#321 1982 Milwaukee Brewers

You ever wonder what the Brewers cards would've looked like with yellow borders instead of green?  Well here is your chance since I took a few minutes, and I mean just a few, to give the below image a yellow border.  Better? Yeah I think so, but not as much as I thought it would.  Anyway, we see that Robin Yount's team best .331 batting average led the talented offensive unit known as Harvey's Wallbangers which was named after manager Harvey Kuenn. 

Pete Vukovich led all Brewers qualifying pitchers by over half a run with his 3.34 ERA.

The pair seem to be avoiding each other in the two pictures but look how awkward it look if they were on opposite sides and were facing each other. (Thanks to Andy @HighHeatStats for the suggested edit).

 

The 1982 Brewers were a fun team to watch and one of my favorite non-Tigers teams of all-time.  They began the season 23-24 which led to manager Buck Rodgers getting the axe.  In steps Kuenn and the Brewers win 72 of their last 115 games on the way to the AL pennant.  They lost a thrilling World Series to the Cardinals which is really the first Fall Classic I remember from my childhood.  

 

Flipside:  The checklist shows 27 Brewers including Kuenn.  It includes Hall of Famers Yount, Paul Molitor, Rollie Fingers, and Don Sutton who was acquired late in the year.  Larry Hisle got a card even though he played only nine games including the last game of his career on May 6. 

 

Starting Nine:

 

C: Ted Simmons  23 HR, 97 RBI, 3.1 WAR

1B: Cecil Cooper  .313, 32 HR, 121 RBI, 5.4 WAR

2B: Jim Gantner  .295, 2.4 WAR

SS: Robin Yount  .331/.379/.578, 46 2B, 29 HR, 114 RBI, 10.4 WAR

3B: Paul Molitor  .302, 19 HR, 41 SB, 6.1 WAR

LF: Ben Oglivie  34 HR, 102 RBI, 3.2 WAR

CF: Gorman Thomas  39 HR, 112 RBI, 4.6 WAR

RF: Charlie Moore  .254, 6 HR, 0.8 WAR

DH: Roy Howell  .260, 4 HR, -0.6 WAR

        Don Money  .284, 16 HR, 2.0 WAR

 

The last team card profiled was the Pittsburgh squad and like Bucs, the Brew Crew led their league in runs scored.  But Milwaukee was a very different team.  Led by Yount's amazing MVP season the Brewers bashed their way to a whopping 891 runs.  Their powerful lineup boasted three .300+ hitters in Yount, Molitor, and Cooper and had four sluggers top 100 RBI.  With Molitor healthy, previous thirdsackers Howell and Money shared the DH spot.  Money was money, but Howell didn't really hit enough to warrant a DH spot.  Another spot usually reserved for power hitters, rightfield, was manned by Moore who had moved out from the plate with Simmons arrival.  Marshall Edwards (10 SB) and Mark Brouhard (116 OPS+) also chipped in rightfield. 

 

Pitching staff:

 

SP: Mike Caldwell  34 GS, 17-13, 3.91 ERA, 258 IP

SP: Pete Vukovich  30 GS, 18-6, 3.34 ERA, 223 IP

SP: Moose Haas  27 GS, 11-8, 4.47 ERA, 193 IP

SP: Bob McClure  26 GS, 12-7, 4.22 ERA, 172 IP

SP: Randy Lerch  20 GS, 8-7, 4.97 ERA, 108 IP

 

RP/SP: Jim Slaton  39 G / 7 GS, 10-6, 6 Sv, 3.29 ERA, 117 IP

RP: Rollie Fingers  50 G, 29 Sv, 2.60 ERA, 79 IP

RP: Dwight Bernard  47 G, 6 Sv, 3.76 ERA, 79 IP

RP: Jerry Augustine  20 G, 5.08 ERA, 60 IP

RP: Jamie Easterly  28 G, 2 Sv, 4.70 ERA, 30 IP

RP: Pete Ladd 16 G, 3 Sv, 4.00 ERA, 18 IP

 

The staff doesn't seem all that impressive but does boast the AL Cy Young winner.  What, you say you don't see a CY caliber season in there?!?!  Well me either, but Vukovich walked away with the hardware despite allowing over one and a half runners per inning.  But that's a topic for another post.  Caldwell pitched to contact striking out just 75 batters and Haas actually had a lower WHIP than Vukovich despite the unhealthy ERA. 

