'82 Brew crew remembered: former players recall their march to glory in winning A.L. pennant in Milwaukee 20 years ago

Baseball Digest, May, 2002 by Joe O'Loughlin

IT'S FUNNY THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE remember. Twenty years later "Stormin" Gorman Thomas recalls the ketchup bottle in the briefcase.

"Mike Caldwell would have a $400 valise and the only things he'd have in it were a newspaper and a 32-ounce bottle of ketchup," the former Brewer center fielder said with a deep laugh. "I'd say, `Dirty Eddie (his nickname), why the hell do you have that in your briefcase?'"

The answer was easy.

"They never give you enough of the stuff when you're in a restaurant," Caldwell coolly explained. "Those little itty-bitty packets they give you are never enough."

Thomas and Caldwell were key members of the 1982 Brewers who epitomized the word "catch up". Floundering in fifth place on June 2, they rallied to take the American League East title. Then they battled back from a 0-2 deficit to win the best-of-five League Championship Series against the powerhouse California Angels to capture the A.L. pennant. The Brewers were a talented crew populated by colorful personalities and fiery competitors, but the genesis of these champions began several years earlier.

"In '82 everyone came to spring training with high expectations," said Caldwell, now in his eleventh season working in the Brewers' minor league system. "But the club started turning things around in 1978 when George Bamberger came over from Baltimore."

The former Orioles' coach instilled a competitive attitude--gained from his many years in the Baltimore organization. Milwaukee, which had finished the previous season 33 games behind the division (and World Series) winning Yankees with a 67-95 record, catapulted to third place in '78 with a 93-69 mark. The formerly Bad News Brew Crew had been transformed into Bamby's Bombers. "We responded better to people-managers than those who knew the game well," Caldwell observed. "And George was a great people person," the former left-handed hurler stressed.

Thomas' story epitomizes Bamberger's people skills. "Without him, I have no career. He gave me a chance to play," the slugging center fielder said. The first day in spring training set the tone as Thomas, all long hair and mustache, came striding into the clubhouse. "This guy says to me `Who the hell are you?' And I shoot back, `Who the hell are you?' And he goes, `I'm George Bamberger your manager.' I figure I'm in big trouble when he says, `And you are?' I tell him and all he says, `Oh, you're my center fielder.'"

True to his word Bamberger stuck with his garrulous and gritty gamer. In the season opener, Thomas struck out four times in a game the Brewers won. "I was despondent, but George comes up to me and says, `Don't worry about it. I didn't need you today. Just go out and play the way I know you can.'" The next day Thomas hit a grand slam to propel Milwaukee to victory and became a fixture in the outfield for the next several seasons.

The nucleus of the '82 championship team was beginning to take shape. Key players such as Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Cecil Cooper, Ben Ogilvie and Charlie Moore were meshing nicely along with Thomas and Caldwell under Bamberger's tutelage. Equally important, the Brewers were becoming a team on and off the field. It was not unusual for all 25 players and coaches and trainers to go out together after a game.

In 1980, coach Buck Rodgers had to take over for two separate stretches as Bamberger struggled with illness before assuming command permanently in '81 as Bamberger stepped down due to heart problems. In the 1980 off-season, the Brewers swung a pivotal multi-player trade that would pay dividends for both themselves and their eventual '82 World Series opponent, the St. Louis Cardinals.

Among the principals in that deal were relief pitcher Rollie Fingers, catcher Ted Simmons and starting pitcher Pete Vuckovich who were sent to Milwaukee for outfielders Sixto Lezcano and David Green and pitcher Lary Sorensen. Like many a story associated with the Brewers, Fingers' tale has a humorous twist to it. "I had been traded from San Diego to St. Louis and I was a happy camper," said Fingers, one of the game's premier relievers during the 1970s and early '80s.

"I flew in to meet with Whitey Herzog (the Cards manager and GM at the time) and by the time I got back to the West Coast I was traded again," said the former pitcher. The Cards had acquired Bruce Sutter from the Cubs just three days after getting Fingers. There was no way St. Louis was going to keep two closers, so Fingers was sent to Milwaukee.

The reliever thrived in Brew Town. He recorded a 6-3 record with 28 saves to go along with a microscopic 1.04 ERA in the strike-shortened '81 season to capture the Cy Young and MVP Awards.

Due to the strike, baseball had a split season that year, where half season champions were declared for the first time ever in baseball. The Brewers won the second half Eastern title but lost to the Yankees in the divisional playoff series.

The post-season experience of 1981 whetted the Milwaukee appetite for greater things.

"We had All-Stars at every position," Fingers declared. "We had the talent to contend for a pennant."