Yount, Molitor and ... Yuni B? These Brewers would make the franchise's all-time playoffs team
JR RadcliffeThe Milwaukee Brewers will embark on the ninth postseason in franchise history Oct. 3, having won the National League Central division and earning a best-of-three showcase against a still-undetermined foe.
The franchise made the playoff field in 1981 (in a strange division-series format that resulted from the players' strike that season), 1982, 2008, 2011, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
It's a small sample size, for sure, but considering playoff performance alone, here are the members of the Brewers' all-time postseason team:
Catcher: Ted Simmons, 1981-82
Catchers haven't done much in Brewers postseason games, but Simba at least slugged three playoff home runs.
In 1981, he hit one home run and drove in four runs even though he hit .222 with four hits and two walks. That homer came in a 3-for-4 performance in Game 3 to help keep the series alive.
Simmons hit his other two homers in the 1982 World Series, with three RBIs and five walks after he went 3-for-18 in the ALCS.
First base: Cecil Cooper, 1981-82
He maybe struggled a bit in the ALCS against the Angels (going 3-for-20), but he did hit the two-run single everyone remembers that lifted the Brewers to a Game 5 win, a go-ahead strike in the bottom of the seventh. He also posted a pair of doubles, then got a homer (off Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter) and a double among eight hits in 28 at-bats (.286) in the World Series.
Cooper only had four hits in the 1981 division series, with three RBI and a run scored. His 13 RBIs are the second-most behind Ryan Braun in Brewers postseason history.
What about Prince Fielder? Fielder has four homers (tied for the most in Brewers postseason history) and an OPS of .817, but only a .192 batting average in 52 postseason at-bats.
Second base: Jerry Hairston, 2011
We're cheating a little here, because Hairston played third base in the playoffs, but he appeared at second more than any other spot for Milwaukee in the regular season.
If Arizona's Chris Young doesn't make a spectacular catch in the outfield to take away a hit and RBI in Game 5 of the 2011 NLDS, Hairston would be remembered in Milwaukee as the hero of the postseason. He finished the NLDS with three RBIs on 6-of-16 batting, with a pair of doubles and two walks for a .900 OPS.
In the NLCS, the midseason acquisition collected four doubles, an RBI and nine hits in 23 at-bats, good for a 1.005 OPS — tops on the team.
Shortstop: Robin Yount, 1981-82
You knew he'd be on here, right?
After struggling in the 1982 ALCS (4-for-16), Yount recorded 12 hits in 29 trips to the plate (.414) against St. Louis in the World Series. That included a homer and 1.072 OPS, with six RBI. He became the first player to have two four-hit games in the same World Series.
In the 1981 "league division series" against the Yankees, pitting the first-half and second-half winners against each other in a format shortened by the players' strike, Yount collected six hits in 19 trips to the plate.
Third base: Paul Molitor, 1981-82
Molitor went 6-for-19 in the ALCS, hitting two home runs and finishing with five RBI, then kept it rolling in the World Series, with 11 more hits in 31 at-bats (.355). He drove in three runs. He set a World Series record when he went 5-for-6 in Game 1, the most hits in a World Series game.
One of his homers in the ALCS accounted for the two winning runs in Game 3.
Molitor went 5-for-20 with a home run in 1981's LDS, but that homer broke a tie in the eighth inning of a Game 3 victory.
His 23 hits were the most in Brewers postseason history until Ryan Braun passed him in 2018. Molitor continued to have success in the postseason when he was named World Series MVP with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993.
Outfield: Ryan Braun, 2008, 2011, 2018-20
Nobody has more Brewers postseason hits than Braun, whose 35 include a pair of homers and 11 doubles. He had a .859 OPS and 16 RBIs (also the most in Brewers playoff history).
Braun hit 8-for-24 against the Cardinals in the 2011 NLCS, with three doubles, a homer and six RBIs, good for a .968 OPS. He also crushed the Diamondbacks in the NLDS, with four doubles, a homer and four driven in, part of a 9-for-18 performance and 1.460 OPS. That was his MVP season, and he played like it in the playoffs.