 

The rotation began the year as Vukovich, Caldwell, Haas, Lerch and McClure.  By the end of the year veterans Don Sutton and Doc Medich, who were acquired in August, supplanted Lerch who was sold to the Expos and McClure who moved to the pen.  Sutton was effective in seven starts going 4-1 while Doc posted a 5.00 ERA in 10 starts. 

 

Fingers was very good but missed most of September and all of the postseason with an injury.  Slaton filled in wherever he was needed and Bernard was good enough for middle relief.  Augustine was with the club all year but made just 20 appearances.  He was used in a mop up role and made two starts including one 12 run nightmare.  Pete Ladd was a midseason call up and by September was closing games in Fingers place.

 

The Brewers won the ALCS in five games over the Angels and had a three games to two edge in the World Series before dropping the final two games to the Redbirds.



#297 Ned Yost - Milwaukee Brewers

This is the second card in the last nine to feature a player bunting.  In fact the last seven positional players have been pictured in the batters box.
This is Ned Yost's fourth Topps card and it looks like he got the bunt down.  The guy in the dugout right behind Yost looks like he has on an Angels jacket.

 

Player: In 1974 the New York Mets picked catcher Ned Yost in the secondary June draft.  After three unimpressive years in the minors including two with sub-.200 batting averages he was picked up by Milwaukee in the minor league rule 5 draft.  He made the Brewers roster in 1980 but played in just three of the first 18 games and was sent back down to AAA.  He returned in September and received enough playing time to finish with an odious .161/.161/.161 stat line in 31 at bats.

 

Yost was regarded s a good defensive catcher and was on the '81 squad all year.  He served as Milwaukee's number three catcher behind Ted Simmons and Charlie Moore.  If you didn't have a program you probably didn't know Yost was on the team.  He only played in 18 games with 27 at bats but he did show some unexpected power hitting three homers in the limited time.  He was given more action in '82, coming to bat 107 times with a .276/.324/.429 line for the pennant winning Brewers.  He walked in his only postseason appearance in the lopsided Game 6 loss to the Cardinals.

 

When the Brewers moved Moore permanently to RF it opened the door for Yost to be the #2 catcher. He started 57 games in '83 but responded with an unimpressive .224 average and a 67 OPS+.  He was then traded to the Rangers with a minor leaguer for Jim Sundberg. Yost split catching duties with Donnie Scott in Texas.  Neither one was effective with Yost posting a meager .182/.201/.273 line in 251 plate appearances.  Released by the Rangers the next spring he caught on with the Expos organization.  He spent all but a handful of games in '85 at AAA and had two hits in eleven at bats.

 

Yost spent two years playing in the minors for the Braves organization before starting his coaching career.  He retired with a career .212/.237/.329 stat line in six seasons of play.

Flipside:  In 1974, the secondary June draft was for players from junior and community colleges.  Yost spent one year at Chabot College which has produced 14 major leaguers.

Oddball:  Yost was released on April Fools Day two years in a row-  Texas in '85 and Montreal in '86.  Seems like a cruel day to give somebody the pink slip.

History:  Yost made it to the big leagues on the strength of his defensive reputation.  He was agile and blessed with a strong arm but he struggled to get the ball off quickly.  For his career he threw out only 16% of would be base stealers.  Along with his poor bat, he was unable to stick in the majors long and he was done playing by age 30.
He managed the Brewers for six years and has been at the wheel for the Royals the last three seasons.

#271 Ed Romero - Milwaukee Brewers



Ed Romero appears here on his third Topps card in a posed shot in Tiger Stadium.  A cursory glance through the cards profiled thus far shows this is the third Brewer to have a posed shot in Detroit.  The camera man on the West Coast was on the ball though as we’ve seen four Brewers in action in Anaheim.    Romero's face seems to be playing host to a trio of thick black caterpillars.

