History of professional baseball in Milwaukee
1978–1983: The Glory Years of Bambi's Bombers and Harvey's Wallbangers
### 1978–1983: The Glory Years of Bambi's Bombers and Harvey's Wallbangers

Following the 1977 season, the Brewers made two big hires that turned the previously underachieving Brewers into perennial contenders. [Harry Dalton](/wiki/Harry_Dalton "Harry Dalton") was hired as the club's general manager and he, in turn, hired Baltimore Orioles pitching coach [George Bamberger](/wiki/George_Bamberger "George Bamberger") as the Brewers' third manager in their brief history. Bamberger immediately turned the [Brewers](/wiki/1978_Milwaukee_Brewers_season "1978 Milwaukee Brewers season") into pennant contenders in [1978](/wiki/1978_Major_League_Baseball_season "1978 Major League Baseball season"). The team won 93 games, an astonishing 26 game improvement from the previous season. The Brewers finished in third place in the AL East, 6\.5 games behind the first place [New York Yankees](/wiki/1978_New_York_Yankees_season "1978 New York Yankees season"). Dalton built a winning club with a combination of home\-grown players like [Robin Yount](/wiki/Robin_Yount "Robin Yount"), [Paul Molitor](/wiki/Paul_Molitor "Paul Molitor"), and [Gorman Thomas](/wiki/Gorman_Thomas "Gorman Thomas"), as well as getting players that were cast\-offs from other teams that became major contributors like [Cecil Cooper](/wiki/Cecil_Cooper "Cecil Cooper"), [Ben Oglivie](/wiki/Ben_Oglivie "Ben Oglivie"), and [Mike Caldwell](/wiki/Mike_Caldwell_%28baseball%29 "Mike Caldwell (baseball)").

The [next season](/wiki/1979_Major_League_Baseball_season "1979 Major League Baseball season"), [Milwaukee](/wiki/1979_Milwaukee_Brewers_season "1979 Milwaukee Brewers season") won 95 games and finished second in the East behind the [Baltimore Orioles](/wiki/1979_Baltimore_Orioles_season "1979 Baltimore Orioles season") on the strength of their home run power, led by Oglivie (who led the league in homers in 1980 along with [Reggie Jackson](/wiki/Reggie_Jackson "Reggie Jackson")), Cooper, and Thomas (who hit a then club\-record 45 home runs in 1979, since surpassed by [Prince Fielder](/wiki/Prince_Fielder "Prince Fielder")'s 50 homers in 2007\). Because of the team's slugging ability and the nickname of their manager Bamberger, the Brewers were nicknamed "Bambi's Bombers".

As [1980](/wiki/1980_Major_League_Baseball_season "1980 Major League Baseball season") began, the [Brewers](/wiki/1980_Milwaukee_Brewers_season "1980 Milwaukee Brewers season") and their fans were optimistic about becoming pennant winners, but the team scuffled during the season, partially due to Bamberger suffering a heart attack and having to be replaced by [Buck Rodgers](/wiki/Buck_Rodgers "Buck Rodgers"). The Brewers fell back to third place in 1980, largely due to the lack of an effective bullpen. Determined to get a proven relief pitcher, general manager Dalton made a huge offseason trade with the [St. Louis Cardinals](/wiki/St._Louis_Cardinals "St. Louis Cardinals"), sending outfielder [Sixto Lezcano](/wiki/Sixto_Lezcano "Sixto Lezcano") and three minor league pitchers to the Cardinals in exchange for [Rollie Fingers](/wiki/Rollie_Fingers "Rollie Fingers"), [Pete Vuckovich](/wiki/Pete_Vuckovich "Pete Vuckovich"), and [Ted Simmons](/wiki/Ted_Simmons "Ted Simmons"), all of whom became key parts of the Brewers future success.

The [Brewers](/wiki/1981_Milwaukee_Brewers_season "1981 Milwaukee Brewers season") won the second half of the 1981 season (divided because of a [players' strike](/wiki/1981_Major_League_Baseball_strike "1981 Major League Baseball strike")) and played the [Yankees](/wiki/1981_New_York_Yankees_season "1981 New York Yankees season") in a [playoff mini\-series](/wiki/1981_American_League_Division_Series "1981 American League Division Series") they ultimately lost. It was the first playoff appearance for the franchise. Rollie Fingers had one of the greatest seasons for a relief pitcher that season, saving 28 games in the shortened season and sporting an astonishing 1\.04 ERA, earning him both the MVP and Cy Young Awards in the American League.

