Greatest Brewers Team of All-Time: Round of 16

1982 was, like, a long time ago. Think about that. If you were around, you probably had some sort of mullet or psychedelic hippie shirts in your mobile van (don’t quote me on the time eras of those fads, I was probably like negative thirteen at the time). Weren’t around for ’82? I’m pretty sure dinosaurs were still walking around in 1992 and remained alive until 1995 when Robin Yount conveniently slayed them right before my birth. Anyway, both 1982 and 1992 were memorable years for Brewers baseball, unless Baseball-Reference decided to lie straight to my face and ruin my entire childhood.

Through 44 seasons as a franchise, it’s difficult to decide which Milwaukee Brewers team was the greatest of all-time. Was it Harvey’s

Oct 7, 2011; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez (right) celebrates with teammates after scoring the winning run in the tenth inning of game five of the 2011 NLDS against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Miller Park. The Brewers won 3-2 in 10 innings. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

Wallbangers or Team Streak? Was it the 2011 team, franchise record holder for wins or the CC Sabathia-led Wild Card team of 2008? Or what about the 95-win team in 1979 that didn’t even reach the postseason?

It’s time for that debate to be settled using the only thing less biased than Hawk Harrelson (I kid, gosh): The online simulation tool at WhatIfSports.

Arranging the top 16 teams–because including all 44 teams would mean we have to acknowledge that 2002 really happened in real life–in franchise history based upon single season records and setting them against each other in a virtual, awesome, totally gnarly bracket to determine which team reigns supreme. Each Monday the next round will be posted right here at RtB to reveal who advanced in the tournament. To the place Northwestern fans have never been: the Round of 16!

Round of 16 (Best of 3)

(1) 2011 Brewers (96-66) vs. (16) 1989 Brewers (81-81)

Game 1: 1989 Brewers 5, 2011 Brewers 3- W: Chris Bosio (1-0) L: Yovani Gallardo (0-1)

Game 2: 2011 Brewers 6, 1989 Brewers 4- W: Zack Greinke (1-0) L: Teddy Higuera (0-1)

Game 3: 2011 Brewers 2, 1989 Brewers 1- W: Kameron Loe (1-0) L: Dan Plesac (0-1)

2011 Brewers advance, 2-1. MVP: Rickie Weeks hits a walk-off homer in Game 3 to avoid a first-round upset to the ’89 team.

JJ Hardy and Ray Durham were a major part of the magic in 2008…just not as much a part as CC Sabathia.

(8) 2008 Brewers (90-72) vs. (9) 1988 Brewers (87-75)

Game 1: 1988 Brewers 2, 2008 Brewers 1 (10)- W:Teddy Higuera (1-0) L: Guillermo Mota (0-1)

Game: 1988 Brewers 8, 2008 Brewers 1- W: Don August (1-0) L: CC Sabathia (0-1)

1988 Brewers advance, 2-0. MVP: Teddy Higuera throws a 10-inning gem in Game 1 to get the win before Sabathia gets shelled as ’88 team sweeps.

(5) 1981 Brewers (62-47) vs. (12) 1991 Brewers (83-79)

Game 1: 1991 Brewers 2, 1981 Brewers 1- W: Jaime Navarro L: Mike Caldwell (0-1)

Game 2: 1981 Brewers 9, 1991 Brewers 0- W: Pete Vuckovich (1-0) L: Bob Wegman (0-1) SV: Rollie Fingers (1)

Game 3: 1991 Brewers 8, 1981 Brewers 0- W: Chris Bosio (1-0) L: Moose Haas (0-1)

1991 Brewers pull off the upset, 2-1. MVP: Greg Vaughn goes 8-12 with 1 HR and drives in 6 of his team’s 10 runs.

(4) 1978 Brewers (93-69) vs. (13) 2012 Brewers (83-79)

Game 1: 1978 Brewers 9, 2012 Brewers 3- W: Mike Caldwell (1-0) L: Yovani Gallardo (0-1)

Game 2: 2012 Brewers 13, 1978 Brewers 3- W: Marco Estrada (1-0) L: Jerry Augustine (0-1)

Game 3: 2012 Brewers 3, 1978 Brewers 2- W: Shaun Marcum (1-0) L: Larry Sorenson (0-1) SV: John Axford (1)

2012 Brewers come back to finish the upset, 2-1. MVP: Alex Gonzalez resurrects, hits .500 over the last 2 games with 2 homers.