Player: Ed Romero signed with the Brewers as a 17 year-old free agent in 1975 and was still a teenager when he made his MLB debut in '77.  The young Puerto Rican started nine games in place of injured SS Robin Yount and held his own batting .280 in 25 at bats before returning to double-A for the rest of the year.  Romero had to wait until June 1980 before he got another chance in Milwaukee.  This time he stuck around in a utility role and showed plus range but made 11 errors in 104 chances at SS.  He batted .260 and slugged his first homer in the last game of the year.

 

Romero served a similar reserve role for the Brew Crew over the next few seasons.  After batting just .197 in '81 he improved to .255 in '82 and .317 in '83, all the while batting less than 170 times each year.  He appeared briefly in the '81 LDS with one hit in two at bats against the Yankees.  Although the Brewers made it to the World Series the next year, Romero had to cheer from the bench the entire time.

 

The following year would prove to be Romero's most active season as the Brewers struggled to fill the void left when Paul Molitor went down with a season ending elbow injury in April.  Romero started 40 games at thirdbase and 39 games at shortstop and batted .252/.307/.292 in 397 plate appearances.  His rate stats were similar in '85 but he didn't play as often and was shutout of the HR column after hitting exactly one five years in a row.

 

After the '85 season Milwaukee traded Romero to Boston for reliever Mark Clear.  Clear saved 16 games and earned 2.5 WAR in '86 for the Brewers and could have been another arm at the Red Sox disposal in the postseason.  Romero filled in around the infield while batting .210/.270/.283 in 233 at bats and posting -0.9 WAR.  He was 0-3 in the postseason and was mainly used as a pinch runner and defensive sub after starting SS Spike Owen was lifted for a pinch hitter.  He hit a little better in '87 with a .272 average but was rarely used afterwards.  He played in just 31 games in '88 and was released in August of '89 after batting just 113 times.   

 

Romero finished out the '89 season with a handful of games with the Braves and the Brewers.  He played for the Tigers in 1990 and was released in July after batting .229 in 80 trips to the plate.  He played one more year in the minors before hanging up his cleats. 

 



Flipside: All four of Romero's highlights came in a ten day span.  That doesn't even include Romero's RBI single on June 11 that broke a 6-6 tie to give the Brewers the lead and eventual win over the Tigers.  His Win Probability Added of .304 is more than the other four games combined.

Oddball:  Utility infielders get no love.  Romero played twelve years in the majors and wore nine different uniform numbers.  The poor guy must have been bullied into surrendering his number often. 

History:  Romero was a replacement level infielder, well at -5.6 career WAR, even worse than replacement level. His defense doesn't look all that great when looked at with Total Zone (-50) and his lifetime 67 OPS+ is proof enough he was no slugger.  Even though he's listed at a slender 150 lbs on the back of his card, he was no rabbit either.  He had just one triple in his career and was 9/19 in steal attempts.

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#244 Dwight Bernard - Milwaukee Brewers

I think Dwight Bernard is the first player I've featured that I totally do not remember.  Bernard finally got a second Topps card after appearing on a three-player rookie card as a Met in the '79 Topps set. 
Bernard seems leary of the camera man's intentions as the Marlboro ad looms in the background.  The Brewer pitchers sure have a lot of posed shots in this set. 

Player:  Dwight Bernard was drafted by the Mets in the 2nd round of the '74 draft and was pitching at AAA Tidewater as early as 1975.  His future looked bright as he sported a 3.26 ERA and allowed just 96 hits in 126 innings.  Alas, wildness was his undoing and he languished at AAA until he was converted to the bullpen in '78. 

 

A 1.64 ERA in 44 innings got the Mets attention and he was called up to the parent club in the middle of '78.  He pitched 48 innings and while an ERA of 4.31 seems merely sub-par, a WHIP of 1.688 shows he wasn't fooling major league hitters.

 

Bernard made the Mets opening day roster in '79 but found his sophomore year even more difficult as his 4.70 ERA and 1.932 WHIP show.  He contributed 44 innings for the Mets and spent the middle of the year back at Tidewater.

 

The Mets and Bernard parted ways after the '79 season as New York traded the bushy bearded Bernard to the Brewers for Mark Bomback.  Bernard split the '80 season getting roughed up at AAA and AA with ERA's over seven at both stops.  After he straightened things out in '81 at AAA Vancouver, he was called up in September and pitched in six games for the Brew Crew and added 2.1 scoreless innings in the divisional series loss to the Yankees.

