At the advent of every new MLB season I think about the Brewers' 1987 start. The team matched the 1982 Atlanta Braves with 13 straight wins to open the season. I remember two of those games in particular and it's no mystery why.
The ninth game of the streak was played against the Baltimore Orioles at the now-demolished Memorial Stadium. At the time I was working with developmentally disabled children. I was assigned to work in Unit Three on this particular night, which was not my normal unit. As it turned out, I was the only one working in that unit that evening, which worried me because these kids needed quite a bit more attention than I was used to. I turned on the Brewers game during the third inning.
I remember a calm coming over the kids, which surprised me. They surprisingly took an interest in watching the game, as they customarily watched the Corey Haim film Lucas on a nightly basis.
As the game progressed, I noted in my mind that the Orioles were still hit-less, but didn't think too much of it. Baseball is a very superstitious game and the TV announcers didn't want to jinx it so they didn't mention it either. By the sixth inning I was mesmerized. I had a feeling that something special was happening. The kids could sense it too, as they had never displayed this type of attention span before.
I remember standing next to my small black and white television, looking back at all the kids enthralled by the game. It was the ninth inning and Juan Nieves had just gotten the first two batters out. He sat one out away from the first no-hitter in Brewers history. The announcers still hadn't mentioned the no hitter. The next batter was Cal Ripken Jr. in his prime and Nieves walked him.
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I started getting a sinking feeling when future Hall of Famer Eddie Murray came up to bat with Ripken on first. If it hadn't been for a dazzling play by left fielder Jim Paciorek in the second inning on a blooper by Murray, Nieves wouldn't have been in the position to secure the no-hitter in the first place. This time, Murray connected on a change-up and the ball sailed to the gap in right center. Robin Yount got a great jump on the ball and made a diving catch in one of the greatest moments in Brewers history.
There was a palpable energy in the room, as the kids and I went bonkers. I'm not sure they completely realized what the catch meant, but we were all hugging and giving each other high fives. They went to bed Brewers fans that night. However, I did have to sit through Lucas with them the next time the Brewers were on TV.
Game 12 of the streak was played on Easter Sunday. I was sitting on the back porch with my two brothers listening to Bob Uecker call the game. It was a gorgeous day for April and my brothers and I were bonding over the Brewers' streak.
The Brewers were down 4-1 in the ninth with two on. We were nervous when strikeout artist Rob Deer came to bat with the game on the line. Then Uecker made a call which I will never forget.
"A curve ball drilled to deep left, way, way, way outta here and gone for Deer." I remember that call clearly to this day. My brothers and I were jumping up and down, just like the kids on Unit Three.
We were finally calming down when Dale Sveum hit his two-run homer to win it and we basked in the call in awed disbelief. At the time, we said that we would be talking about this game 25 years from now (which evidently has become true). We also threw around the idea that the Brewers could become the first team to go undefeated in a season (which is of course an impossibility).
The 1987 season started off with 13 straight wins, but a month later the Brewers suffered through a 12 game losing streak to even things out. Also notably, that was the season Paul Molitor had his famed 39 game hitting streak.
The Brewers finished third in a very tough AL Central division with 91 wins, but it is the memories of the big wins and climactic moments that bonded me with the kids on Unit Three and my brothers that I will always carry with me.
If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to email me baseballbuddha@shepex.com.
