MLB Baseball's Seasons: 1982

[Applause] [Music] [Applause] bedlam these parklands [Applause] welcome to baseball seasons 1982 anything can happen [Applause] the 1982 baseball season began like any other pennant aspirations around the league new faces and new places but also there was a pressing birdie to erase the negativity brought on by what had happened the previous summer good evening the major league baseball strike is on the 81 strike was just such an ugly time for baseball the strike is now 16 days old including today's games 198 baseball games have already been canceled all told 712 games were canceled in the summer of 1981 in baseball's first ever midseason strike baseball is back on the headlines were gonna play ball play resumed in August at a rescheduled all-star game but the damage was clear and undeniable a controversial split the season format led to a make hit 3 round playoff structure and while the Los Angeles Dodgers would ultimately win the World Series that ain't it season there was a lingering sense that baseball would have to redeem itself and recapture fans in 1982 several times during baseball's history they've had to rebuild the game they've had to get off the floor something special to get the fans attention again that attention would build all season thanks to a series of captivating division racers that raged on throughout 1982 it was a season that beginning started well and featured unpredictable races for first in each of the four divisions across baseball from east to west north to south and everywhere in between with a move left in the regular season eleven teams had legitimate shots at Whittier Division title and his memories of the strike see it further beneath the exciting attention of the standings anything was suited baseball was back that is what safe space bar that particular time was all those teams doing great things right through the end of September and as the pennant races heated up that summer there was an exciting crop and fresh faces [Music] like the Dodgers rookie second baseman Steve sax saddled with big expectations in LA not only forced to follow 1981 fernandomania but also replacing a popular and respected presence in the Dodge Avenger it wasn't an easy thing for Steve sax to come up to this Dodger team and transition in where Davey Lopes had been such a fixture the Dodgers have the longest standing complete infield in the history of baseball and basically Steve sax broke that up that born today feels included wrong said third Bill Russell in short Steve Garvey at first and now sacks at second he possesses he plays baseball like my wife shops all day long in Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver was preparing a say goodbye yes there's a promising rookie shortstop said hello I was always an Oriole fan and I've always wanted to be in oil as far as a baseball player I couldn't imagine myself being anything but an Oriole and becoming an Oriole then Cal Ripken was carrying on a family legacy in Baltimore where his father was a coach who had long mentored his son on the Oriole Way [Music] I'm very pleased and proud the same but in the major leagues anyone would be proud to have their son playing in the major leagues and his father was looking for son he's we make a strong impression on opening the day in 1982 he wouldn't be disappointed your first at-bat you want to get off in a good way and I remember going up there thinking ok don't be too anxious singleton I believe was on first base and I was so excited that I was running around the bases and Ken singleton being a veteran was just ending in his home run trot as if he didn't is exuberance of hitting his first home run they've raced around the bases they don't know how to make a moment out of it but the best feeling within that home run was coming around third base and my dad was a third-base coach and him reaching his hand out and shaking my hand you know a simple thing but very powerful very meaningful wookies earned some attention early in 1982 with their strong play no story was unfolding at a faster pace than the exploits of a speedster in over there in his fourth season where he is 23 year old Rickey Henderson was staging an all-out assault on the record and Lou Brock's single-season stolen base mark as part of the aggressive style of play coin Billy ball A's manager Billy Martin never hesitated to give Henderson a green and by the end of April Anderson already had 22 stolen bases solidifying his status as the most exciting player in the game the ability for him to bounce off the base and then just sort of take his acceleration from a bounce and you can see in his legs as we moved very few people can do that one time I faced him and I walked him where he got on somehow base hit he stole second and Stouffer I looked at him over at third base and I said go ahead and steal home he was the baddest unstoppable in 1982 as anybody in the history of baseball on the basis while no one