 

He pitched well enough in '82  to avoid the minor leagues for the first time in his career.  Working in middle relief, he chipped in with six saves when Rollie Fingers wasn't available.  Bernard worked 79 innings with a 3.76 ERA (102 ERA+) for the pennant winning Brewers.  He pitched one clean inning in both the ALCS and World Series.

 

Bernard failed to make the team in '83 but hung around the minors three more years before calling it quits.  He retired with a 4.14 career ERA and 1.602 WHIP in 176 innings.

 

Stuff:  Fastball around 85, sinker, slider, change up

 

Flipside:  Whoah! Major centering issues.  These are Bernard's career stats.

Oddball:  I love reading the The Scouting Report: 1983 for insight into the players from the '83 set, especially obscure guys like Bernard.  At the end of Bernard's profile Ned Martin opines "Bernard is about the best reliever the Brewers have behind Fingers and Slaton.  He seems to have matured finally."
Brooks Robinson was closer to home when he stated "He is really just another guy to fill out your pitching roster."

History:  Bernard had a mediocre fastball and sketchy control which explains his lack of success.  Looking at his career numbers he allowed 10 hits and 4.4 walks per 9 innings.  When he hit his spots he was OK, otherwise the base runners were like a merry-go-round.  Bernard has been a pitching coach in the minors since he stopped playing.  He currently serves in that role for the Tacoma Rainers.
Here he is without his beard and glasses!

#218 Roy Howell - Milwaukee Brewers

This is the 8th Topps card of Roy Howell's career.  Any guesses as to what team that is in the dugout?  Angels maybe?
The 3rd BASE designation on his card is not accurate. Howell didn't play third at all in '82 and '83.

Player: Roy Howell was a left handed hitting third baseman and DH for 11 seasons in the big leagues.  He broke in with Texas in 1974 and the former first round pick batted .250 in 44 at bats during his rookie year.  Howell, who hit 22 HR as a 20 year-old in AAA in '74, earned the starting job at the hot corner for the Rangers in '75.  He never lived up to expect-ations though as he failed to hit over .253 or more than 10 HR in either '75 or '76.

 

Howell started the '77 season on the bench and after an 0-17 start he was traded to the expansion Blue Jays.  Howell was playing everyday for Toronto and although he missed a month due to injury, he hit .316 in 412 plate appearances.  Manning the hot corner for the next three years, Howell hit .270, .247, and .269 with 8, 15, and 10 HR respectively over the '78-'80 seasons.

 

He signed a free agent deal with the Brewers prior to the '81 season.  Howell struggled with injuries and hit just .238 in his first year in Milwaukee.  In '82 with Paul Molitor now playing third base, Howell served as the left-handed hitting platoon partner with another displaced third sacker, Don Money.  Howell hit .260/.305/.350 in 98 games but was one of the easier outs in a loaded lineup.  Howell was hitless in 14 postseason at bats as the Brew Crew bowed out to the Cardinals in the World Series. 

 

Howell was productive in '83 with a .278/.330/.448 line in 211 plate appearances.  With Molitor injured for most of '84, Howell had a chance to regain his old job back but his performance did little to suggest he was up to the task.  Howell's numbers slipped to .232/.284/.348 and he was rusty with the glove, fielding just .907 at third.  

 

Released by the Brewers after the '84 season, Howell tried to jump start his career with the Giants but was cut in spring training.  He spent the '85 season at the Phillies AAA affiliate before retiring.  Howell hit .261/.321/.389 in 11 seasons with 80 career homers.

Flipside: Wax stain and fuzzy numbers. 
Strangely Howell hit nine triples but had zero steals in 1980.  Usually a player fast enough to leg out that many triples is fast enough to steal a few bases.  Not Howell though, he swiped only nine bags his entire career and must have been hitting a lot of liners to the gaps. 

