The Milwaukee Brewers have returned to the World Series for the first time since 1982, when a star-studded team featuring five Hall of Famers – Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Ted Simmons, Rollie Fingers and Don Sutton – lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games in the franchise’s lone appearance in the Fall Classic.
The ’82 squad is still held in the highest regard by the Brewers’ rabid fan base and four members of the team – Yount, Cecil Cooper, Larry Hisle and Jerry Augustine – shared their thoughts this week about this year’s team as they prepare to take on the Tampa Bay Rays with a World Series title at stake.
Yount, generally considered to be the greatest Brewer of all time, says he’s rooting for the current squad to bring home the franchise’s first World Series championship in part to finally provide relief from the lingering pain of more than four decades stemming from the close call in 1982.
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“It was the greatest time of my career, but unfortunately, the worst time, but that was all the result of a single game,” Yount said of 1982. “The best part was all the work and fun and everything we did to put ourselves in that position. But when you get that close to achieving a goal you’ve set since you were a little kid, and that would be to win a World Series, and you get within one game of accomplishing that, yeah, it stinks. It hurts. I’m not going to lie. I’ll never get over it until the Brewers win one.”
The 2026 team has a golden opportunity to create an everlasting moment for the franchise, and for Yount and other members of the 1982 team, they couldn’t be happier.
“I hope this happens more often than every 44 years. I’m pretty excited this year,” Yount said. “If it takes another 44, I’m not sure I’m going to be here for that one.
Yount knows a World Series title will also mean everything to Brewers fans.
“I know everybody says this about their hometown fans, but I, without question, know that the fans of Milwaukee and Wisconsin are the most passionate fans anywhere,” Yount said. “They are second to none. We got a parade when we lost the World Series. How often does that happen? I’ve always said this about people from Wisconsin. What you see is what you get, and we got the best.
Hisle, who had a 14-year major league career, including five with the Brewers, was effusive in his praise for this year’s team, especially after they swept the vaunted, high-payroll Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.
“In my 80 years on this planet, I have never been more impressed with a team,” Hisle said. “I felt that it would probably go seven games and every game would be a battle. The Dodgers, with their experience, superstars and great pitching. But those young kids came together in a way I’ve never witnessed, and they performed in a way that will be remembered as long as the game is being played.”
Cecil Cooper, a first baseman on the 1982 team, applauded the Brewers’ effort during the playoff run, which also included a win over the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series.
“You watch every at-bat, these guys are grinding,” Cooper said. “They’re not out there just wailing away at the first pitch. They’re grinding at-bat after at-bat. That’s what winners do.”
Cooper dubbed the 1982 squad “Harvey’s Wallbangers” as a nod to manager Harvey Kuenn and the city’s propensity for enjoying a drink.
“Way back when I was younger, I used to enjoy a little bit of the tasty drinks, Cooper said. “There was one called a Wallbanger and I thought about that. We mix this stuff up, and we come up with all sorts of players and all sorts of abilities. And that’s how I kind of came up with it.”
It was also an apt name for a squad known for its home run prowess. The 1982 Brewers hit an MLB-leading 216 home runs, a marked difference from this year’s Brewers squad, who hit only 154 homers, tying for the second-fewest homers in the majors.
It’s difficult to compare teams across eras, the players said, but they share core traits. Augustine, 74, a Wisconsin native who was a relief pitcher on the 1982 team, said that’s especially true when it comes to the obvious respect they have for each other as teammates and the way they play the game.
“They go out and play hard; they don’t give up,” Augustine said. “When you play this team, you’d better be ready to play 27 outs.”
Yount said it’s more nerve-wracking to watch the Brewers games than it was to play in them, and he expects that’ll hold true as he watches the World Series.
“It’s almost like watching your kids play,” Yount said. “You’re a lot more nervous watching your own kids play than when you played yourself. I kind of feel that way now.”
