Milwaukee Brewers
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Note: This page is for the major league team from 1970 to the present. For any of the various minor league teams from the 1800s to the 1950s click here
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Franchise |
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Originally known as the Seattle Pilots. Franchise Record: 2761-3100 World Series Titles: 0 National League Pennants: 0 American League Pennants: 1 (1982) Franchise Players: Paul Molitor, Robin Yount |  Milwaukee Brewers Logo |
The Milwaukee Brewers are a team that formed in the expansion of 1969 as the Seattle Pilots. The Pilots went bankrupt and were purchased in a bankruptcy court by Bud Selig and moved to Milwaukee in 1970.
Because the move was made just as spring training ended in 1970, the Brewers did not have a full house at County Stadium for the home opener on April 7. The Brewers were whitewashed 12-0 by the California Angels and Andy Messersmith. Four days later, John O'Donoghue defeated the White Sox at Comiskey Park, 8-4, for the franchise's first win.
The Brewers had few heroes during the first two seasons in Milwaukee, with such players as Tommy Harper, Lew Krausse Jr., Bill Parsons and the flame-throwing Ken Sanders leading the team to a tie for fourth in the American League Western Division and a last place finish in 1971.
In 1972, the team switched to the Eastern Division, due to the Washington Senators moving to Arlington, Texas. The team suffered through six straight seasons of finishing no higher than fifth in the very tough AL East, though their 76-86 record in 1974 turned heads. The Brewers drew over a million fans for the first time that season, which saw the debut of the franchise's greatest player, Robin Yount. Jim Colborn became the first of only three Brewers pitchers to win 20 games in a season.
In 1975, Hall of Famer Hank Aaron returned to finish his baseball career with the Brewers. He hit his 755th and last career home run at County Stadium in 1976 off of California's Dick Drago on July 20th in a 6-2 Brewers win.
In 1978, new manager George Bamberger led the team to its first-ever winning record, going 93-69 and finishing third behind the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the East. Pitcher Mike Caldwell set the team record for wins with 22. The Brewers finished second to the Baltimore Orioles in 1979, posting a franchise-best 95-66 record. "Bambi's Bombers" featured fan favorite Gorman Thomas, who hit 45 home runs to lead the AL, and Ben Oglivie, who hit 41 home runs the following season to tie Reggie Jackson for the league lead.
Just as the Brewers started Spring Training in Arizona in 1980, Bamberger suffered a mild heart attack, requiring bypass surgery. Bob "Buck" Rodgers was named acting Manager until mid-season. Though the Brewers started off the season with a bang, as Sixto Lezcano hit his second career opening day grand slam home run off of Dick Drago on April 10, the Brewers dropped to third with an 86-76 record. Bamberger retired as manager after the season, and Rodgers was named manager.
During the off-season, general manager Harry Dalton made the most important trade in franchise history, getting All-Star catcher Ted Simmons, pitcher Pete Vuckovich and Hall of Fame reliever Rollie Fingers from the Cardinals. The move instantly made the Brewers contenders, and the team made its first post-season appearance in 1981. Rollie Fingers won the AL Cy Young Award and pitched the closing inning of the post-season clincher over Detroit on October 3.
The Brewers took the New York Yankees to a full five games before losing to the Bronx Bombers in the Divisional Playoff Series. The Brewers won games three and four at Yankee Stadium but couldn't seal the deal in game five as the Yankees won, 7-3.
The Brewers went into the 1982 season with high expectations after their success the previous year, but the club got off to a slow start, going 23-24 with Rodgers at the helm. Dalton fired Rodgers and elevated Harvey Kuenn to the position of manager. "Harvey's Wallbangers" went on a tear, going 72-43 under Kuenn and winning 20 of 27 games in June. Robin Yount had his best year, winning the AL MVP with 210 hits, a .578 slugging percentage, and 46 doubles. Pete Vuckovich was named AL Cy Young Award winner after going 18-6 on the season.
The team clinched the division title on the final game of the season at Baltimore, where Oglivie made a diving catch in the left-field corner to save the game for the Brew Crew. The team lost the first two games of the AL Championship Series over the Angels, but they rallied to become the first team to win the League Championship Series after being down 0-2. The 3-2 win in game five gave the Brewers their first and only AL pennant.
The Brewers put on an offensive show in game one against St. Louis, scoring 10 runs on 17 hits - with Robin Yount and Paul Molitor combining for nine of those hits and 2 of those runs. The Brewers managed to take a three-two series lead in the last World Series game ever played at County Stadium, beating the Cardinals 6-4 on two-out singles by Charlie Moore and Jim Gantner off of Bruce Sutter. However, the Brewers offense went dormant when they returned to St. Louis, and the Cardinals came back to win the Series in seven. The Brewers have not been back to the post-season since 1982.
After dropping to fifth in 1983, Kuenn resigned as manager and was replaced by Rene Lachemann. The team finished dead last in 1984, marking the first of three straight losing seasons. The tide couldn't be stemmed by a return of Bamberger to the helm in 1985, and he retired for the second time in late 1986 to be replaced by Tom Trebelhorn. Mexican lefty Teddy Higuera recorded the last 20-win season for a Brewers pitcher that year, despite the team's 77-84 record.