Oddball: Howell, like many players who played in the 70's and 80's, went through various looks and hair styles.  On his '83 card he had short hair and a trimmed beard.  Below you can him as a young bespectacled Ranger, a bearded Jay, a clean-shaven Brewer, and how he appeared in 2008:

 
History:   Howell's two claims to fame are his time with the new Toronto fanchise and his spot on the pennant winning Brewers.  His 1978 season with the Blue Jays earned him an appearance in the All-Star game where he grounded out against Steve Rogers in his only at bat.
Looking back at his career, Howell didn't really excel in one particular area. His left handed bat and ability to play third made him a commodity and he parlayed that into a decent career.

#190 Cecil Cooper - Milwaukee Brewers

Topps shows Cecil Cooper in a nice following through with his powerful swing on his 11th Topps card.  It looks like the guy on the left in the dugout is wearing an Angels satin jacket so this was probably taken in Anaheim or the Angels spring training home.

Player: Cecil Cooper is best know for his days with the Brewers, specifically the Harvey Wallbanger '82 pennant winning squad.  But Cooper started his career as with the Red Sox.  A sixth round pick in '68, he had some success in the minors and was selected by the Cardinals in 1970 Rule V draft but they returned him to the Red Sox organization the following spring.  (Here's young Coop in a Cardinal uniform).

Later in the '71 season Cooper made his MLB debut as a September call up for Boston.  He played well in his short stint with a .310/.388/.452 line in 49 trips to the plate.  Boston was deep in first basemen and Cooper had trouble cracking the Red Sox roster so another late season call up yielded just 19 plate appearances in '72.  The next year he was recalled in August and played regularly the rest of the way but batted just .238 in with three homers in 30 games.

Cooper got his chance to play and started against right handed pitching the next three years for the Red Sox.  He was not regarded as a good glove man early in his career and split his time equally between DH and first base.  He didn't do anything extraordinary in'74 as he batted .275/.327/.395 in 454 plate appearances.  He was much better in '75 as he increased his slugging to .544 and got on base at a .355 clip.  After four hits in ten at bats in the ALCS he struggled in the Red Sox World Series loss with a 1-19 showing.  Cooper was good but not great in '76 as he hit .282 with 15 HR in '76.

After the '76 season Cooper was dealt to the Brewers in a trade that returned former Red Sox Bernie Carbo and George Scott back to Boston.  Cooper was able to start everyday for the Brewers in '77. with mixed results.  Although he batted .300 he walked only 28 times and struck out 110 times.  He hit 20 homers but drove in only 78 runs as he hit .253 with RISP. 

A broken leg in June of '78 derailed that season but over the next five years (minus the '81 strike year) Cooper could be counted on to bat .300, hit 35 doubles, 25 to 30 HR and drive in over 100.  He was brilliant in 1980 with a .352 average, 122 RBI, and 17 steals.  He posted a career best 6.6 WAR and now regarded as a plus defender won his second Gold Glove.  He struggled in the '82 ALCS with a 3-20 series but did manage a HR and .286 average in the '82 World Series.

Cooper started to decline in '84 as his average slipped to .275, his home run total swooned to 11, and his OPS+ dropped under 100 for the first time as a Brewer.  He bounced back somewhat in '85 with a .293, 16 HR effort, but his best days were behind him.  He played another year and a half but Cooper's gap power and on base ability were greatly diminished.  Cooper was released after the '87 season and he retired

Flipside:  Cooper's grand slam capped off the one-sided affair against the Red Sox.  Already ahead 10-5, Cooper's blast off Tom Burgmeier drove in the last four runs.  Strangely the BoSox used just two pitchers as Mike Torrez started and gave up the first 9 runs with Burgmeier mopping up.

Oddball:  No wonder the Brewers traded for Cooper.  As a Red Sox the young left handed hitter with the sweet stroke hit .364/.397/.576 in 181 plate appearances against Milwaukee. 

History:  Cooper was a feared hitter in the late 70's and early 80's.  He was on two pennant winners but never won a championship.  His final stat line shows a .298 average, 241 HR, 1,125 RBI and a 121 OPS+.  He didn't hit as many HR as some firstbasemen and he walked over 41 times just once in his career.  Still he finished with 32.6 WAR, two Gold Gloves, a pair of Silver Sluggers, five AL All-Star berths, and he finished top-8 in MVP voting every year from '80-'83.

Cooper has coached and managed in his post playing days and was at the helm of the Astros for parts of three seasons from 2007-09.