In 2008, Braun went 5-for-16 with two doubles and two RBI in a four-game NLDS loss to the Phillies.
Outfield: Carlos Gomez, 2011
Gomez only had four at-bats in the NLDS, but he got hits in three of them — including a home run with two RBIs — and he blazed around third to score the winning run in the bottom of the 10th in Game 5. That opportunity was set up by his crucial stolen base. It was one of two swipes in the postseason.
Gomez somewhat lost his starting job to Morgan after an injury-afflicted 2011, and his presence here is due to a lack of top Brewers outfield performances in the postseason, but he's still a big piece of the 2011 team's legacy.
Outfield: Charlie Moore, 1981-82
In the 1982 ALCS, Moore recorded six hits in 13 at-bats and scored three runs, including one of the two runs on Cecil Cooper's game-winning two-run single in the seventh.
His biggest contribution, however, may have come while playing right field, when he threw Reggie Jackson out in the fifth inning of ALCS Game 5 at third base.
Moore added nine hits in the World Series (batting .346), with three doubles and a pair of RBIs.
Moore also had two hits in nine trips to the plate in the 1981 division series.
Utility: Orlando Arcia, 2018-2020
It's a bit of serendipity that Arcia was on the 2021 Braves team that eliminated the Brewers (and went on to win the World Series), even though Arcia did very little that postseason. Every other year, he was a force in the playoffs, including last year when he hit his fifth (yes, fifth) career postseason home run.
With Milwaukee, his four playoff dingers are tied with Prince Fielder for the most in franchise history. He hit two of them against the Dodgers in the 2018 NLCS, going 9-for-25 in that series with five runs scored and three driven in. He also went deep against the Rockies in the 2018 NLDS and homered again in the 2020 playoffs against the Dodgers.
His OPS of .879 is third among Brewers players with at least 20 postseason at-bats.
Utility: Yuniesky Betancourt, 2011
Yes, seriously.
He wasn't well-known for his offensive prowess when he became the Brewers' everyday shortstop following the Zack Greinke trade. He wasn't known for his defensive prowess, either. But in 2011, he was tremendous in the playoffs.
Not only did his bloop single memorably give the Brewers the lead against the Diamondbacks in Game 5 of the NLDS, he went on to hit 8-of-24 in the NLCS, with a home run and five RBIs against the Cardinals. In the NLDS, he finished with five hits — including a double and triple — in 18 at-bats.
Starting pitcher: Yovani Gallardo, 2008 and 2011
What would have happened if Gallardo started that 2008 Game 4?
He was battling back from an ACL torn on May 1, but still made a key appearance down the stretch and then again in the playoffs. He started Game 1 and then appeared in relief of Jeff Suppan in Game 4 when the Phillies had taken the lead, ultimately finishing with no earned runs allowed in seven innings, though he did allow three unearned runs with five walks and four hits.
Gallardo won both his games in the 2011 NLDS, allowing just two runs in 14 innings (1.29 ERA), though he didn't fare well in the NLCS, allowing four earned runs in five innings of his lone appearance.
Starting pitcher: Mike Caldwell, 1981-82
Caldwell started two games and got two victories in the World Series, allowing just four earned runs in 17⅔ innings (2.04 ERA).
It was a bounceback from his ALCS loss, in which he allowed five earned runs in just three innings.
In Game 1 of the World Series, he worked a complete-game shutout in a 10-0 win over the Cardinals.
Caldwell also allowed four earned runs in 8 1/3 innings in 1981. In his career with Milwaukee, he had a franchise-record 81 complete games.
Starting pitcher/relief pitcher/hitter: Brandon Woodruff, 2018-21
Nobody has more postseason strikeouts in Brewers history (40), and Woodruff has been superb in eight appearances (four starts), with a 0.847 WHIP and 3.18 ERA.
As great as he's been on the mound, he delivered one of the great moments in Brewers playoff history with his bat when he took Clayton Kershaw deep in Game 1 of the 2018 NLCS.