started fast around the base paths in 1982 then Ricky Henderson there was no team that started hotter than the Atlanta Braves it is the Braves team out of the box winning at the center of the Atlanta lineup was a 26-year old power hitting outfielder named Dale Murphy I'm sitting in the thing I was Frank Robinson who was a Giants manager they said I have never seen a guy in recent times who could hit - all filled with such power consistently the powerful Braves learn have also featured Christy Lewis and while 43 year old knuckleballer Hill Negro was still confusing hitters struck him out first-year manager Joe Torre kept things loose in the dugout slashaway my man right where you wanted now every time we stepped on the field we just felt like we we couldn't lose a sweep of Houston gave Atlanta 11 straight wins to start this season standing a modern day and Elroy [Applause] it was the the most exciting thing many of us young players with the grades that ever experienced [Applause] I can't believe what I'm seeing people running out and feel like it was the World Series the street would eventually run to a remarkable major league record thirteen straight wins to start a season [Applause] that first two weeks of 82 was the most incredible thing because it was so unexpected meanwhile west of Atlanta but atop the NL East the st. Louis Cardinals were creating their own April win streak of 12 games [Applause] while the Braves utilized power whitey Herzog's Cardinals played their own brand at the game the whitey ball a mix of small ball defense we couldn't hit it very far but we could do a lot of things mainly offensively we fundamentally we were very good defensively we were outstanding the heart of that defense was shortstop Ozzie Smith simply gasping in his first nine singles obviously he had all the quickness all the speed all the coordination and all the Flair that he could bring them position shortstop across the infield at first Keith Hernandez seemed a lot for his fifth straight Gold Glove when you talk about Keith Hernandez you're probably talking about one of the greatest defensive first baseman is in the history of the game the thing that separated us from the other good teams in the division was the fact that we caught and threw the baseball better than most people [Applause] the real challenge for us was our pictures keeping us close and keeping us in ball games which they were able to do those pictures could throw with confidence thanks to the defense behind them as well as the steady veteran presence in catcher Darryl Porter the ace of the staff was right-hander walking into are pitching his first full season in st. Louis and once the speed defense and solid started pitching had done their job the cards could turn to one of the best closers base for seven years Bruce sooner was the most dominant relief pitcher in the history of the game I have never seen I really pictured that good and he had that split finger and sure guys threw it before him but I think he was the guy that maybe exposed it as one of the toughest pitchers ever to hit a were pretty much a team you had to beat by the seventh inning that Souter would easily fit two innings or more of necessary whitey ball made the cards fun to watch and easy [Music] but by early summer the first place Redbirds were being overshadowed by a team with a powerful presence a few hundred miles to the north with a lineup full of ITER's doing everything the cards didn't and more [Music] as June 1982 began the Milwaukee Brewers hardly looked like a championship-caliber baseball club mired in fifth place with a 23 and 24 record struggling to reconcile the stern style of manager Buck Rogers with a roster full of colorful characters and free swingers but with his team underachieving owner Bud Seelig decided to make a move we have to change managers in May and brought in Harvey Keene who was from here Keith who had been the Brewers hitting coach for over a decade was a different kind of leader Harvey was certainly a fixture in the organization he was here from my first day Harvey was the perfect guy to go in everybody knew him well and respected him for a long time and about having any kind of problems at all I can always spot Park already close with several of the players Keene also brought a relaxed confidence to the manager's office the biggest key was just his personality he was really laid-back that allowed us to relax when I was traded there he calls me in and he said you're pitching on Thursday you know a lot more about pitching than I do just tell me when you had enough and if there's a problem go get him [Applause] and that's kind of the way he handled things with the ball club he would say you guys know how to play just play and it quickly became a trusted if you like power if you liked ten date ball games those Brewers were pretty appealing [Applause] there are a lot of unusual things about that law club including the physical and personality