1982, 2011 Crew ready for Dream Bracket 2
MILWAUKEE -- How do the two best teams in the Brewers’ first 50 years stack up against the rest of MLB’s dream seasons?
A new simulation will answer that question beginning Thursday with the start of MLB Dream Bracket 2, a 64-team tournament featuring two of the best post-World War II clubs, plus three Negro Leagues teams and the 1994 Montreal Expos. They will square off in a series of best-of-seven series to determine which dream season was the best of them all.
• See the full Bracket, make picks, win prizes
Milwaukee’s entries are the Robin Yount-led 1982 Brewers and Ryan Braun’s 2011 Brewers, each of whom are drawing a notable rival. The 1982 team, which fell to the Cardinals in that year's World Series, will face the '67 Cards in the simulation. And the 2011 Brewers will face the 1995 Braves, who remain foes for many Milwaukee fans still bitter about the franchise’s departure for Atlanta.
Game simulations, in conjunction with the makers of Out of the Park Baseball 21, will begin with 16 Round of 64 matchups being played on Thursday and 16 more on Friday, beginning a tournament that culminates on June 8-9. Select game simulations will be streamed live on MLB.com, as well as the MLB Network and MLB Twitch channels. MLB Network’s Scott Braun and Jon Paul Morosi will provide play-by-play analysis for the livestreamed games.
• Complete Dream Bracket 2 rosters
Here’s a look at the Brewers’ two entrants:
1982 Brewers
The only Brewers team to reach the World Series remains beloved for its style of play on the field, where it became a power-hitting behemoth after Harvey Kuenn took over as manager in June, and off the field, where players like center fielder Gorman Thomas were known to enjoy the occasional cold one in the parking lot postgame.
Yount led with the way with one of the greatest seasons for a shortstop in Major League history, winning the American League MVP Award. He was backed by a deep lineup, including fellow future Hall of Famers Paul Molitor and Ted Simmons, plus Cecil Cooper, Ben Oglivie and Thomas. The group, dubbed Harvey’s Wallbangers, led the AL in runs, home runs, slugging percentage and OPS. The pitching staff was led by savvy lefty Mike Caldwell and 1982 AL Cy Young Award winner Pete Vuckovich, and it was rounded out by ’81 AL Cy Young Award-winning closer Rollie Fingers -- until Fingers injured his shoulder on the same day that key trade acquisition Don Sutton made his Milwaukee debut. Their 95 wins in the regular season matched a franchise record that wouldn’t be broken until …
2011 Brewers
Just like 1982, the 2011 club was packed with power and caught fire after a modest start to set a franchise record for victories. General manager Doug Melvin engineered critical trades for starters Zack Greinke and Shawn Marcum to fortify a starting rotation that already had Yovani Gallardo and Randy Wolf, and he made a minor deal for outfielder Nyjer Morgan late in Spring Training to provide the final piece of a division winner. Greinke delivered, going 16-6 with a 3.83 ERA, including 11-0 with a 3.13 ERA in 15 starts at Miller Park. Marcum went 13-7 with a 3.54 ERA. With Gallardo (17-10, 3.52) and Wolf (13-10, 3.69) posting solid seasons and John Axford, LaTroy Hawkins, Takashi Saito and in-season acquisition Francisco Rodríguez forming a marquee bullpen, the Brewers posted a 3.63 ERA -- their best as a team in 19 years.
An offense led by All-Stars Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and Rickie Weeks led the NL with 185 home runs. Fielder won All-Star Game MVP honors during a break from hitting .299 with 38 home runs and 120 RBIs. Braun inked a nine-figure contract extension in April and posted a .332 average, 33 home runs, 111 RBIs and 33 stolen bases in the team’s first 30/30 season since Tommy Harper hit 31 homers with 38 steals in 1970, the year the franchise moved from Seattle to Milwaukee.