MVP Profile: Robin Yount, 1982

Shortstop, Milwaukee Brewers

Age:  27 (Sept. 16)

9^th season with Brewers

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 165

Prior to 1982:

Born in Illinois, Yount grew up in Woodland Hills, California, where he excelled in playing shortstop at Taft High School and was the third overall pick by the Brewers in the 1973 amateur draft. Assigned to the Newark Co-Pilots of the Class A NewYork-Pennsylvania League, he batted .285 in 64 games and made the jump to the shortstop-deficient Brewers at age 18 in 1974. “The Kid” showed his potential while honing his craft at the major league level, hitting .250 in 107 games until he was sidelined by a foot injury. His range and throwing arm at short was also very satisfactory. Yount started off strong in 1975 until he was again hindered by a foot injury and tailed off in the field, where he committed 44 errors, as well as at the plate where he batted .267 with 28 doubles, 8 home runs, and 52 RBIs.  He stayed healthy in 1976, appearing in 161 games, and hit .252 while leading AL shortstops in total chances (831) and put outs (290), and dropped his errors to 31 for the last place Brewers. A 1977 season in which his batting average rose to .288 was followed by his walking out of spring training in 1978, indicating that he might prefer to become a professional golfer rather than continue with baseball. Returning to the Brewers, Yount missed the first month of the season but still hit .293 with 9 home runs and 71 RBIs. The Brewers rose to second place in the AL East in 1979 and Yount contributed a .267 average with 8 home runs and 51 RBIs along with steady play in the field. With the team desiring greater power production out of his bat, he engaged in a weight-training program in the offseason that paid off with 49 doubles, 10 triples, 23 home runs, and 87 RBIs, his first All-Star selection, and a Silver Slugger in 1980. The Brewers reached the postseason for the first time in the strike-interrupted 1981 season and “Rockin’ Robin” hit well down the stretch while batting .273 overall with 10 home runs and 49 RBIs. In the field he committed only 8 errors.  

1982 Season Summary

Appeared in 156 games

SS – 154, DH – 1, PH – 2

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 704 [8]

At Bats – 635 [4]

Runs – 129 [2]

Hits – 210 [1]

Doubles – 46 [1, tied with Hal McRae]

Triples – 12 [3]

Home Runs – 29 [11]

RBI – 114 [4]

Bases on Balls – 54

Int. BB – 2

Strikeouts – 63

Stolen Bases – 14

Caught Stealing – 3

Average - .331 [2]

OBP - .379 [10]

Slugging Pct. - .578 [1]

Total Bases – 367 [1]

GDP – 19 [10, tied with Greg Luzinski & Willie Aikens]

Hit by Pitches – 1

Sac Hits – 4

Sac Flies – 10 [2]

League-leading hits were +5 ahead of runner-up Cecil Cooper

League-leading slugging pct. was +.018 ahead of runner-up Dave Winfield

League-leading total bases were +22 ahead of runner-up Cecil Cooper

Midseason snapshot: HR - 15, RBI - 57, AVG - .327, SLG - .585

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Most hits, game – 5 (in 5 AB) vs. Boston 7/2

Longest hitting streak – 13 games

HR at home – 9

HR on road – 20

Most home runs, game – 2 on seven occasions

Multi-HR games – 7

Most RBIs, game – 6 vs. Baltimore 9/24

Pinch-hitting – 1 of 2 (.500) with 1 2B & 1 RBI

Fielding

Chances - 766

Put Outs – 253

Assists – 489

Errors – 24

DP – 95

Pct. - .969

Postseason Batting: 12 G (ALCS vs. California – 5 G; World Series vs. St. Louis – 7 G)

PA – 52, AB – 45, R – 7, H – 16, 2B – 3,3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 6, BB – 3, IBB – 1, SO – 4, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .356, OBP - .396, SLG -.489, TB – 22, GDP – 3, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

Awards & Honors:

AL MVP: BBWAA

MLB Player of the Year: Sporting News

Gold Glove

Silver Slugger

All-Star (started for AL at SS)

Top 5 in AL MVP Voting:

Robin Yount, Mil.: 385 pts. - 27 of 28 first place votes, 98% share

Eddie Murray, Balt.: 228 pts. – 58% share

Doug DeCinces, Cal.: 178 pts. – 45% share

Hal McRae, KC: 175 pts. – 45% share

Cecil Cooper, Mil.: 152 pts. – 39% share

(1 first place vote for Reggie Jackson, Cal., who ranked sixth)

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Brewers went 95-67 to finish first in the AL Eastern Division by 1 game over the Baltimore Orioles, while leading the league in runs scored (891), home runs (216), RBIs (843), slugging (.455), and total bases (2606). The struggling Brewers came to life after manager Buck Rodgers was replaced by Harvey Kuenn in June. “Harvey’s Wallbangers” were primarily heralded for their hitting and went 72-43 the rest of the way, surviving the loss of bullpen ace Rollie Fingers in the final month and a surge by the Orioles, who they defeated in the season’s last game to clinch the division title. Won ALCS over the California Angels, 3 games to 2. Lost World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 3 despite Milwaukee’s batting heroics.