makeup of it we just had all kinds of characters and I think the fans around the country can identify with that starting with their dumb and closer Raleigh favors the club wasn't filled with personality we had four guys that had just escaped from Attica state prison Vukovich and Gorman Thomas and Jamie easterly you didn't want to bump into him in an alley at night because they look like they could mean to do you some harm and then you had Molitor and you out on the other end who I would consider to be the altar boy the eclectic combination of Athens formed an amazing line-up it was a tremendous team they called them Harvey's Wallbangers ha and they could really hit we started with a guy we called the igniter his Paul Molitor was a leadoff hitter Robin Yount to the second hole he was probably our best player overall I hid in the number-three hold there was always somebody on base Robin and politics they're all hit 3035 hormones and it all hit three baby but then we had an overview hit behind me Ted Simmons with the catcher call me Thomas the Wallbangers deep and powerful group of hitters would lead the league in homeruns and at one point set a new power standard by hitting back to back to back on minus twice an eight-day span as the Brewers made their move in the East West another team filled with power hitting sluggers was flourishing the California Angels we assembled quite a club and it was experience club the club that included 36 year old Reggie Jackson [Applause] supporting Jackson seven-time batting champion Rod Carew and former MVP Fred Lane helping to make the Angels the second most potent offense in the [Applause] there's a good club we know how to play ball we know how to win and it wasn't just the tease bats on the mound angel staff led by ready ken Forsch and lefty jets xone allowed the fewest words of any team the American League it was good team that beyond it was easy to play and at the all-star break the Angels had surged into first place looking to reach the postseason for just the second time in the franchise's 22 year history and potentially match up with the red-hot Brewers in the AL playoffs when the 1982 calendar turned to the first week of August the spotlight in the baseball world turned to Cooperstown New York into all-time greats being inducted into the Hall of Fame [Applause] [Music] homerun King Hank Aaron and the men then fourth on the all-time list Frank Robinson two of the greatest players ever to step on the diamond and shrine side-by-side in their first year of eligibility I just like to say I've been chasing him for a long time well I got it in the day I'm going into Hall of Fame before he does I finally got you buddy and while Robinson paid tribute to hammerin Hank Aaron spoke of those who had broken ground before I also feel especially proud to be standing here where some years ago Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella made it possible for Franken me and four other class hopeful in baseball they proved to the world that a man's ability is limited only by his lack of opportunity thank you very much and in the year when two legends were inducted into the Hall future Hall of Famers also shined across the game Gaylord knew how to manipulate people he knew how to be a great competitor they also knew how to cheat Gaylord Perry the alleged master of the spit ball earned his 300th win amazing [Applause] I remember today that ground ball to Julio Cruz and the first base and that last out 300 Win later in May Cubs pitcher Ferguson Jenkins another Erler who seemed destined for the Hall became just the seventh pitcher in the game's history to reach the 3000 strikeout plateau I think the team in San Diego knew that was gonna set a record a lot of these guys didn't want to strike out what made Fergie Jenkins career extraordinary was as he became the first pitcher in the history of the Hall of Fame to gain entry having struck out more than 3,000 batters with less than 1,000 watts as they say in baseball he could hit a nap in the butt if he had to he had incredible control and what a testimony to him that he was able to make it to the Baseball Hall of Fame Jenkins was again part of history albeit unwittingly on August 4 but he served up a two-run single to the Mets Joel Youngblood before the game was over Youngblood was dealt to Montreal and after catching a flight he singled off Steve Carlton becoming the only player ever to get a hit in two cities for two different teams on the same day but the biggest headliner in 1982 I got Chanukah was undoubtedly due to first ballot Hall of Fame Rickey Henderson in 1982 he was running wild he had the arrogance that great based dealers have to have believing that there is no catcher in the world that can throw him out and on August 27 that baserunning arrogance was on full display when Henderson broke Lou Brock's single-season record with his 119 stolen base if our team is down and I go out there and try to pick them up