 367. And to think, he’s only 26. He was the clear MVP.
Grade: A+

Don Money, DH, INF
A damn good season for the 35-year-old Money, who platooned with Roy Howell at DH. In 275 ABs, Money slugged .891 as 33 of his 78 hits went for extra bases, including 16 home runs, the third highest total of his career.
Grade: B+

Roy Howell, DH INF
The Brewers had plenty of power, but only four taters? That’s Gantner territory (no offense, Gumby). Howell hit .260 and managed to drive in 38 runs. Other than that, the Crew may need to find another left-handed bat at DH.
Grade: C

Ed Romero, 2B
Backed up Gantner at second and played in 52 games and hit .250. He didn’t walk much, didn’t steal a base and hit one homer. He’s a typical light-hitting middle infielder.
Grade: C-

Rob Piccolo, INF
Came over from Oakland in a midseason deal, hit .286 in 21 ABs in 22 games.
Grade: Inc.

CATCHERS

Ted Simmons, C
Simba’s slower than the orbit of Pluto, but few backstops call a better game. He also’s a switch hitter and the Crew doesn’t need to sit him depending on who is pitching. His 97 RBI were the most since he drove in 100 with the Cardinals in 1975 and his 23 homers were the most since he hit 26 in 1979. His 29 doubles were fourth on the team. At 32, Simmons is what he is.
Grade: B

Ned Yost, C
His homer in Boston proved to be one of the biggest hits of the season, as it helped the Crew get a four-game lead with five to play. Other than that, he played in 40 games, hit. 276 and was OK as Simmons’ backup. He’s 27, but he’s not starter material.
Grade: C+

OUTFIELDERS

Ben Oglivie, LF
Benji, with Coop, provided the left-handed pop in the lineup smashing 34 homers and driving in 102 runs. He won’t hit for average, but his .244 followed the 1981 season where he hit .243. This from a guy who hit .282 or better in his first three seasons with the Crew.
Grade: B

Gorman Thomas, CF
Stormin’s 39 homers and 112 RBI were beautiful. His .245 average and 143 strikeouts were not. Gorman’s not gonna hit for average, ever, but his 29 doubles were third on the team, even ahead of Molly, who had 26 doubles. With Gorman, what you see is what you get: a gritty dude who’ll swing for the fences.
Grade: B

Charlie Moore, RF
A converted catcher, Moore’s hose accounted for 23 outfield assists. And who can forget the throw that nailed Reggie Jackson in Game 5 of the ALCS? Like the rest of the Crew outfield, Moore didn’t hit for average (.254), but he had 22 doubles. Other than that, he hit like a catcher.
Grade: B-

Mark Brouhard, RF
Brouhard saved the Crew’s bacon in Game 4 of the ALCS, his finest moment of the season. His worst moment, losing the job in right field to Moore after being injured. Brouhard played in 40 games and had four homers and 10 RBI.
Grade: C

Marshall Edwards, OF
The only outfielder on the Brewers with any speed, but he suffered from the same affliction of the other Crew outfielders: low batting average. Edwards hit .247 and worse yet, walked only four times. For a team that drove in runs by the bunches, Edwards didn’t distinguish himself in any fashion.
Grade: C-

Larry Hisle, OF-DH
It was sad to see the man who helped the Crew’s renaissance in ’78 succumb to injury. He hit .129 in what will likely be his last season.
Grade: D

Bob Skube, OF, UTL
Never saw enough time to make an impact, compiling 12 ABs between them.
Grade: Inc.

OVERALL

Stats don’t lie: They hit a major-league leading 216 home runs, drove in an MLB-high 843 RBI, led the majors in total bases (2606), runs (891), slugging percentage (.455) and at bats (5733). Wait, we’re not done yet. The Crew was second in hits (1599, four behind the Royals), doubles (277, also behind the Royals), batting average (.279, six points behind the Royals) and second-last in strikeouts (714). They didn’t walk much (484, 14th in the majors) and they don’t steal bases (84), but when you pound the ball like the Crew did this season, you don’t need to go station-to-station.

There is no other grade for this team. It was second to none at the plate.

GRADE: A

Brewers are AL East Champs!

October 3

Brewers 10, Orioles 2
Brewers finish 95-67 (1st place)
Box Score | Season Schedule

Robin Yount was the MVP of the most important game of the season.

