The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is having some fun with the 30th anniversary of the Milwaukee Brewers' lone trip to the World Series by taking a daily look back at what was going on with the team on this date in 1982. Of course, the '82 Crew featured Hall of Famers Paul Molitor, Robin Yount, Rollie Fingers and Don Sutton along with other legends like Cecil Cooper, Jim Gantner and Gorman Thomas.
Those Brewers lost to Baltimore on June 14, making their record 30-29. That put them in fourth place in the American League East (they headed to the National League in 1997), eight games behind Boston. The Yankees were also-rans back then, sitting a half game ahead of last-place Toronto. By comparison, the 2012 Brewers are just five and a half games behind NL Central-leading Pittsburgh, albeit in a significantly weaker division.
But are today's Brewers any less entertaining or colorful than Fingers, Thomas and company? Earlier this week, beat writers posted photos of the Brewers departing on a road trip dressed in their finest '80s gear, including hair-metal spandex and Miami Vice pastels. Some of these guys - John Axford, Nyjer Morgan - are as enigmatic and irreverent as any of the players from 1982's hirsute lineup.
The problem, of course, is that they're not as good. The current crop might not be far off the pace of the AL champs of 30 years ago at this point in the season, but that club went on a 20-7 tear in June with three batters (Molitor, Yount, Cooper) hitting above .300. Today's active roster has only Ryan Braun.
Thirty years is a long time between World Series appearances. Only Washington, Seattle, Pittsburgh and, of course, the Chicago Cubs have longer lapses. And while the 2012 Brewers can be a blast to root for, they're not going to break that streak.