and just keep running and stealing bases I really don't know how many big things Ricky went on this white 130 bases in all in 1982 a mark that has stood up for 26 years and counting this tremendous divisional races right down to the wire every single day from August through September it was back and forth back and forth was Ali Frazier all across the game in 82 baseball's heavyweights battle to the finish we have to wind up with one less loss than no Walker began receiving this was baseball at his best there's not been a penetration similar to that system after waiting division battles all year in the season's final we angels and carton has finally secured playoff [Music] [Applause] but in the AL East and the NL West after 160 warriors we Lasorda's defending champions at the toward the Braves lead to a single dude getting into their seasons we lost and the end the Dodgers won then there was going to be a one game playoff in LA and none of us wanted to go back to LA for a one-game playoff they did one another they put the scores up it was a Sunday of multitasking for Lasorda watch the scoreboard and manage the game at least until it became apparent la gotten a brick well we lost our game in San Diego and went in and sat down from TV and watched the the Giants and the Dodgers finished their game for the Dodgers it was simple beat archrival San Francisco and force a one-game playoff but with the score tied at 2 in the bottom of the 7th a future hall-of-famer came to the plate for the Giants he's a spoiler the moment that stands out for me is Joe Morgan's home on hit the home ring to basically knock the Dodgers out on the last day we snuck in the back door we were excited too excited to experience our first playoff while the Braves logged out there would be no back to our entrances from the AL East into the postseason with this schedule hitting the two teams Milwaukee sweat they hear footsteps for the Brewers just as ominous as those footsteps which stars closer rolly-thing or venture which had kept him out since early September while they or Hills crept back into the race the oils meanwhile we're playing with added incentive so you can forgive the iconic Earl Weaver retiring at season's and a grand send-off there's a manager you're always nervous you're always worried all we need to do is win this one looks like it might be ours with everything at stake both teams and their most accomplished pitchers to the mound in game 162 we had to future Hall of Famers pitch and Don Sutton [Music] and we had Jim Palmer lemon beaten in 14 and 15 starts both pitches clearly destined for the Baseball Hall of Fame to Hall of Fame pictures and Robin Yount Hall of Fame shortstop at a home run in the first inning in the doing he's later young further strengthen his case and all of a sudden going into the last few innings that look pretty darn happy and California here they come [Applause] next thing I know there's a gigantic celebration right in front of us it was an unbelievable feeling while the Brewers left to continue celebrating that visitors Clubhouse Orioles fans stayed in the stands Weaver one more time [Music] [Applause] [Music] after the Milwaukee celebration kind of died down a little bit our fans seem to want myself and our players to come back on the field the fact that the fans gave myself in the team a tribute helped take away the hurt that it was from losing the ballgame [Music] [Applause] it was quite a tribute and you did serve the 1982 National League Championship Series opened in st. Louis with the Cardinals confident of their prospects against the visiting Braves we had a nice advantage going into postseason play cuz they had no time to go home then they came right from the west coast into st. Louis to play us had a great team we knew going in that it was going to be a tough series Atlanta's prospects were hindered further when Mother Nature burned [Applause] that game got rained out so we ended up losing Niekro start and we ended up starting back again once said they didn't get to finish that first game the Braves were pretty much dead in the water [Applause] as the Braves blundered Bob Forsch was dominant in Game one take two horse piss - shut up in the first game the other first game swinging a bouncer to second base you're gonna have to figure out some way to beat these guys at least one time at their place but the Redbirds be relentless win game 2 and walk off that [Applause] [Music] [Applause] go to game came away from [Music] and then they beat the Braves easily in Atlanta [Applause] the 1982 American League Championship Series begins here tonight as the Angels host the Milwaukee Brewers we wanted to play no walking we got him we handled him pretty easily at our place we were kind of sleepwalking I don't know if we were really there you know and they end up beating this bullet ball game just like that the angels were a win away from the franchise's first trip to the Fall Classic as the series