BALTIMORE — The Milwaukee Brewers are who they are, and we love ’em for it. They hit, mash homers and score run after run. Their pitching is inconsistent, but they are anchored by three All-Star caliber veterans. And, most importantly, the Milwaukee Brewers are exciting.

We know this. These are the ingredients that have made for a dramatic season. And how exciting would it have been to clinch the American League East before traveling to Baltimore for the final four games of the season? Or even clinch in games one, two or three?

No, it came down to the final game. For us. For our enjoyment. Though it would have been a painful loss, the final week of turbulence added an exclamation point to this final game. Victory could never feel so sweet.

If the Brewers have proven anything to us fans throughout the season, it’s that they can handle adversity. They overcame a rough start and managerial change to unexpectedly take, and hold, the divisional lead. Did you think the Brewers would fail to overcome this little obstacle? Shame on you.

By any account, this was Major League Baseball’s regular season game of the year. The drama could not possibly be greater, deciding a division on the final game of the season. Potential Hall of Famers Don Sutton and Jim Palmer faced off in Orioles manager Earl Weaver’s final game.

Fantastic.

Orioles fans were confident, strolling through the turnstiles in droves with signs that exclaimed “Sweep!” and dancing with brooms as they mocked their downtrodden opponents. They could taste a division title.

But of course, this was the stage for Robin Yount to again remind us why he is the runaway American League Most Valuable Player. On the final day of the season, in enemy territory, when his team needed a leader to step forward.

With one down in the top of the first inning, Yount made a statement to the Orioles and their fans with his solo home run: The first three games are forgotten. Today is a new day. This game will not be so easy.

Yount’s statement set the tone, but it was how the bottom of the first inning ended that made it clear that the Brewers were a motivated and focused bunch. With two down and runners at first and second, John Lowenstein smacked a single to right field. Glenn Gulliver ran through third base coach Cal Ripken Sr.’s stop sign and Brewers right fielder Charlie Moore accepted the challenge, throwing a pea to catcher Ted Simmons that easily nailed Gulliver at the plate.

The Brewers’ momentum carried over into the top of the second when Gorman Thomas led off with a walk, and a flustered Jim Palmer threw an errant pick-off throw into right field. The gaff landed Thomas on third base with no one out. When Thomas stepped on home plate after a Roy Howell groundout, it was a 2-0 Brewers lead heading into the bottom of the second.

This was new ground for the Orioles, who had scored at least three runs by the end of the second inning in each of the first three games of the series. Down 2-0, it was also the first time during the series that the home team had been down by as many as two runs.

The Orioles needed to counter the Brewers’ emotion, but they had no answers early. Sutton disposed of the opposition rather easily in the second, and the Brewers were ready once again to strike in the third.

With one down, Jim Palmer faced a familiar foe. For the second time in three innings, Robin Yount drove a solo shot into the right field bleachers to extend the Brewers lead to 3-0.

The Orioles’ Glenn Gulliver responded with a solo home run of his own in the bottom of the third, but the run was only a minor annoyance for Sutton and the Brewers. And once the Orioles failed to capitalize on a bases loaded opportunity with two outs in the fifth, loyal Brewers fans began confidently preparing champagne glasses in Milwaukee.

Cecil Cooper, the Brewers’ presumed runner up for team MVP this season, led off the top of the sixth with a solo home run. After a Ted Simmons walk, Jim Palmer was unceremoniously removed from the game in favor of Tippy Martinez. By knocking Palmer out of the game, the Brewers had already won.

Don Sutton mowed through Orioles batters inning after inning. Ben Oglivie hit a well-placed single in the top of the eighth to score — who else? — Robin Yount from third after a lead-off triple.

In the bottom of the eighth, Baltimore provided one final scare for fans back in Milwaukee. A temporary bout of Sutton wildness put two runners on via the walk in the eighth, leading to a one-out, run-scoring single by Terry Crowley.

Harvey Kuenn then trotted out to the mound and put Sutton’s fate in his own hands: Talk Kuenn into leaving him out there, or be removed. Kuenn left Sutton on the mound.

Then, with runners on first and third and two down, pinch hitter Joe Nolan hit a slicing fly ball into left. Ben Oglivie ran it down, sliding into the corner to make an amazing, inning-ending grab.

