I Love the 80s - 1982 Milwaukee Brewers

    This is a series of posts on a 1980's Frankenset. Each page features a different team, with 9 of my personal favorite cards from that year's team. You might find players repeated, you'll definitely see brands repeated, but hopefully you'll agree that there are some interesting selections from the 1980s!

In 1981, The Brewers were 2nd half champs in the AL East, which bought them a ticket to the ALDS against the New York Yankees. It was a close and tightly contested series, but the Yankees prevailed in 5 games. It was a great season for the Brewers all the same, as they reached the post season for the first time in their franchise history. Rollie Fingers was the AL Cy Young Winner, and the league MVP, the first American League Relief pitcher to win MVP honors.

The Brewers had quite the encore planned for 1982. A Brewer would win MVP again, this time it was Robin Yount, and the team would once again win the AL East. It was a close pennant race all season, and it would come down to one game against the rival Baltimore Orioles. After beating Baltimore and taking all 5 games to outlast the formidable California Angels, the Brewers took the St. Louis Cardinals to the limit as well. Game 7 would ultimately tip in the Cardinals' favor, but the Brewers proved to be a tough test and a worthy opponent.

The Cards:

Fleer # 146 Paul Molitor - The knock on Molitor early in his Hall of Fame career was his inability to stay on the field. Injuries limited him to just 64 games in an already strike shortened 1981 season, but he proved his durability in the Brewers' pennant winning 1982 campaign. Piling up base hits at the top of the Brewers' lineup, Molitor had the most plate appearances and most at bats in the league. More importantly, he led the AL in runs scored with 136, which was the highest run total in the American League since 1949! Molitor also hit .355 in the 1982 World Series in a losing effort. He would go on to win the WS MVP in 1993 as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. Molitor was a 7 time All-Star and finished his career with 3,319 hits which ranks #10 All-Time.

Fleer # 141 Rollie Fingers - Acquiring Fingers before the start of the 1981 season (along with fellow HOFer Ted Simmons), turned the Brewers into a contender nearly overnight. He demonstrated exactly what they were trading for when he posted an absurd 333 ERA+ (100 is league average), tallying 28 saves in 47 appearances. He allowed just 9 runs all season, for a 1.04 ERA and cruised to a Cy Young and a league MVP award. His final save of the regular season came in the team's final game, when he struck out Lou Whitaker to pinch the Brewers post season ticket. The 7 time All-Star won 3 World Series with the Oakland A's in the mid 70s, and helped the Brewers get very very close to two more. After his playing days, he allowed his name to be attached to arguably the worst sports card repack product ever assembled. But what a moustache!

Donruss # 510 Robin Yount - Had to get a card of Yount on this page, This one was my favorite of the options available. Yount of course was the 1982 AL MVP, leading the league in hits, doubles, slugging pct, OPS+ and total bases. He was the first SS to lead the AL in slugging, and along with Cal Ripken helped re-define the position from the offensive side of the plate. Yount's offensive outburst continued in the post season, hitting over .400 in the World Series, but it wouldn't be enough to beat the Cardinals in the end. Yount would win another MVP in 1989, and finished his career with over 3,100 hits. In some ways he was an underappreciated superstar, making just 3 All-Star teams in his 20 year career. He excelled both at SS and in CF, playing roughly half of his career at either position. 

Topps # 542 Ned Yost - Better known in recent years for his time as a manager, Yost was a 3rd string catcher for the Brewers behind Simmons and Charlie Moore. He would have his most productive season with Texas in 1984, playing in 80 games. He would hit just .182/.201/.273 that season in 242 plate appearances, which resulted in the the Rangers granting him his release in advance of the 1985 season. Yost moved into the coaching ranks as a bullpen coach in Atlanta during their 1990s dynasty and worked his way up to becoming the Milwaukee Brewers manager in the early to mid 2000s. He would move to Kansas City where he presided over the team's resurgence as an AL Central power and led the team to back-to-back World Series appearances and a Championship in 2015. Yost retired following the 2019 season. 

Fleer # 150 Charlie Moore - Moore brought creativity and flair to Male Pattern Baldness as the everyday Catcher for the Brewers for a several years, and in 1981 as the primary backup catcher to Hall of Famer Ted Simmons. Moore had several seasons with above average offensive production while providing some excitement behind the plate - leading the league in passed balls in 1977. To make room for Simmons, Moore moved from behind the plate to Right Field for 1982 and 1983. Moore also had sneaky speed for a catcher; he had double digit steal totals twice, and for his career hit more Triples than Home runs.

Topps # 93 Larry Hisle - Larry seems to be saying, "Get your own helmet, this ones mine!" Hisle was a two sport star in high school, and opted for baseball despite a scholarship offer from The Ohio State University. He still attended the school in the off-season, while climbing through the minor league systems of several teams. Injuries would ultimately de-rail a promising career, highlighted by a 1977 campaign that saw Hisle lead the AL in runs batted in. He'd follow that up in 1978 with a 30+ homer and 100+ RBI season with his first season in Milwaukee. Hisle would tear his rotator cuff in 1979, which severely limited his productivity in the field and at the plate. Hisle would go on to serve as the Blue Jays hitting coach in 1992 and 1993 for a pair of World Series rings. Blue Jays batters finished 1-2-3 in the AL batting race in 1993.

Fleer # 146 Rickey Keeton - Keeton appeared in 22 big league games in 1980 and 81 for the Brewers, winning 3 games and losing 2. In College, he pitched in the College World Series and earned a win in his first start. He moved quickly through the minors as a 3rd round pick in 1978 by the Brewers, winning 29 games in two full seasons. After being traded by the Brewers, he pitched for several more seasons in the high minors for the Astros and Royals. Following his playing career, he became a coach and was the pitching coach for several minor league teams in the 1990s. He returned home to Cincinnati and serves as a youth pitching instructor for a baseball academy. 

Fleer # 145 Roy Howell - A first round pick by the Rangers, Howell became an All-Star as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1978. He almost didn't make it to the big leagues, being shot(!) twice (!!) in two weeks (!!!) by strangers in two different off-season hunting accidents (no, really, read his SABR bio). A starter in Toronto, Howell was a Free Agent following the 1980 season, and opted for a reserve role with an up and coming Milwaukee team. Howell filled in at both corner infield positions, RF, and DH as needed for the Brewers, and turned up in the 1981 ALDS against the Yankees with a pair of singles and a pair of walks in 7 plate appearances. He'd go hitless in the 1982 World Series but did score a run, the first run of Game 2, which the Brewers ultimately lost. After his playing days, Howell spent time working in the insurance industry before returning to baseball as a coach in the Padres system. He was a hitting coach as recently as 2020 with the Tacoma Rainiers.

Topps # 280 Ben Oglivie - Oglivie was already a long time MLB veteran when he came to the Brewers in 1978, and had his best seasons in Milwaukee. The 3 time All-Star led the AL in homers with 41 in 1980, while hitting .304/.362/.563 as the Brew-Crew's middle of the order thunder. Born in Panama, he was the first foreign-born MLB HR king. For his career he posted a 118 OPS+, well above league average at the plate, even though his last few seasons were marred by nagging injuries and limited production. After his final MLB season, Oglivie spent two years in Japan with the Osaka Kinetsu Buffaloes, joining forces with his former Brewers teammate Dick Davis. He slashed .306/.375/.539 in Japan and hit 46 homers over the two seasons.