Milwaukee Brewers History

Milwaukee Brewers Baseball History

Milwaukee Brewers, professional baseball team and one of five teams in the Central Division of the National League (NL). Formerly the Seattle Pilots, the club plays home games at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and wears uniforms of white, blue, and gold. The team takes its name from the city’s beer-making industry. Until 1998, Milwaukee was a member of the American League (AL). The team’s switch to the NL made the Brewers the first club to switch from one major league to the other since the AL was established in 1901.

In 1982 the powerful hitting of Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Cecil Cooper led the Brewers to their first pennant and only World Series appearance. Yount won two AL most valuable player (MVP) awards, batted over .300 six times, and collected 3142 hits during his 20-year career as a shortstop and center fielder.

The club that became the Brewers originated as the Seattle Pilots, a team that joined the AL in 1969. The Pilots had poor fan support, however, and the financially strapped franchise was sold before the beginning of the 1970 season to a Milwaukee group that outbid investors in Seattle and Dallas. The club, renamed the Brewers, did not fare much better in its new home, losing more than 90 games in six of its first eight seasons. Starring on Milwaukee’s early teams were second baseman Pedro Garcia and outfielder Dave May.

During the mid-1970s Milwaukee put together a lineup that featured young talent as well as veteran know-how: Robin Yount became the Brewers’ starting shortstop at age 18, and right fielder Hank Aaron closed out his career in Milwaukee. Aaron retired from the Brewers in 1976 with 755 home runs—41 more than Babe Ruth.

Milwaukee improved its record under manager George Bamberger, who took over in 1978. Powering the offense were new arrivals first baseman Cecil Cooper, infielder Paul Molitor, and outfielder Ben Oglivie. In 1979 outfielder Gorman Thomas led the AL with 45 home runs and Cooper posted his second of seven seasons with a .300-plus batting average playing for the Brewers. A year later Oglivie topped the AL with 41 home runs.

In 1981 Rollie Fingers led the league with 28 saves and compiled a 1.04 earned run average (ERA), becoming the first relief pitcher in major league history to win both the Cy Young Award and MVP award in the same year. A player strike interrupted play for several weeks in the middle of the summer, and the season was split into two halves. Milwaukee won the division during the second half of the season and played the New York Yankees in a division playoff, but lost.

Milwaukee made its first trip to the World Series in 1982, but lost to the St. Louis Cardinals. That year Yount led the AL in hits and doubles to win the first of his two AL MVP awards, and veteran pitcher Don Sutton joined the team to strengthen the Brewers’ pitching staff. Yount, Cooper, and Molitor became the first teammates to rank first, second, and third in hits since Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford, and Bobby Veach of the 1915 Detroit Tigers.

Yount won a second MVP award in 1989, and Molitor continued to be a league-leading hitter, but the Brewers finished no better than third in their division from 1983 through 1991. The team placed second in 1992 as shortstop Pat Listach hit .290 and scored 93 runs to win the AL rookie of the year award, and Yount joined the 3000-hit club late in the season. But the Brewers continued to struggle in the mid-1990s.

Before the start of the 1998 season, the Brewers switched from the Central Division of the AL to the Central Division of the NL. The unprecedented switch was made to accommodate the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, a new expansion franchise in the AL East Division. As part of the realignment, the Detroit Tigers (which had been members of the AL’s East Division) replaced Milwaukee in the AL Central.
CHAMPIONSHIPS

Won the AL Pennant in 1982
TOP MANAGER
Buck Rodgers and Harvey Kuenn managed the Brewers to their only playoff appearances. Phil Garner managed the team from 1992-1999 and finished with a 563-617 record.

MVPS
Rollie Fingers (1981), Robin Yount (1982, 1989)

CY YOUNG
Rollie Fingers (1981), Pete Vuckovich (1982)

ROOKIE OF YEAR
Pat Listach (1992)

RETIRED NUMBERS
4 - Paul Molitor (3B-DH)
19 - Robin Young (SS-OF)
34 - Rollie Fingers (P)
44 - Hank Aaron (OF)