Milwaukee Brewers: The all-time bracket

The Milwaukee Brewers present a lot of offensive-oriented teams, but only one World Series entrant.

The Milwaukee Brewers are an expansion franchise, having been created as the Seattle Pilots in 1969. The franchise was moved to Milwaukee one year later and shifted from the American to the National League in 1998.

That shift makes Milwaukee unique in one element; its existence has basically been split between both leagues. In fact, by 2028 the Brewers will be able to lay claim to having equal tenure in both leagues.

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The one thing the Brewers have not done a lot of is win. The franchise lays claim to no World Series titles and only one pennant, that coming in 1982.

Milwaukee’s franchise record is about 300 games below .500, a .481 lifetime winning percentage.

The Brewers have produced six post-season teams in their history, four of which are represented in our franchise bracket. The other four slots go to teams that did not qualify for post-season play largely due to more limited opportunities during their eras.

In fact under playoff rules in force since 2012, all four of those non-qualifiers would easily have qualified for post-season during their respective years. All four had better-winning percentages than the Brewer playoff teams that did not make this bracket.

The eight, in order of seeding, are the Brewers teams of 1982, 2011, 1979, 2018, 1978, 1981, 1992 and 1987.

Each matchup in the tournament is decided based on seven criteria. You can think of each as a ‘game,’ the winner of four games advancing. The seven criteria are:

1. Game 1: Regular season winning percentage.
2. Game 2: Post-season winning percentage
3. Game 3: Team OPS+
4. Game 4: Team ERA+
5. Game 5 (if necessary): Team WAR
6. Game 6 (if necessary): Defensive runs saved or, if unavailable, fielding percentage.
7. Game 7 (if necessary): Hall of Famers or likely future Hall of Famers

Milwaukee Brewers: The all-time bracket

No. 1 seed vs. No. 8 seed

The 1982 club, fondly recalled in Milwaukee as ‘Harvey’s Wallbangers,’ won the franchise’s only pennant. Managed by Buck Rodgers and then by Harvey Kuenn, they beat California in five games for the American League pennant and then lost a  seven-game World Series to the St. Louis cardinals.

The club was known for its free and easy, swing for the fences-style. Five Milwaukee Brewers hit 20 or more home runs, led by Gorman Thomas (39), Ben Oglivie (34) and Cecil Cooper (32). They led the American League in team home runs with 216, an extraordinary number for the period,  and also led in RBIs with 843.

Four Brewers drove in more than 100 runs, Cooper leading the way with 121.

Led by a career year from journeyman Pete Vuckovich, the pitching staff was just good enough to hang on. Pitching for his fourth team in an eight-season career, Vuckovich went 18-6 with a 3.34 ERA and won the Cy Young Award.

The 1987 Brewers finished only third in the AL East, but it was a strong third. Milwaukee went 91-71 for Tom Trebelhorn, coming home seven games behind the Detroit Tigers and five behind the Blue Jays.

Robin Young, the team’s star shortstop in 1982, had moved to center field by 1987, but he remained a threat. Yount batted .312 with 21 home runs and 103 RBIs. Rob deer hit 28 homers, although his .238 average shaded the impact of those long balls. Teddy Higuera enjoyed his best season, leading the staff with an 18-10 record and 3.85 ERA.

Game 1: The 1982 Brewers’ .586 regular-season winning percentage trumps the 1987 club’s .562 mark.

Game 2: The 1982 team wins by default since the 1987 team did not play a post-season game.

Game 3: This is Harvey’s Wallbangers’ wheelhouse. The 1982 club fashioned a tea 121 OPS+, easily better than the 1987 club’s 102. The series I snow 3-0 in favor of 1982.

Game 4: Many teams had superior pitching to the 1982 AL champions, and the 1987 Brewers were among them. The 1987 club’s 99 staff ERA+ is no bargain, but it’s better than the 1982 club’s 96 ERA+.

Game 5: The 1982 team’s 47.4 WAR polishes off the 1987 club’s 36.2 WAR.