shifted to Milwaukee I wanted to win that third game I didn't want go any further let them get any life into them go back home and we kind of get pumped up a little bit at home by these earlier Don Sutton had held off the Orioles now he was trying to say that rulers see [Applause] [Music] with Rolly fingers still unavailable he led him out of the bullet path to finish the fortunately get that first win and then things kind of roll from there we got some big hits together going the series was headed to a fifth game County Stadium don't winner would go to the World Series nobody had ever come back from both two at that point and here we are in a late Sunday afternoon another nationally televised game the Angels scored first to take the early lead meaning the wall fans would have to come back once more [Applause] it got down to key hits they got the big ones and we didn't get it I without one with coop tough pitch to Cooper think about it much but I still remember and slashing one to left field [Music] [Applause] [Music] the Brewers were six outs from the pennant six outs they didn't get without Riley fingers there are two outs and a man on second in the ninth inning the Angels have the tying run at second here was Pete Ladd pitching why does it have to be wide Carew the greatest hitter in baseball but he hit a bullet right at Robin Yount started to cry couldn't believe it and Brewers run the World Series voice came on the radio and said well it's it'd be the 79th World Series starting Tuesday night and say Louis between the Milwaukee Brewers and the st. Louis Cardinals and I must tell you I started to cry couldn't believe it the Brewers were in the World Series nobody expected the Cardinals to win the World Series in 1982 why was David and Goliath the fact that they had hit 220 home runs and we had only hit 67 people didn't give us much of a chance rarely in history of baseball have you had such a contrast we had the big sluggers from Milwaukee and yet the speed guys forced a road and when game 1 began the mismatch many had predicted appear to be accurate [Applause] leeta batter paul molitor had five hits and shortstop Robin Yount at four as the Brewers tallied 10 runs making starter Mike Caldwell's job easy as he breezed in the shutout as a lopsided game one victory as any World Series had seen since 1959 I'm just glad we didn't have a doubleheader the next night game 2 was critical to the cards even in the eyes of some a must-win if they've been down on two going to Milwaukee which hadn't hosted the World Series since the 50s that have been a tough nut for the Cardinals to break but it appeared X Cardinal Ted Simmons was set on single-handedly taking Davis forward the catchers second homer in two nights gave the Brewers a three nothing but he sicced his successor in st. Louis Darrell Porter came to the plate for the chance to do some damage of his own [Applause] [Music] [Applause] to newsletter order would be at the center of the rally that put their cards ahead from good in five forward at one game apiece the series shifted to Milwaukee where a rail-thin rookie would power the Redbirds that might have been one of the greatest World Series games played by any individual in the history of the game [Applause] I have heaped the right field going back three run home run for rookie Willie McGee and the Cardinals jump in front three to nothing that was a situation where you had a young player who was in the World Series for the first time who was taking advantage of the opportunity to who moves in one from the player who hit just for all season the two home runs that Willie hit were big but I think even more important than that was the robbing of Gorman Thomas home run [Music] McGee's tremendous performance led the cards to a 6-2 win and their first season the momentum that appeared to carry over to Game four when st. Louis sped literally one second the batteries Tommy her high flyball centerfield Thomas is going back it was war at least wanna say one because Ozzie Smith can run bourbon Thomas walls they're gonna try to sport oh here comes the relay bro [Music] suddenly the groomers were standing at impossible three games to one Dennison and to a door open ever so slightly in the second he dropped the point dropped the ball and the story goes that Hernandez says that have been a cheeseburger you would have caught it because Lapointe was kind of a portly player now maybe that story was why he's saying Hernandez would have said that but that was the best line that came out of that fans had watched the wall bangers exploit misuse like this all season gallon company got plenty to work with and get after it turned into run after run [Applause] that was a disheartening lost and of course Milwaukee came back in the fifth game played one of the outstanding ball games that's one showed their true strength to their ballclub and at the core of the club was the American League MVP [Applause] red-hot Robin Yount push