Manager: Phil Garner
Home: County Stadium
Leading off for the Brewers.. the Third Baseman.. Paul Molitor
The second Brewers great inducted into the Hall of Fame, Paul Molitor is second in team history in several categories including WAR, runs scored, hits, and games played. Originally a second baseman, the "Ignitor" has more career hits than any third baseman in history. A seven-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger winner, Molitor is Milwaukee's career leader in stolen bases and led the league in runs scored three times. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 1978 and second in AL MVP voting in 1993.
Batting second for Milwaukee.. the Shortstop.. Robin YountThe first true Brewer enshrined in Cooperstown, Robin Yount is Milwaukee's all-time leader in WAR, games played, runs scored, total bases, and RBI. Only three shortstops in history have more hits than Yount's 3,142 and only four have a higher WAR than his career mark of 77.3. In 1982 Yount led the majors with 367 total bases and a .957 OPS, leading the Brew Crew to their first (and only) World Series appearance. He won three Silver Slugger awards and two MVP awards - at two different positions - yet somehow made just three All-Star teams.
A durable slugger with light tower power, Prince Fielder was a big reason for Milwaukee's resurgence after missing the playoffs for a quarter century. The six-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger winner missed just one game in a five year stretch from 2009-2013. Fielder finished third in MVP voting twice and led the NL with a franchise-record 50 home runs in 2007. A neck injury prematurely ended his career in 2016, leaving Prince with 319 career homers - exactly as many as his father Cecil.
Batting fourth.. the Left Fielder.. Ryan Braun
Ryan Braun is third on the Brewers' all-time list in WAR, runs scored, hits, and OPS. The 2007 NL Rookie of the Year won five consecutive Silver Slugger awards and was named NL MVP in 2011. Braun followed that up with a second-place finish in 2012 after leading the league in home runs, runs scored, total bases, and OPS. He is the Brewers' all-time leader in long balls with 344 and can move into second place on the team's all-time list in games played if he plays a full season in 2020.
Batting fifth.. the First Baseman.. Cecil Cooper
Cecil Cooper batted .300 or better in seven consecutive seasons from 1977-1983, with a career high of .352 in 1980. The five-time All-Star won three Silver Slugger awards and finished fifth in MVP voting three times in four years starting in '80. Cooper compiled three seasons of 120+ RBI, led the league in doubles twice, and won two Gold Gloves. His .302 batting average as a Brewer is third in team history and his WAR, runs scored, hits, and games played totals are top-5 in team annals.
Batting sixth.. the Right Fielder.. Jeromy Burnitz
Jeromy Burnitz was a breakout star for the rebuilding Brewers in the late 1990s. In five full seasons from 1997-2001 he averaged 33 home runs and 102 RBI, earning an All-Star nod in 1999. Burnitz ranks fourth on the Brewers' all-time list in slugging and OPS, seventh in on-base % and ninth in home runs despite his relatively short tenure with the team.
Batting seventh.. the Center Fielder.. Gorman Thomas
The only first-round draft pick of the Seattle Pilots, Gorman Thomas crushed 208 home runs for Milwaukee, fifth-most in team history. Thomas led the league in long balls twice, including a career-high 45 in 1979. His major-league leading 39 home runs in 1982 helped "Harvey's Wallbangers" win the AL pennant. Thomas finished top-ten in MVP voting in both those seasons and made the All-Star squad in 1981, when he set a career high with a 146 OPS+.
Batting eighth.. the Catcher.. Jonathan Lucroy
Jonathan Lucroy made two All-Star teams in his 6 1/2 seasons with the Brewers, including a standout 2014 season in which he played 153 games, led the majors with 53 doubles and finished fourth in NL MVP voting. Lucroy's 110 OPS+ is first among Brewers catchers and only Charlie Moore caught more games in a Milwaukee uniform. The 33 year-old just signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox for the 2020 season.
Batting ninth.. the Second Baseman.. Rickie Weeks
The second overall pick in the 2003 draft, Rickie Weeks made his major league debut that same year after just 21 minor league games. Weeks hit 20+ home runs in three straight seasons, compiled 302 total bases in 2010, and made the NL All-Star team in 2011. He's sixth on the Brewers' career list with 684 career runs scored, seventh in stolen bases with 126, and his 24.6 offensive WAR ties him with Prince Fielder for sixth in team history.
The Starting Pitcher for the Brewers.. Ben Sheets
A first-round draft pick in 1999 and an Olympic hero in 2000, Ben Sheets made six Opening Day starts in his eight seasons with the Brewers. The four-time All-Star is second among Milwaukee pitchers in WAR and strikeouts, and his 3.85 K:BB ratio is the highest in franchise history. In 2004 Sheets set Brewers single-season records for WHIP (0.983) and strikeouts (264), led the majors with an incredible 8.25 K:BB ratio.. and only got one fifth-place Cy Young vote because he went 12-14 for a 94-loss Brewers team.