In [1982](/wiki/1982_Major_League_Baseball_season "1982 Major League Baseball season"), the [Brewers](/wiki/1982_Milwaukee_Brewers_season "1982 Milwaukee Brewers season") were considered heavy favorites to win the AL East, but by June, the team had fallen to 23–24 and signs had shown that the players were having problems playing under manager Buck Rodgers. Taking a gamble, the Brewers fired Rodgers and replaced him with hitting coach [Harvey Kuenn](/wiki/Harvey_Kuenn "Harvey Kuenn"). The team immediately excelled under Kuenn's low\-key managerial style and gained a new nickname as Harvey's Wallbangers, a play on the drink [Harvey Wallbanger](/wiki/Harvey_Wallbanger_%28cocktail%29 "Harvey Wallbanger (cocktail)") and the team's manager's name. The Brewers went 72–43 under Kuenn for the rest of the season and went wild offensively, clubbing a then club\-record 216 home runs during the season. The Brewers alone had three players finish in the top five in the league in home runs with Gorman Thomas, who led the league with 39, Ben Oglivie, who hit 34, and Cecil Cooper, who hit 32\. Late in the season, to try to ensure the Brewers' pennant chase, the team made one last trade on August 30 for [Don Sutton](/wiki/Don_Sutton "Don Sutton"). That trade would become even more important on the final game of the regular season between the Brewers and the [Baltimore Orioles](/wiki/1982_Baltimore_Orioles_season "1982 Baltimore Orioles season"), with both teams tied for first place in the AL East. Don Sutton started against [Jim Palmer](/wiki/Jim_Palmer "Jim Palmer") and the Brewers won 10–2, thanks to Robin Yount hitting two clutch home runs, clinching the AL East Division. The Brewers finished the season 95–67, the best record in baseball that year.

The Brewers faced the [California Angels](/wiki/1982_California_Angels_season "1982 California Angels season") in the [1982 American League Championship Series](/wiki/1982_American_League_Championship_Series "1982 American League Championship Series") and lost the first two games in California, but then rallied to win the next two games back in Milwaukee, setting up the pivotal Game 5, with the winner being the American League Champions. Down 3–2 in the 7th, Cecil Cooper hit a clutch 2\-run single to put the Brewers on top and proved to be a game winner. The Brewers became the first team to win the American League Championship Series when down two games to none.

The Brewers then played the [St. Louis Cardinals](/wiki/1982_St._Louis_Cardinals_season "1982 St. Louis Cardinals season") in the [World Series](/wiki/1982_World_Series "1982 World Series"), which was seen as a match\-up of contrasting playing styles, as the Cardinals' offensive style was speed and defense, whereas the Brewers' offense was power hitting. Affectionately called "The Sud\-Way series, [wordplay](/wiki/Wordplay "Wordplay") for [subway series](/wiki/Subway_series "Subway series") and parodying the two cities as homes of major breweries ([Miller Brewing Company](/wiki/Miller_Brewing_Company "Miller Brewing Company") in Milwaukee and [Anheuser\-Busch](/wiki/Anheuser-Busch "Anheuser-Busch") in St. Louis) the Brew Crew won Game One 10–0, thanks to [Paul Molitor](/wiki/Paul_Molitor "Paul Molitor")'s World Series record 5 hits and a complete game shutout by Mike Caldwell. The Cardinals won the next two games and seemed to have Game 4 in complete control until the Brewers rallied for six runs in the 7th to win the game 7–5\. The Brewers then won Game Five 6–4, giving them a 3–2 series lead, but the Cardinals trounced Don Sutton winning Game 6 13–1, and rallied for three runs late in Game 7 to win the Series, 4 games to 3\. Many point to the lack of a bullpen for their downfall, as the Brewers had the lead in five of the seven games. Ace closer [Rollie Fingers](/wiki/Rollie_Fingers "Rollie Fingers") missed the playoffs due to a torn muscle in his throwing arm that not only kept him out for the entire playoffs but also would have him miss the entire 1983 season.

The Brewers had many individual accomplishments during their two playoff years, as both in 1981 and 1982, Brewer players won both the AL MVP and Cy Young Awards, with Rollie Fingers winning both awards in 1981, and Robin Yount winning the MVP and Pete Vuckovich winning the Cy Young in 1982\.

The Brewers were in contention to repeat in 1983, but the team fell on a rough September to finish in 4th place with an 87–75 record, their last winning season until 1987\. Part of the reason for the Brewers' fall in 1983 was the absence of three main parts of their pennant\-winning club the year before. [Rollie Fingers](/wiki/Rollie_Fingers "Rollie Fingers") was lost for the whole season with a torn muscle in his throwing arm, beloved slugger [Gorman Thomas](/wiki/Gorman_Thomas "Gorman Thomas") struggled badly offensively and was traded to the [Cleveland Indians](/wiki/Cleveland_Indians "Cleveland Indians"), and their ace, [Pete Vuckovich](/wiki/Pete_Vuckovich "Pete Vuckovich"), was revealed to have had a torn rotator cuff that had been plaguing him since 1981 and only pitched in 5 games in 1983\. Two milestones were reached by Brewers players in 1983, however, when [Don Sutton](/wiki/Don_Sutton "Don Sutton") got his 3,000th career strikeout and [Ted Simmons](/wiki/Ted_Simmons "Ted Simmons") got his 2,000th career hit. Harvey Kuenn resigned as manager after the season.


From where does our tendency to summon powers we cannot control stem?