the series average over 500 with four hits in Game five becoming the first player ever to have to separate for eight games in a World Series certainly highlights have another four hit game but actually more meaningful than that was the fourth hit last time and let's face it it's every kid's dream they hit a home run in a World Series something I'll always remember the 6-4 win with the Brewers on the precipice of the chainage though they'd have to win it back in st. Louis as the 1982 World Series returned to st. Louis the Brewers were one win away from a title though the Cardinals remained confident our thinking was and we went home you know what we want to in a role a lot more than we've lost two in a row [Music] [Applause] we get beat one day and we've come back next day and play like nothing happened the day before on this night the Cardinals prospects rested on the arm of rookie pitcher John stuper while the Brewers were countering with future hall-of-famer Dunson i sat next to stoop the whole way home the st. Louis I said you know what nobody expects you out pitch son all the pressures on them here we go [Music] [Applause] I chopped it up along first gonna hit the rock in the biggest beef he'd ever pitched the rookie allowed just one run while matched against Sutton Carlos broke out with a sudden burst of now [Applause] I Drive [Applause] the kernels exploded to one of their biggest offensive outputs of the year brewers agony was prolonged by a downpour that stretched the nightmare game seemingly forever we play ball if necessary at 2:30 3:30 in the morning without any question we had to sit around for almost two hours to play the ball game and then ended up losing that ball game I think that really kind of took the momentum from us 13 to 1 there's something about coming down to one game after well over 170 games knowing that is going to determine the ultimate champion of the giving year 7 time for everyone to get nervous in the decisive match up both teams had their aces on the mound the lukovitch for the Brewers and Joaquin Andujar for the Cardinals should be quite a night but you don't think he's bearing down the game was tied at 1 through 5 but in the top of the sixth the Brewers got a break to pull ahead [Applause] [Music] Milwaukee they're dancing in the streets and that's the way it should be in the regular season and the LCS the Brewers have prevailed and by negating situations but now cartons were uninterested in following that script we had obtained that just kept bouncing back it was amazing and in the bottom of the sixth the cards bounced right [Applause] [Applause] in the a more clutch hitting from Darrell Porter be the card summon shoots now of the three wounded st. Louis was three outs from the championship with one of the best closers and the gig set to pitch the night I turned it over to sooner and he finished the ballgame [Applause] [Music] this team came together and believed that they could win despite not having the most talented [Music] [Applause] congratulations on being named MVP thanks s is so wonderful camp believing that diet many Darrell Porter eight years and we won five division titles two pennants of Mon will sir they're important Twitty wasn't winning ball player Cardinals defeat the Milwaukee Brewers six to three they're the world champions but you certainly have to congratulate the Milwaukee Brewers for a great season a great series when the Brewers returned home as being losing was dulled by their fans who welcome them back with a parade [Music] people hanging out of building sidewalks jammed people waving crying happy that was just a great season [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] but the team success would be short-lived and Milwaukee would not make the playoffs again for over a quarter century [Music] [Applause] when in 2008 a new generation of Milwaukee sluggers matched their way to a wild-card [Applause] [Music] the oils though would be buoyed by their near mission 82 and led by League MVP Cal Ripken all the more would win the World Series anything insane Lewis whitey ball would also continue to thrive [Music] [Applause] the colors would return to the World Series in 85 and 87 both times find themselves on the losing side of game sevens I'd like the one all three of them but I'd rather be one two than zero zero Ricky Henderson's 130 stolen bases in 1982 still stands in a single season more inevitably he would become the all-time leader in stolen bases and also a sectarian Marx who walks and runs biggest lead off hitter perhaps in the history of baseball no argument here 1982 was a fitting year for his ascent to superstardom the season when speeches [Applause] anybody September and October baseball was as exciting unpredictable as any year in the game's history [Music] [Music]

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Id: MVqjnit-SWo

Length: 47min 59sec (2879 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 21 2019