It was likely the most important catch in Milwaukee Brewers franchise history. Oglivie saved two runs on the play, and possibly more since a hit would have extended the inning. The catch preserved a comfortable three-run lead for the Brewers with only one inning to go.

Through the eighth, the Brewers had provided a large dose of pitching and defense to put themselves in position to win. The only ingredient yet to be displayed was the one that has made them famous this year: Offense.

Don Money led off the top of the ninth inning with a double. Dennis Martinez retired Charlie Moore and Ed Romero, and then all hell broke loose. Molitor hit a ground ball single up the middle that scored Marshall Edwards (who had come in to run for Moore). Yount was hit by a pitch. Cooper greeted new pitcher Mike Flanagan with a double that scored both Molitor and Yount. And to cap it off, Ted Simmons — by all accounts the leader of this team — hit a two-run homer.

Five runs came across for the Brewers in the top of the ninth. The score, with the Orioles coming to bat for the final time, was Brewers 10 and Orioles 2.

John Shelby led off the final inning with a single to left off of Bob McClure. Dan Ford popped out to Yount on the infield. Benny Ayala flied out to Gorman Thomas in center. Eddie Murray hit a single up the middle.

Then, the moment we Brewers fans may cherish for generations: Gary Roenicke hit a lazy fly ball that fell safely into the glove of left fielder Ben Oglivie.

Pop the champagne! Dance in the streets! The Brewers have won the American League East!

The Brewers have won as a team all season long. It was only fitting that this final regular season win would be a team effort. Don Sutton was sharp on the mound. Robin Yount hit two home runs and a triple. Cecil Cooper hit a home run and a double. Ted Simmons hit a crucial two-out, two-run homer. Ben Oglivie made a sliding catch into the left-field corner that may have saved the team’s season. Paul Molitor and Roy Howell knocked in runs. Charlie Moore threw out a runner at home to end the first. And Bob McClure held the lead in the bullpen.

Enjoy this feeling, Brewers fans. Our Brewers are AL East Champions. The American League Championship Series begins on October 5 in Anaheim, where your Milwaukee Brewers will participate in a best of five for rights to play in the World Series.

So, how do you plan to celebrate a Brewers appearance in the playoffs?

Brewers’ Lead Drops to Two

September 26

Orioles 5, Brewers 2
Brewers now 92-63 (1st by 2.0 games)
Box Score | Season Schedule

Why didn't Harvey Kuenn pinch run with Marshall Edwards instead of Bob Skube?

MILWAUKEE — Although the Brewers would lose this game by three runs, fingers would be pointed at third base coach Harry Warner after the game for a rally that ended too soon.

With one down in the bottom of the eighth, Robin Yount had just hit an RBI single to bring the Brewers to within a run. With runners at the corners, Earl Weaver went to Tippy Martinez to face Cecil Cooper.

Cooper hit a fly ball to medium center. Rookie John Shelby started back and then charged. Bob Skube, pinch running for Ed Romero, tagged from third. Shelby threw a one hop strike to the plate to nail Skube for the inning ending double play.

“If the ball is off line six inches one way or the other,” Skube would say after the game, “I’m safe. It was a perfect throw and it was still a close play.”

But the question being asked of Warner: Why was Skube sent in the first place?

“You… never come up and talk to me when something goes right,” an angry Warner responded. “That kind of play has happened right 40 times this year, but nobody talked to me then. You’re just a bunch of…. And you can print that!”

Warner may have had a point. And maybe we’re pointing the finger at the wrong coach. Why was Skube in to run when the speedy Marshall Edwards was also available for the job? Edwards may be only a shade faster than Skube, but it’s a shade that likely makes a difference.

In the end, the play probably didn’t matter. The Orioles added two more in the ninth and the Brewers failed to put together a rally. It wasn’t theirs to win.

But this… is a problem. The Brewers now lead the Orioles by only two games in the AL East. With only seven games to play, the Brewers finish up the season on the road. Next come three games at Fenway Park against the third place Red Sox. Then the Brewers finish up the regular season with four games at Baltimore.

“Losing two of three to Baltimore shouldn’t change any of our thinking, we are still two games up,” an optimistic Kuenn assured us. “And even though we lost two here it doesn’t mean the world is going to end. We have seven to play and so do they. And we play four against each other. We still have the big advantage.”