Result: 1982 in six games

Milwaukee Brewers: The all-time bracket

No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed

The 2018 Milwaukee Brewers won the NL Central in a playoff against the Cubs, then swept a  division series from Colorado before losing the NLCS to Los Angeles in seven games.

Its strength was a powerful and versatile outfield with Ryan  Braun and Christian Yelich in the corners and Lorenzo Cain playing center. Yelich won the MVP on a .326 average, 36 homers and 110 RBIs. Braun contributed 20 homers, and Cain hit .308.

The starting pitching was ordinary but the bullpen, buttressed by Cory Knebel, Jeremy Jeffress, and sensational newcomer Josh Hader, came to the rescue almost daily. As a trio, they saved 43  games,  working 213 innings and striking out 320 opponents.

The 1978 team was the first to surpass .500, going 93-69 and finishing third, 6 and one-half games behind the eventual World Series-winning Yankees.  By 1978, many elements of the eventual 1982 pennant winner were in place, including Yount, Cooper, Thomas, and Paul Molitor Cooper batted .32 and Larry Hisle hit 34 homers while driving in 115 runs.

On the mound, left-hander Mike Caldwell was a 22-game winner, making 34 starts and producing 293 innings. Lary Sorensen went 18-12 in 180 innings of work.

Game 1: With a .589 winning percentage, the 2018 team wins; the 1978 club’s 93-69 record produced a .574 percentage.

Game 2: Another walkover, since the 1978 team did not play a post-season game.

Game 3: Its 116 OPS+ puts the 1978 team on the board. That’s clearly superior to the 2018 Brewers’ 99 OPS+.

Game 4: With a 110  ERA+ spurred by its superb bullpen, the 2018 team seizes a 3-games-to-1 advantage over 1978, whose staff ERA+ was 104.

Game 5: The 1978 club’s 53.3 collective WAR is clearly superior to the 2018 team’s 39.3 WAR.

Game 6: The 2018 team’s .982 fielding percentage tops 1978 by five percentage points.

Result: 2018 in six games

Milwaukee Brewers: The all-time bracket

No. 2 vs. 7 seed

Like other great Milwaukee Brewers teams, the 2011 club seemed to naturally gravitate toward offense. Prince Fielder hit 38 home runs and drove in 120 runs while batting .299. Ryan Braun hit .332 with 33 homers and 111 RBIs.

The Brewers, managed by Ron Roenicke, led the National League in home runs with 185.

The pitching, led by Zack Greinke’s 16-6, 3.83 in 28 starts, was adequate. John Axford delivered 46 saves, fanning 86 batters in 74 innings of work.

The 1992 Brewers went 92-70 but missed out on the AL  playoffs because there as yet was no wild card. They finished second in the AL East four games behind Toronto‘s eventual World Series-winning Blue Jays.

Take nothing away from this team. With Greg Vaughn delivering 23 home runs a Paul Molitor still good for a .32 batting average, Milwaukee’s balanced lineup also featured 36-year-old Robin Yount plus  Pat Listach, Kevin Seitzer, b.j. Surhoff and Dante Bichette.

At 17-11, 3.33 in 34 starts, Jaime Navarro led a capable but starless pitching staff that also included Chris Bosio, Ricky Bones, Cal Eldred, and Bill Wegman. Doug Henry saved 29 games’

Game 1: The 2011 club’s 96-66, .593 percentage gives it a win over 1992, at 92-70, .568.

Game 2: Yet another post-season walk-over, this time for the 2011 team.

Game 3: the 2011 club’s 102 OPS+ is narrowly superior to the 1992 club’s average 1000 OPS+.

Game 4: The 1992 club begins its comeback based on pitching. Ts 113 ERA+ keeps it alive against 2011’s 109 staff ERA+.

Game 5: In team WAR, 1992 also has an edge with 48.1. The best 2011 can muster is 39.8.

Game 6: The 1992 team’s .986 fielding average is four percentage points superior to the 2011 team’s 1982. This series, which seemed over three games ago, is going to a seventh game.

