For the first time in 44 years, the Milwaukee Brewers have returned to the World Series. The club’s last appearance came in 1982, when Milwaukee won the American League pennant but fell in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals; the team later moved to the National League in 1998.
Milwaukee has been one of Major League Baseball’s most consistent organizations in recent seasons, winning five of the last six National League Central titles and failing to drop below 85 wins in a full season since 2016. In the most recent postseason the Brewers beat the San Diego Padres three games to one and swept the Los Angeles Dodgers after finishing with the best regular-season record in the majors.
The 1982 Brewers earned the nickname “Harvey’s Wallbangers,” a reference to manager Harvey Kuenn, who took over on an interim basis after Buck Rodgers was dismissed with the team at .500 two months into the season. Kuenn guided Milwaukee to an AL East title on the season’s final day, powered by an offense that clubbed 216 home runs — 30 more than the next closest team.
Gorman Thomas led the club with 39 homers in 1982, followed by Ben Oglivie (34), Cecil Cooper (32), Robin Yount (29), Ted Simmons (23) and Paul Molitor (19). Robin Yount won the American League Most Valuable Player award and led the league in hits and slugging percentage.
Other major awards that season included Dale Murphy of the Atlanta Braves taking the National League MVP after hitting 36 home runs and leading the NL in runs batted in while earning a Gold Glove. On the mound, Steve Carlton captured the National League Cy Young — the fourth of his career — with a major-league-best 23 wins, 286 strikeouts and 295 2/3 innings pitched. In the American League, Brewers pitcher Pete Vuckovich won the Cy Young with an 18-6 record.
Major League Baseball’s structure also looked different in 1982. The American League was composed of two divisions of seven teams and the National League of two divisions of six. Alignment quirks included the Detroit Tigers sharing the AL East with the Brewers, the Atlanta Braves winning the 1982 National League West, and the California Angels taking the AL West.