Woodruff had an eye-popping 17 strikeouts over 9⅓ innings in the NLCS, all in relief, and he threw four strong innings in the wild-card game in 2019 despite still returning from injury, allowing just one earned run. He most recently worked 7⅓ innings in Game 2 of the 2021 NLDS, but the Braves were able to scratch across three runs and win the game, 3-0.
Starting pitcher/relief pitcher: Corbin Burnes, 2018-19, 2021
Burnes has served both capacities on the mound, posting a 1.20 ERA in 15 innings as a playoff performer. That includes 17 strikeouts and just four walks over seven games, with a 0.667 WHIP.
Burnes was lethal out of the pen in 2018, when he worked nine relief innings between the Rockies and Dodgers series. In 2021, he was a starter in Game 1 and allowed just two hits over six shutout innings, helping the Brewers get their one win in the series. Would the 2020 series against the Dodgers have gone differently if Burnes had been healthy at season's end?
Relief pitcher: John Axford, 2011
The tying run scored on his watch in Game 5 of the NLDS, but Axford also pitched a clean follow-up inning and earned the win in the Brewers' thrilling victory in Game 5 against the Diamondbacks. He registered three saves between the NLDS and NLCS, allowing just the one run and five hits in seven innings.
Relief pitcher: Josh Hader, 2018-21
Hader struck out 23 men in 14⅓ innings, with a 0.837 WHIP. He wasn't often used as a closer (with just one save) and did give up a crucial home run to the Braves' Freddie Freeman in 2021, not to mention the damaging hit to Juan Soto in the 2019 wild-card game, but Hader was mostly nails over his 11 appearances. He also got the save in Game 163 against the Chicago Cubs, which was a regular-season game but did send the Brewers to the NLDS.
Relief pitcher: Pete Ladd, 1982
Ladd locked down the Game 5 win with one of his two saves in the ALCS, finishing the series with 3⅓ scoreless innings, including five punchouts. He also worked a scoreless appearance in the World Series, though he did issue two walks.
Where is Corey Knebel? He only pitched 10 postseason innings, but he had a 0.90 ERA with a save and 14 strikeouts. That included a high-wire act in 2018 when he stranded the tying run at third to end Game 1 of the NLS.
One-time wonders
Randy Wolf, 2011: Wolf didn't fare well in his NLDS start, but he did win in St. Louis in Game 4 of the championship series, a tense victory that ensured the Brewers would get to return home to Miller Park for Game 6. Wolf also doubled in the game, though it was far more important that he worked seven innings of two-run baseball in the 4-2 win.
Nyjer Morgan, 2011: Morgan delivered one of the most memorable hits in club history. His RBI single in the 10th inning of Game 5 of the NLDS sent the Brewers into the NLCS, and he also made a daring dash to home to score on a sacrifice fly earlier in the contest after doubling to lead off the fourth.
Dave Bush, 2008: An unlikely pitcher to record the first Brewers postseason win since 1982, Bush nonetheless worked 5⅓ innings and allowed just one run on five hits in Game 3, with no walks.
Mark Brouhard, 1982: A last-minute replacement for injured Ben Oglivie, Brouhard posted three hits — including a double and two-run homer — to help the Brewers win Game 4 of the ALCS and even the series at 2-2.
Randy Lerch, 1981: Lerch threw six strong innings (one earned run, three hits, four walks) in the division series against the Yankees, part of a Game 3 win.
Eric Yardley, 2020: You'd be forgiven for forgetting the sidearm right-hander in 2020, who went 2⅓ innings without allowing a baserunner, including two strikeouts. He relieved Brent Suter in the second and stranded two runners before retiring a murderer's row of players that included Cody Bellinger, Mookie Betts and Corey Seager. That allowed the Brewers to rally for two runs and make it 3-2 in the fourth, but Milwaukee never got closer in a 4-2 loss.
Drew Pomeranz, 2019: The midseason acquisition worked two relief innings in the wild-card game against Washington, striking out two and facing the minimum. That put the ball in the hands of Josh Hader for the eighth inning, where things went sideways.