If you say so, Harvey. But it sure doesn’t feel like it.

Rollie Fingers Update: Fingers threw between 35 and 40 pitches before today’s game and said he felt pain but his forearm didn’t tighten up. “If I can take care of half the pain I feel,” Fingers said, “then I can go out there. I’ve worked with a little pain before but it is still too sore.”

Brewers Make Most of Hits

September 8

Brewers 9, Tigers 7
Brewers now 83-56 (1st by 4.0 games)
Box Score | Season Schedule

Cecil Cooper hit his 29th home run of the season.

MILWAUKEE — Yesterday, the Brewers dominated the Tigers with the suffocating pitching of Don Sutton. Tonight, well… They just found a way to win.

It wasn’t pretty. The Tigers outhit the Brewers 17-10. They had five extra base hits to only three for the Brewers.

“We scattered 17 hits very nicely tonight,” manager Harvey Kuenn joked to the Milwaukee Sentinel. “We just outscored them. It isn’t exactly what you’d call a well played ballgame. But you are going to play some of these and win them. This was a big win for us.”

When the Tigers started the game with two runs in the first, the Brewers responded with four, thanks largely to a three-run home run by Cecil Cooper before an out was made.

The Tigers tacked on a couple more in the top of the third on a double by Enos Cabell, and the Brewers fought back with three of their own. Take a jab, connect on two uppercuts.

It happened again in the fifth when the Tigers started with two runs on hits by Lance Parrish and Jim Turner. The Brewers countered with two of their own in the bottom of the inning, one on a two-out squeeze single by Charlie Moore and another on a hit up the middle by Ed Romero.

That’s the way it was all night long. The Tigers didn’t have much trouble scoring on Brewers pitching, but they simply couldn’t keep up. Bob McClure, staked to a 7-3 lead in the fourth, was unable to survive the fifth to get the win. Moose Haas, who moved to the bullpen to make room for Don Sutton in the rotation, allowed two runs in five innings of relief.

Of course, it was Haas who pitched the final two innings because Rollie Fingers is still nursing a slight tear in his forearm. He was originally expected to be out a week, but after an evaluation today it looks like he’ll be out another week.

Fingers says his arm feels a little better, but there is still pain when he throws. When will he return? “Your guess is as good as mine,” Fingers said.

The Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox, second and third in the AL East, both lost and fell to 4 and 5 1/2 games back respectively. The Orioles have won 17 of 19, yet gained only 2 1/2 games on the Brewers who finished up a solid homestand.

Next up is a four-game series in New York.

Sutton Shines in Shutout

September 7

Brewers 4, Tigers 0
Brewers now 82-56 (1st by 3.0 games)
Box Score | Season Schedule

1982 Topps Don Sutton — Don Sutton was awesome!

MILWAUKEE — This is why the Brewers gave up three prospects for Don Sutton.

Sutton was absolutely brilliant. Locked in a pitcher’s duel with Dan Petry, Sutton didn’t blink. Petry finally did.

The Brewers were held scoreless by Petry through seven innings on only three hits. Meanwhile, Sutton had blanked the Tigers as well on six hits. In two starts with his new team, the Brewers had provided two runs of support.

“I had been reading the box scores all summer,” said Sutton. “I knew what these guys could do. They just wanted to break me in, not have me take it for granted.”

In the eighth inning, the Brewers offense figured the initiation of Sutton was complete. Ed Romero, Paul Molitor and Robin Yount hit consecutive one-out singles, with Yount’s hit scoring Romero. Then Cecil Cooper hit a three-run blast to right to cap it off.

Sutton’s final line was exactly what the Brewers had paid for, and then some: Nine innings, no runs, seven hits, no walks, nine strikeouts. And, most importantly, the win.

The shutout was Sutton’s 56th of his career, tying him with Bob Gibson for ninth all-time. Brewers catcher Ted Simmons caught a few of those from Gibson as well.

“I just followed Simmons all night long,” Sutton said. “I think I changed two pitches from curveballs to sliders. But I followed him all night long.”

Sutton had the Tigers pounding grounders all night long. The outfielders had to be bored, accounting for only five of the 27 outs. Only three Tigers reached as far as second base, and only once were there two runners on base at a time.

