1979 Milwaukee Brewers season
Major League Baseball team season
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The 1979 Milwaukee Brewers season was the 10th season for the Brewers in Milwaukee, and their 11th overall. The Brewers finished second in the American League East with a record of 95 wins and 66 losses. They scored at least one run in each of their first 160 games of the season, and were shutout (losing 5–0 to Minnesota) only in the 161st game which was to be their last game of the season.
| 1979 Milwaukee Brewers | |
|---|---|
| League | American League |
| Division | East |
| Ballpark | Milwaukee County Stadium |
| City | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States |
| Record | 95–66 (.590) |
| Divisional place | 2nd |
| Owners | Bud Selig |
| General managers | Harry Dalton |
| Managers | George Bamberger |
| Television | WTMJ-TV (Merle Harmon, Bob Uecker, Mike Hegan) |
| Radio | 620 WTMJ (Merle Harmon, Bob Uecker) |
| Stats | ESPN.com Baseball Reference |
Offseason
- December 21, 1978: Steve Lake was purchased from the Orioles by the Milwaukee Brewers.[1]
- February 26, 1979: Eduardo Rodríguez was purchased from the Brewers by the Kansas City Royals.[2]
- March 6, 1979: Vic Harris was signed as a free agent by the Brewers.[3]
- March 28, 1979: Gary Beare was traded by the Brewers to the Philadelphia Phillies for Dan Boitano.[4]
Regular season
Gorman Thomas enjoyed his best season in the majors, compiling career high numbers in home runs (45, tops in the AL), RBI (123), runs scored (97), hits (136), doubles (29), walks (98), on-base percentage (.356), total bases (300), slugging average (.539) and OPS (.895).
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Orioles | 102 | 57 | .642 | — | 55–24 | 47–33 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 95 | 66 | .590 | 8 | 52–29 | 43–37 |
| Boston Red Sox | 91 | 69 | .569 | 11½ | 51–29 | 40–40 |
| New York Yankees | 89 | 71 | .556 | 13½ | 51–30 | 38–41 |
| Detroit Tigers | 85 | 76 | .528 | 18 | 46–34 | 39–42 |
| Cleveland Indians | 81 | 80 | .503 | 22 | 47–34 | 34–46 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 53 | 109 | .327 | 50½ | 32–49 | 21–60 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 8–5 | 9–3 | 8–3 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 5–6 | 8–4 | 10–2 | 6–6 | 11–2 |
| Boston | 5–8 | — | 5–7 | 5–6 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–4 |
| California | 3–9 | 7–5 | — | 9–4 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 7–5 |
| Chicago | 3–8 | 6–5 | 4–9 | — | 6–6 | 3–9 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 9–4 | 5–8 | 11–2 | 7–5 |
| Cleveland | 5–8 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | — | 6–6 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 8–5 |
| Detroit | 6–7 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 6–6 | — | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–4 |
| Kansas City | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 5–7 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 9–3 |
| Milwaukee | 5–8 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 7–5 | — | 8–4 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 9–3 | 10–3 |
| Minnesota | 4–8 | 3–9 | 4–9 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 4–8 | — | 7–5 | 9–4 | 10–3 | 4–9 | 11–1 |
| New York | 6–5 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 4–9 | 5–7 | — | 9–3 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 9–4 |
| Oakland | 4–8 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 4–9 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 3–9 | — | 8–5 | 2–11 | 4–8 |
| Seattle | 2–10 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 5–8 | — | 6–7 | 8–4 |
| Texas | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 2–11 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 9–4 | 4–8 | 11–2 | 7–6 | — | 7–5 |
| Toronto | 2–11 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 4–9 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 1–11 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — |
Opening Day starters
Notable transactions
- June 7, 1979: Randy Stein was traded by the Brewers to the Seattle Mariners for Paul Mitchell.[5]
Roster
| 1979 Milwaukee Brewers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Charlie Moore | 111 | 337 | 101 | .300 | 5 | 38 |
| 1B | Cecil Cooper | 150 | 590 | 182 | .308 | 24 | 106 |
| 2B | Paul Molitor | 140 | 584 | 188 | .322 | 9 | 62 |
| SS | Robin Yount | 149 | 577 | 154 | .267 | 8 | 51 |
| 3B | Sal Bando | 130 | 476 | 117 | .246 | 9 | 43 |
| LF | Ben Oglivie | 139 | 514 | 145 | .282 | 29 | 81 |
| CF | Gorman Thomas | 156 | 557 | 136 | .244 | 45 | 123 |
| RF | Sixto Lezcano | 138 | 473 | 152 | .321 | 28 | 101 |
| DH | Dick Davis | 91 | 335 | 89 | .266 | 12 | 41 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Money | 92 | 350 | 83 | .237 | 6 | 38 |
| Jim Gantner | 70 | 208 | 59 | .284 | 2 | 22 |
| Buck Martinez | 69 | 196 | 53 | .270 | 4 | 26 |
| Jim Wohlford | 63 | 175 | 46 | .263 | 1 | 17 |
| Larry Hisle | 26 | 96 | 27 | .281 | 3 | 14 |
| Ray Fosse | 19 | 52 | 12 | .231 | 0 | 2 |
| Lenn Sakata | 4 | 14 | 7 | .500 | 0 | 1 |
| Tim Nordbrook | 2 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lary Sorensen | 34 | 235.1 | 15 | 14 | 3.98 | 63 |
| Mike Caldwell | 30 | 235.0 | 16 | 6 | 3.29 | 89 |
| Jim Slaton | 32 | 213.0 | 15 | 9 | 3.63 | 80 |
| Bill Travers | 30 | 187.1 | 14 | 8 | 3.89 | 74 |
| Moose Haas | 29 | 184.2 | 11 | 11 | 4.78 | 95 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Mitchell | 18 | 75.0 | 3 | 3 | 5.76 | 32 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Castro | 39 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 2.03 | 10 |
| Jerry Augustine | 43 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 3.47 | 41 |
| Bob McClure | 36 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 3.88 | 37 |
| Bob Galasso | 31 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4.38 | 28 |
| Reggie Cleveland | 29 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 6.71 | 22 |
| Dan Boitano | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.50 | 5 |
| Andy Replogle | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.63 | 2 |
| Lance Rautzhan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 2 |
| Sal Bando | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 | 0 |
| Jim Gantner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| Buck Martinez | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 0 |
Farm system
The Brewers' farm system consisted of five minor league affiliates in 1979.[6]