The 1987 Brewers were known as "Team Streak" after their record-tying 13-0 start. Juan Nieves pitched the only no-hitter by a Brewer in team history on April 15 in Baltimore, and Paul Molitor sets the club record with a 39-game hitting streak, the best AL mark since Joe DiMaggio's 56 straight in 1941. The Brewers, however, finish third behind the Tigers and Blue Jays.
Trebelhorn led the club to four winning seasons during his tenure as manager, the only skipper of the Brewers to hold that distinction. In 1989, Yount won his second MVP award, now as the Brewers' starting center fielder.
The last winning season in 1992 saw promise as new manager Phil Garner had the team in the race for the AL East title until the next-to-last day of the season. That year saw Yount get his 3,000th career hit on September 9 against the Cleveland Indians at County Stadium.
The Brewers failed to find much success in the rest of their tenure in the American League, finishing no higher than third in the new AL Central in 1996 and 1997. Despite offensive production from Greg Vaughn, John Jaha, and newcomer Jeromy Burnitz, the Brewers fail to post a winning record in each of their last five seasons in the AL.
In 1998 the Brewers were shifted from the American League to the National League when the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays joined the National and American Leagues, respectively. The Brewers' transfer was the first of its kind.
The Brewers posted back-to-back 74-win seasons in their NL debut, which led to the firing of Phil Garner, who was replaced by hitting coach Jim Lefebvre in August of 1999. A sudden mid-season slump that year, precipitated by the crane accident at Miller Park and the injury to Jeromy Burnitz after the All-Star break, led to Garner's dismissal. Former Dodger second baseman Davey Lopes took over for Lefebvre in 2000, which was the swan song for venerable County Stadium.
Hopes were high for the Brewers as they moved into their beautiful new ballpark in 2001, but despite a hot start and a record number of fans coming through the turnstiles, the team posted its worst record in 17 years with only 68 wins. First Baseman Richie Sexson tied Gorman Thomas' franchise record with 45 home runs on October 7th against Arizona. Mostly due to the new park, the team sets its all-time attendance record with 2,811,041 fans coming through the turnstiles.
Davey Lopes was fired early in the 2002 season after a horrendous start, and his replacement, Jerry Royster, fared no better. Though Sexson and shortstop Jose Hernandez represented the Brewers at the All-Star Game in Milwaukee, they couldn't keep the Brewers from losing a franchise-record 106 games.
During the off-season, former Brewers reserve catcher Ned Yost was named manager of the team. Though the team once again fails to post a winning record, the team does post a 10-game winning streak in late August of 2003. Rookie outfielder Scott Podsednik makes a mark on the NL, hitting .314, stealing 43 bases and scoring 100 runs. The last run comes in dramatic fashion as he hits a home run in his final AB of the year.
The Brewers made news in 2004 in a blockbuster deal that sent Brewers first baseman Richie Sexson and backup Shane Nance to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Junior Spivey, Lyle Overbay, Chad Moeller, Chris Capuano and Jorge de la Rosa. Moeller makes a mark in Brewers history on April 27, becoming the first Brewer to hit for the cycle at home, doing so against Cincinnati. Ben Sheets sets a club record by striking out 18 batters against the Atlanta Braves on May 16th.
After the season ended, Los Angeles financier Mark Attanasio purchased the Brewers from the Selig family. The sale was approved in mid-January of 2005. Since his purchase of the team, the Brewers have enjoyed a slight resurgence.
In 2005, the team finished with a 81-81 record. It was their first non-losing season since going 92-70 in 1992.
2006 marked a slight setback for the Brewers, as they slipped back to a losing record at 75-87.
In 2007, however, the Brewers finally had their first winning season in 15 with an 83-79 record. They narrowly missed the playoffs by finishing just 2 games behind the NL Central champion Cubs. The Brewers led the division by as many as 8 1/2 games on June 23, but their second-half slide sealed the Cubs' division win. The Brewers' collapse was overshadowed only by the Mets' failure to make the playoffs despite leading the NL East by 7 games with 17 to go. In 2007, Prince Fielder became the first Brewer to be voted to start an All-Star Game since Molitor in 1988, and 3B Ryan Braun became the first Brewers Rookie of the Year selected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America since Pat Listach in 1992. Braun defeated Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki by just 2 votes.
In 2008, the Brewers were one of the better teams in the National League for much of the season. Ace Ben Sheets was chosen to start the All-Star Game by NL manager Clint Hurdle of Colorado, and second-year player Ryan Braun -- since moved to the outfield after committing 26 errors in his rookie season -- was voted by the fans to be a starting outfielder for the National League, edging out Ken Griffey, Jr. late in the voting. The Brewers also made a significant trade on July 7, trading prospect Matt LaPorta and others to the Cleveland Indians for starter C.C. Sabathia. In his first nine starts for the Brewers, Sabathia went 8-0 with a 1.60 ERA and five complete games.
[edit] Team Executives
| Brewers General Managers | |
|---|---|
| Team | Years |
| Marvin Milkes | 1969 (Seattle Pilots) to December 17, 1970 |
| Frank Lane | January 23, 1971 to 1972 |
| Jim Wilson | 1972 to 1974 |
| Jim Baumer | 1974 to 1977 |
| Harry Dalton | 1977 to 1991 |
| Sal Bando | October 8, 1991 to August 12, 1999 |
| Dean Taylor | September 21, 1999 to 2002 |
| Doug Melvin | September 25, 2002 to present |