Now let's take a look at the Brewers' bench and bullpen:
Catcher - Dave Nilsson
Infield - Jim Gantner
Infield - Don Money
Outfield - Ben Oglivie
Outfield - Sixto Lezcano
Nilsson's numbers were a hair better than Lucroy's - but the former played all over the field while the latter was almost exclusively a catcher. No need for a backup first baseman with Fielder and Cooper on the team. Third base and Left field are particularly deep for the Brew Crew. I considered moving Molitor to second base and starting Money, which would have cleared a spot on the bench for Jeff Cirillo. Oglivie narrowly beat Geoff Jenkins for the backup spot behind Braun (who began his career at the hot corner.)
#2 Starter - Teddy Higuera
#3 Starter - Yovani Gallardo
#4 Starter - Chris Bosio
#5 Starter - Mike Caldwell
Higuera's career WAR of 30.3 is fifth in franchise history and first among pitchers. The lefty was AL ROY runner-up in 1985 and AL Cy Young runner-up in 1986. Gallardo tops all Brewers hurlers in strikeouts and strikeouts per 9 innings. Bosio is third among Milwaukee starters with an 18.6 career WAR. Caldwell finished second in AL Cy Young voting in 1978 and is one of only two pitchers with 100+ wins for the Brew Crew.
LH Reliever - Bob McClure
RH Reliever - Chuck Crim
RH Reliever - Mike Fetters
RH Reliever - John Axford
RH Reliever - Jeremy Jeffress
LH Reliever - Dan Plesac
Crim led the AL in appearances in 1988 and 1989, posting a sub-3 ERA in both seasons. Fetters compiled a 155 ERA+ over six seasons with the Brewers. Axford's 106 saves (including a league-leading 46 in 2011) are second in team history. Jeffress was an All-Star in 2018, going 8-1 with a 1.29 ERA and a 317 ERA+ but received no Cy Young votes. Plesac was named to three All-Star teams and holds team records in saves, appearances, ERA, and ERA+ I may have erred in allocating Bob Wickman to the Barnes-stormers. Josh Hader doesn't yet qualify.
Stay tuned for our next All-Time Team, the Minnesota Twins.
Thanks for reading!
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Some of these teams really bring the pitching and then others have had trouble wowing me. Sheets is pretty good and Higuera isn't bad, but neither of them are HOFers. It's kind of weird how some franchises struggle to find elite pitching.
ReplyDeleteBTW, your choice for Fielder's card may be my favorite in this whole series. I need to track down a copy of that one for my Folder of Fun.
Definitely. The NL Central in particular has some weak pitching on their All-Time Teams. Milwaukee hasn't been around forever like the Reds have - or the Pirates - but they've had plenty of time to develop better starters. Sheets was pretty good though. (And that Fielder card is one of my faves, too)
DeleteThe Brewers pitchers of note have been just riddled with injuries. Rollie Fingers wasn't a starter, but he won the 1981 AL MVP and Cy Young, and injuries forced him out of the '82 World Series against the Cardinals. And the '82 Cy Young winner, Pete Vukovich, ruined his shoulder. As far as Cy Young winners go, he was a fairly weak selection, winning based on his record (I could have won 15 games with Yount, Molitor, Cooper, Simmons, Oglivie, and Thomas swinging for the seats). But he only started 3 games the next season, missed all of 1984, tried a comeback the next year, making over 20 starts, but he was done. Sheets' career was ended early by injuries. Jimmy Nelson emerged as a top of the rotation starter in 2017-he was only 12-6 in 29 starts before getting hurt, but he had 199 Ks in 175 1/3 IP, and his 3.05 FIP (my favorite pitching metric) was third best in the NL. Then, he tried to dive back into first base after rounding the first base bag, and tore the labrum and had a class 2 sprain to his rotator cuff of his pitching shoulder. That was it for the 2017 season, and he missed all of 2018. I had a serious case of deja vu when Brandon Woodruff got hurt last year. "Not again". Fortunately, he was able to come back.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it with the Brewers and losing a key pitcher when they make a serious run at a World Series? It's like we're snake bitten.
Thanks for the comment and the info. It does seem like the Brewers have had some tough luck with their pitchers. Hopefully their starters hold up this year. It will be tough to beat the Dodgers but maybe if Milwaukee is close enough at the deadline they can trade for an ace like the did with CC Sabathia a dozen years ago.
DeleteHe was never an All-Star, but I was mildly surprised Jim Gantner didn't make the starting lineup, especially since his entire 17 year career was spent in Milwaukee.
ReplyDeleteI try to give guys like Gantner extra weight for playing so long with the team in question. If his averages were just a bit better I would have chosen him over Weeks.
DeleteI'm a sucker for all of those 80's Brewers. I remember keep track of guys like Cooper, Oglivie, Yount, and Molitor. But my favorite Brewer at the time was Rollie Fingers. I'm an A's and Padres fan... but if I had to pick a team that I associate him the most with... it'd be the Brewers. But that's just because I was too young to appreciate him in the 70's.
ReplyDeleteRollie really made that team a contender, from what I've read.
DeleteMolitor and Yount as the one-two hitters. Yeesh. Prince Fielder would be licking his chops.
ReplyDeleteFielder would definitely have fun hitting behind those guys. That would be a tough top of the order for any pitcher.
DeleteThese are so much fun. I can't wait until you get to Pittsburgh.
ReplyDeleteThis post gave me a new appreciation for Cecil Cooper. Also, love that you snuck that 1990 Topps buyback of Plesac in there!!!
ReplyDelete