Hal McRae

Cooper, Yount are Silver Sluggers

November 8

The votes are in from the American League managers and coaches, and the Brewers’ Robin Yount and Cecil Cooper were named the best offensive players at their respective positions.

Yount is being recognized seemingly every day for another award following his historic 1982 season. It is the second time he has been a Silver Slugger, winning it first in 1980.

Cecil Cooper is a three time Silver Slugger winner, taking the honors in each of the last three seasons. Often overshadowed by Yount this year, Cooper was spectacular. Second only to his amazing 1980 season, Cooper hit .313 with 32 homers and 121 RBI.

It’s not surprising that multiple Brewers would make the list. And not to get greedy, but you could make an argument for Paul Molitor, Gorman Thomas, Ben Oglivie and Ted Simmons as well. Though to be fair, all winners were deserving, and are probably more deserving than the Brewers just mentioned.

What do you think? Were any Brewers snubbed?

Pos: Player, Tm	AVG	HR	RBI	H	2B	3B	SB
C: Lance Parrish, DET	.284	32	87	138	19	2	3
1B: Cecil Cooper, MIL	.313	32	121	205	38	3	2
2B: Damaso Garcia, TOR	.310	5	42	185	32	3	54
3B: Doug DeCinces, CAL	.301	30	97	173	42	5	7
SS: Robin Yount, MIL	.331	29	114	210	46	12	14
OF: Reggie Jackson, CAL	.275	39	101	146	17	1	4
OF: Willie Wilson, KCR	.332	3	46	194	19	15	37
OF: Dave Winfield, NYY	.280	37	106	151	24	8	5
DH: Hal McRae, KCR	.308	27	133	189	46	8	4

Yount Named TSN AL Player of the Year

November 1

1982 Donruss Robin Yount — Robin is recognized again!

The Sporting News announced their AL and NL teams today and named Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers as their pick for the 1982 TSN American League Player of the Year Award.

Dale Murphy of the Atlanta Braves won the award in the National League while TSN named Steve Carlton of the Phillies and Dave Stieb of the Blue Jays their pitchers of the year.

Yount was joined by teammates Cecil Cooper at first base and Gorman Thomas in the outfield. So… how in the world is Dave Stieb the AL Pitcher of the Year? And how is Geoff Zahn on the team but not Pete Vuckovich? Vuke was named the best right-handed pitcher — not only in the American League, but in all of baseball — by the Associated Press. Vuke was also named to the UPI AL All-Star Team along with Baltimore’s Jim Palmer.

So while it’s certainly exciting (if not unexpected) that Yount won the Player of the Year Award, the fact that Vuke wasn’t recognized — not only as the best pitcher in the AL, but one of the two best pitchers — is a bit of a head-scratcher. And it also raises concerns that he may not win the AL Cy Young award.

Following are the entire AL and NL rosters, as named by The Sporting News:

American League

Catcher: Lance Parrish (DET)
1st Base: Cecil Cooper (MIL)
2nd Base: Damaso Garcia (TOR)
Shortstop: Robin Yount (MIL)
3rd Base: Doug DeCinces (CAL)
Outfield: Dave Winfield (NYY), Gorman Thomas (MIL) and Dwight Evans (BOS)
Designated Hitter: Hal McRae (KC)
Pitchers: Dave Stieb (TOR) and Geoff Zahn (CAL)

National League

Catcher: Gary Carter (MON)
1st Base: Al Oliver (MON)
2nd Base: Manny Trillo (PHI)
Shortstop: Ozzie Smith (STL)
3rd Base: Mike Schmidt (PHI)
Outfield: Dale Murphy (ATL), Pedro Guerrero (LA) and Lonnie Smith (STL)
Pitchers: Steve Carlton (PHI) and Steve Rogers (MON)

Breaking Down the MVP Field

October 4

Since the Brewers have a day off before Game 1 of the American League Championship Series tomorrow (it never gets old saying it!), I thought I’d break down Robin Yount‘s competition for the AL MVP award. Let’s be honest: As Brewers fans, it’s obvious to us who has earned the award this year. But I wanted to step back and take as unbiased a look as I can at which players he’ll be up against when the voters cast their ballots.

The Players
When the votes come in, you’ll see as many as 30 or so names in all that get listed on the ballots. But of course, not all of those names are legitimate contenders. I want to start this exercise by whittling down my list to the players we may find in the top three to five when all is said and done.

As I look through our top performers in the American League, I immediately decided to eliminate all pitchers. Though our own Rollie Fingers may have won the award last season, there simply does not appear to be a serious contender this season. The only pitchers to consider are Pete Vuckovich, Dan Quisenberry and Jim Palmer. Vuke won’t get it ahead of Yount, and neither Quisenberry nor Palmer made the playoffs. So hitters only.

While I could limit it only to players on playoff teams, I think that’s a mistake. The players who make the post season will have an advantage, but we can’t ignore great performances from those players who didn’t make it to the next round.

So here’s my list, in alphabetical order to avoid any perceived bias:

Cecil Cooper, MIL
Doug DeCinces, CAL
Dwight Evans, BOS
Rickey Henderson, OAK
Reggie Jackson, CAL
Hal McRae, KC
Eddie Murray, BAL
Willie Wilson, KC
Dave Winfield, NYY
Robin Yount, MIL

I could have legitimately listed Gorman Thomas and Paul Molitor, but let’s be honest: If there’s an MVP award coming from Milwaukee again this year, it’s going to be Robin Yount. I considered not listing Cooper for that reason, but his stats are just as good as most of these guys, so he has to be in the mix.