“I’d say he was worth the investment,” manager Harvey Kuenn confirmed.

There is no doubt after this game. Brewers fans aren’t even phased by the fact that Frank DiPino, among the prospects dealt to Houston, made his sparkling debut tonight, striking out 10 and walking none in five innings.

If Brewers fans have anything to worry about, it’s closer Rollie Fingers, who has been forbidden from even picking up a ball. The slight tear in his forearm will be examined tomorrow.

Tigers, Umpires Spoil Strong Start

September 6

Tigers 6, Brewers 5 (10)
Brewers now 81-56 (1st by 3.0 games)
Box Score | Game Schedule

1982 Donruss Doc Medich — Doc Medich no-hit the Tigers for six innings but took the loss in 10.

MILWAUKEE — For six innings, Brewers starting pitcher Doc Medich no-hit the Detroit Tigers. Staked to a 3-0 lead in the seventh, it all came apart at the seams.

Glenn Wilson led off the seventh with a single to left to break up the no-no. Then Larry Herndon hit a grounder to Ed Romero at second for what appeared to be a sure double play. Romero flipped to Robin Yount at second who gunned to Cecil Cooper at first, but first base umpire Al Clark ruled Herndon safe.

Jim Turner would then hit a double to score two, including Herndon, to make it 3-2. The Tigers then took the lead in the eighth when they scored three more runs on three hits to make it 5-3.

This was only the start of an aggravating few innings for manager Harvey Kuenn and the Brewers. Ben Oglivie would tie the game at 5 in the bottom of the eighth with his 27th home run of the season, but the Brewers nearly won the game in the bottom of the ninth when two more controversial calls stood in their way.

After Marshall Edwards led off the inning with a walk, Ed Romero laid down a bunt. Feeling lucky, pitcher Milt Wilcox picked it up and fired to Alan Trammell at second. Jim McKean ruled Edwards out, and manager Harvey Kuenn stormed out of the Brewers dugout to express his displeasure.

But instead of two on and no outs, there was one on and one out. Paul Molitor bunted and Wilcox threw the ball away to put runners on first and third. Robin Yount then grounded to short and, instead of trying for the double play, Alan Trammell fired home.

It appeared Ed Romero got in. Of course, nothing was the way it appeared today, and home plate umpire Jim Evans ruled Romero out. Kuenn again charged out of the dugout to find his rightful place on the field, and third base coach Harry Warner joined him in voicing his disgust.

“I got my leg in between his legs,” Romero explained after the game. “I was going on any ground ball. I thought I had a good jump but maybe I didn’t have a big enough lead. It was a very close play. When I started my slide the ball was just getting there. I don’t think he blocked the plate.”

Doc Medich was left in to pitch the 10th, presumably because Rollie Fingers was unavailable, and Tom Brookens promptly hit a solo home run to give the Tigers the lead.

Would you believe there was yet another controversial call in the Tigers’ favor? Of course you would. With Ben Oglivie on first and one out in the bottom of the 10th, Charlie Moore hit a grounder into the hole at short. Trammell fired to Lou Whitaker at second and Oglivie was ruled… Well, you know what he was ruled.

Kuenn stormed out, Warner was angry, you’ve heard this story before.

“I told [McKean] it was the second call he’d missed,” Kuenn said. “He didn’t say anything back so maybe he realizes he missed it too.”

It was one of those games. The Brewers should have won. Doc Medich was terrific through six innings and while he wasn’t great thereafter, he certainly didn’t get help from the umpires.

“We played our butts off,” Kuenn said, “but it’s a little tough when you battle 13 players. Maybe I shouldn’t say 13 players. Let’s say nine players and you can take your guess at the other four.”

Don Sutton is on the mound for his second Brewers start tomorrow.

Game Notes: The Brewers are now just three games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles, their smallest lead since August 18. … Rollie Fingers will be examined on August 8 to see if he can travel with the team on the upcoming road trip. … Gorman Thomas missed the game after getting a shot in his right arm yesterday for inflammation. He is expected to play tomorrow. … Outfielder Bob Skube was added to the roster due to the injury to Thomas. … Jim Gantner sat out the game after being hit by a pitch on the wrist yesterday. He is day to day with swelling.