Brewers recent win streak calls to mind the team's 1987 season
MILWAUKEE, WI - CIRCA 1987: Manager Tom Treblehorn #42 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates a win with players after a Major League Baseball game circa 1987 at Milwaukee County Stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Treblehorn managed the Brewers from 1986-
MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Brewers have been the talk of baseball recently because of their 14-game winning streak.
That run also gives us a chance to appreciate a particularly unusual big league season — the Brewers' super-streaky run through 1987.
A look back to '87
The backstory:
It was those ‘87 Brewers who won their first 13 games of the season, triggering the same free burger promotion by a local chain that went into effect when this year’s streak hit 12.
That 13-0 start — which included Juan Nieves throwing the first no-hitter in team history in win No. 9 — stood as the franchise's longest winning streak in a season until this year's Brewers surpassed it Saturday.
MILWAUKEE, WI - CIRCA 1987: Teddy Higuera #49 of the Milwaukee Brewers pitches during a Major League Baseball game circa 1987 at Milwaukee County Stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Higuera played for the Brewers from 1985-91 and 1993-94. (Photo by Focu
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Milwaukee was 20-3 in 1987 before crashing back to earth with alarming quickness. May had barely begun when the team lost 12 in a row. The Brewers snuck in another losing streak of six games before the month was over — only to follow with an immediate six-game winning streak.
It wasn't just team streaks that made that season notable in Milwaukee. Hall of Famer Paul Molitor produced a 39-game hitting streak that year, a run that hasn't been matched since.
By the time the season was over, Milwaukee was 91-71, finishing third in the AL East in an era when you had to win your division to make the playoffs.
With Molitor and Robin Yount leading the way — plus a few terrific seasons on the mound by Teddy Higuera — the Brewers of the 1980s never totally lived up to their potential after winning the American League pennant in 1982. In 1983, they went 87-75, which was good for only fifth place in their seven-team division.
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Brewers lose to Reds; franchise-record, 14-game winning streak snapped
The Milwaukee Brewers lost to the Cincinnati Reds 3-2 on Sunday, snapping the team's 14-game winning streak.
Current season stats
By the numbers:
Nowadays, Milwaukee is in the NL Central, and 87 wins is often good enough for at least a wild card.
Of course, this year's team can set its sights much higher. Even after their winning streak was snapped Sunday, the Brewers are 33 games over .500.
They need to go just 19-20 the rest of the way to set a franchise record with 97 victories.
The Source: The Associated Press provided this article.