Milwaukee Brewers: The all-time bracket
Championship match
The 2018 Brewers sprinted down the stretch, winning 10 of their final 11 games including a playoff victory over the Chicago Cubs to steal away with the division title.
They followed that up by eliminating the Colorado Rockies in a three-game division series before losing to the Dodgers in a heartbreaking seven game NLCS.
The 1981 team survived that anomalous split season before being eliminated by the Yankees in the opening round of post-season play,
Game 1: the 2018 Brewers played 163 games, winning 96 of them for a .589 percentage. The 1981 team completed a 109-game schedule, winning 62. That works out to a .569 percentage.
Game 2: It’s another victory for 2018, whose .600 post-season record included that sweep of the Rockies before losing the NLCS to Los Angeles in seven games. The 1981 Brewers were taken out by New York in a five-game division series.
Game 3: The 2018 Brewers only reached 99 on the OPS+ scale. The 1981 Brewers had all that power that within a season would become known as Harvey’s Wallbangers. Harvey (Kuenn) wasn’t on the scene yet, but the power was…and the brewers touched 107 in OPS+.
Game 4: The 2018 Brewers had the superior pitching, as reflected in a 110 ERA+. The 1981 Brewers only pitched to an 89 ERA+.
Game 5: The 2018 Brewers compiled a 39.3WAR. hampered by their shorter schedule – WAR is a counting stat – the 1981 team only got to 21.3 WAR.
Result: 2018 in five games