The Stats
Let’s stack them up and make a list. I have placed the numbers in bold if they lead this group (they don’t necessarily lead the league). Also, players marked with an “x” are those who are on teams that won their division.

Player	HR	RBI	BA
Cooper, MIL -x	32	121	.313
DeCinces, CAL -x	30	97	.301
Evans, BOS	32	98	.292
Henderson, OAK	10	51	.267
Jackson, CAL -x	39	101	.275
McRae, KC	27	133	.308
Murray, BAL	32	110	.316
Wilson, KC	3	46	.332
Winfield, NYY	37	106	.280
Yount, MIL -x	29	114	.331

Player	R	H	SB
Cooper, MIL -x	104	205	2
DeCinces, CAL -x	94	173	7
Evans, BOS	122	178	3
Henderson, OAK	119	143	130
Jackson, CAL -x	92	146	4
McRae, KC	91	189	4
Murray, BAL	87	174	7
Wilson, KC	87	194	37
Winfield, NYY	84	151	5
Yount, MIL -x	129	210	14

As you can see, there are six different players who lead this group in at least one category: Dwight Evans in OBP, Rickey Henderson in stolen bases, Reggie Jackson in home runs, Hal McRae in RBI, Willie Wilson in batting average and Robin Yount in three categories. So five players led in one category apiece while Yount leads in runs, hits and slugging.

Of course, leading isn’t everything because a well-rounded player who is second in everything may be the MVP. But let’s use Robin Yount as the statistical measuring stick since he appears to be our front-runner.

Cooper is well-rounded, but Yount leads him in everything but home runs and RBI, and both by slim margins. Let’s toss away Cooper. Sorry, Coop.

Yount leads DeCinces in everything but homers, but again that difference is only one. Nope, not happening.

Yount leads Evans in everything but homers and OBP. He’s at about Cooper’s level, but the Red Sox didn’t make the playoffs. Nope, not Evans.

Rickey Henderson was amazing this season, blowing away Lou Brock‘s stolen base record. He led Yount in stolen bases (by a ton) and OBP, but that’s it. Henderson hit only .269 with 10 homers and the A’s didn’t make the post season. So, no. Not Rickey Henderson, though I think his special season should warrant consideration.

Reggie Jackson hit more home runs than Yount and he led his Angels to the playoffs, but that’s really it. Considering Jackson is known for his power, it’s telling that Yount has a higher slugging percentage (.578 to .532). Good year for Reggie, but Yount was better.

Hal McRae led the majors in RBI, but the Royals collapsed and missed the playoffs. Nope, not McRae.

Eddie Murray led Yount in homers and OBP, but nothing else. Had the Orioles knocked off the Brewers on the final day of the season, he’d get a much more serious look. But they didn’t, and Yount’s season was clearly better. Not Murray.

I added Willie Wilson to the list just to make myself angry. As you know, Wilson held a small lead in batting average over Yount heading into the final day of the season. Yount had three hits, including two homers and a triple. To preserve his average, Wilson didn’t play. Pathetic. The Royals don’t deserve the playoffs and Wilson doesn’t deserve either the batting crown (which he won) or the MVP award (which he’ll lose).

Dave Winfield is yet another example of a player who hit more homers (37) but nothing else to distinguish himself from Yount. And the Yankees were never a serious player in the pennant race.

The Verdict
Alright, so it’s obvious. Robin Yount will be this season’s American League Most Valuable Player. The majority of players who are close statistically to Yount aren’t even in the playoffs. Add to the mix that Yount hit two crucial home runs in the final, division-clinching game of the season, and any dispute should be laughed at. If Yount does not win the award — and by a lot — there should be an investigation.

Ladies and gentlemen, not only have our Brewers made the playoffs, but rest comfortably knowing that we will have secured the MVP award for the second consecutive season.

Bad Bounce, Poor Execution Lead to Loss

May 5

Royals 3, Brewers 2 (10)
Brewers now 12-10 (3rd)
Box Score | Season Schedule

MILWAUKEE — After two unlikely heroes led to a Brewers victory yesterday, Mark Brouhard was set up perfectly to take those honors today.

In the second inning, Brouhard hit a two-run homer to left to give the Brewers a 2-1 lead. Minutes later, Brouhard made two fantastic catches, crashing into the left field wall to retire George Brett and Hal McRae in the third, keeping the Royals from scoring at least one run.

Even after the Royals tied the game fourth on a two-out RBI single by Onix Concepcion, it was Brouhard’s game. He had been the offense. His defense kept the team from trailing. Just score a run for the guy and make him the hero.

But Brouhard was the only Brewers player who came to hit. Vida Blue, making his first start since recovering from a shoulder injury, held the Brewers to two runs on six hits in six innings. Dan Quisenberry relieved him and held the Crew to two hits for four more.

Brewers Hesitate, Royals Win

May 3

Royals 3, Brewers 2
Brewers now 11-9 (3rd)
Box Score | Season Schedule

Jim Gantner — Gantner's hesitation at second proved costly.

MILWAUKEE — Not the best way to start this series.

The Royals are without Amos Otis (hamstring), Willie Wilson (hamstring), Willie Aikens (hand), UL Washington (back) and Lee May (groin). Other than George Brett, that’s pretty much the Royals’ lineup.

So the Brewers knew they were playing a team that was short-handed offensively. Quite the advantage. All they’d need to do is, I don’t know, score three or four runs. Right?

Right. Problem is, they only scored two. Brewers only had seven hits in nine innings, but they didn’t have many opportunities to score. The only true blown shot was in the first when Paul Molitor reached third in the first with one down. Ben Oglivie (strikeout) and Ted Simmons (pop-up) failed to bring him home. The only had a runner in scoring position one other time during the game.