Game 7: The 1992 club produced two established Hall of Famers in Molitor and Yount. The 2011 team hasn’t produced any …yet.  There’s still time, of course. Braun particularly has a chance. But a PED suspension plus declining production the past few seasons hurts his case. Greinke, too, might make it.

Neither, however, is close to a sure thing, handing this decision to the 1992 club, and completing the comeback of the tournament to this point.

Winner: 1992 in seven games

Milwaukee Brewers: The all-time bracket

No. 3 vs.  6 seed

These teams are separated by just two seasons, and as a result, are similarly structured.

The 1981 Milwaukee Brewers produced an overall 62-47 record during the strike-divided season, finishing first at 31-22 in the second half but losing the division series to first-half champion New York in five games.

Cooper hit .320, while Yount, Molitor, Thomas, and Oglivie all had nice seasons.

On the mound, Vuckovich went 14-4 and Rollie  Fingers produced a 6-3 record with 28 saves and a 1.04 ERA  in 47 appearances covering 78 innings.

At 95-66,  George Bamberger’s 1979 club finished eight games behind Baltimore’s divisional champions.

Again, the Brewers sent out a strong and balanced lineup. Four regulars finished above .300, Thomas hit 45 home runs and drove in 123.

The mound staff was again unremarkable, Caldwell leading it with a 16-6 record and 3.29 ERA in 30 starts.

Game 1: The 1979  team’s .590 winning percentage edges out the 1981 team’s .569.

Game 2: A fourth game 2 walkover,   this one favoring 1981. The series is even at a game each.

Game 3: The 1979 team produced a 113 OPS+, six-point better than the 1981 team’s 107.

Game 4: Another victory for 1979, this time thanks to its 104 staff ERA+. That’s 15 points better than the 1981 club’s sub-par 89 ERA+.

Game 5: Perhaps handicapped by the cancellation of one-third of the season, the 1981 team only manages a pedestrian 22 team WAR. The 1979 team’s 48.2 WAR is easily good enough to end the series.

Result: 1979 in five games.

Milwaukee Brewers: The all-time bracket

Semi-finals

1982 vs. 2018: This is probably the matchup Milwaukee Brewers fans have been waiting for, pitting the franchise’s only World Series entrant against a recent team that came within one loss of reaching the World  Series.

Game 1: This is a victory for the 2018 club, and it comes by the narrow margin of the one playoff win. The 2018 team’s record was 96-67, .589. Playing one game less, the 1982 team posted a 95-67 record for a .586  percentage.

Game 2: The 1982 team went 6-6 during its post-season, a .500 record. The 2018 club went 6-4, earning a victory and grabbing a 2-0 series advantage.

Game 3: The edge in OPS+ goes to 1982 by a margin of 121-102.

Game 4: The 2018 Brewers had the better pitching staff. The 110 staff ERA+ is clearly superior to the 1982 team’s 96 ERA+.

Game 5: The 1982 team produced a 47.4 WAR. The 2018 team managed only a 39.3 WAR.

Game 6: The 2018 team’s .982 fielding percentage hands it a victory over 1982’s .980 percentage, and ends the series.

Result: 2018 in six games.

1992 vs. 1981 Brewers

Game 1: The 1981 team gets a jump on the series by the narrowest of margins. Its 62-47 record works out to a .569 percentage, one point better than the 1992 team’s 92-70 .568.

Game 2: One more walkover, this one working against the 1992 team, which did not play a post-season game.

Game 3: 1981 takes it to the verge of a sweep, winning the OPS+ battle by a margin of 107-100.

Game 4: This series is not a sweep. The 1992 team’s 113 ERA+ is superior to the 1981 team’s very ordinary 89 ERA+.

Game 5: Again, 1981’s weak 22 strike-shortened WAR hurts it. The 1992 team’s WAR was 48.1.

Game 6: The 1992 club produced a .986 fielding average. The 1981 team’s .982 average isn’t good enough to prevent 1992 from taking this series to a seventh game.

Game 7: The 1992 team featured two Hall of Famers, Yount, and Molitor. Both also played for the 1981 club, as did Ted Simmons and Rollie Fingers.

Result: 1981 in seven games