Aftermath of ‘82:

Yount followed up with another strong season in 1983, even though he was hampered by a back injury while the Brewers dropped to fifth in the AL East. Bothered by a sore shoulder in 1984, he finished the season as a Designated Hitter and hit .298 with 27 doubles, 7 triples, 16 home runs and 80 RBIs. Yount was shifted to the outfield in 1985 and was limited to 122 games as his shoulder injury required surgery. Still, he batted .277 with 15 home runs and 68 RBIs. Installed in center field in 1986, the position he would play for the remainder of his career, Yount hit .312 with 9 home runs and 46 RBIs while scoring a team-leading 82 runs. He was better offensively in 1987, again batting .312 with 21 home runs and 103 RBIs. In 1988 Yount tied for the AL lead with 11 triples to go along with 38 doubles, 13 home runs, 91 RBIs, and a .306 average. He placed eleventh in league MVP voting. He won his second MVP award in 1989 as he batted .318 with 38 doubles, 9 triples, and 21 home runs with 103 RBIs. Yount remained with the Brewers, his only major league team, until 1993, after which he retired at age 38. For his 20-year career he batted .285 with 3142 hits that included 583 doubles, 126 triples, and 251 home runs. He further accumulated 1406 RBIs and 271 stolen bases. The two-time AL MVP was also a three-time All-Star who won a Gold Glove at shortstop and was awarded three Silver Sluggers. The Brewers retired his #19 and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.

Cy Young Profile: Pete Vuckovich, 1982

Pitcher, Milwaukee Brewers

Age:  29

2^nd season with Brewers

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’4”    Weight: 220

Prior to 1982:

A native of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Vuckovich played football and basketball as well as baseball at Conemaugh Valley High School. He turned down football scholarship offers from major colleges to attend Clarion State College where he pitched and played second base. Selected by the Chicago White Sox in the third round of the 1974 amateur draft he played for teams at the Class A and AA levels in ’74 and in 18 games put together a combined record of 3-5 with a 3.48 ERA. He moved up to the Denver Bears of the Class AAA American Association in 1975 and was 11-4 with a 4.34 ERA and developed his array of pitches that included a fastball, slider, curve, and change-up. In August he had a trial with the White Sox that consisted of 10.1 innings over four appearances that resulted in an 0-1 record and 13.06 ERA. Vuckovich spent time pitching in Puerto Rico over the ensuing winter and was utilized by the White Sox primarily as a reliever in 1976, producing a 7-4 record with a 4.65 ERA while pitching 110.1 innings. In the offseason Vuckovich was traded to the expansion Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched in 53 games for the first-year club, all but 8 of them from out of the bullpen. His record was 7-7 with a 3.47 ERA, 123 strikeouts, and 8 saves. Vuckovich was dealt again during the offseason, this time to the St. Louis Cardinals. Of his 45 appearances in 1978, 23 were starts and, experiencing plenty of hard luck with a club that posted its worst record in 54 years, he came away with a 12-12 record and 2.54 ERA while striking out 149 batters. Fast-working, fiercely competitive, and an intimidating presence on the mound, Vuckovich followed up with a 15-10 tally for the much-improved Redbirds in 1979, with a 3.59 ERA and 145 strikeouts while starting 32 games and pitching 233 innings. He had another respectable season in 1980, going 12-9 with a 3.40 ERA and 132 strikeouts. In the offseason he was part of a blockbuster trade with the Brewers, in which he was sent to Milwaukee along with catcher Ted Simmons and newly-acquired RHP Rollie Fingers for four players, two of them pitchers. Vuckovich proceeded to have an outstanding year for his new team in the strike-interrupted 1981 season, leading the AL with a .778 winning percentage thanks to his 14-4 record. He also posted a 3.55 ERA as the heavy-hitting Brewers made it to the postseason for the first time in franchise history.   

1982 Season Summary

Appeared in 30 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 30

Games Started – 30

Complete Games – 9 [17, tied with Milt Wilcox]

Wins – 18 [2, tied with Geoff Zahn & Larry Gura]

Losses – 6

PCT - .750 [1, tied with Jim Palmer]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 1 [20, tied with many others]

Innings Pitched – 223.2 [20]

Hits – 234 [14]

Runs – 96

Earned Runs – 83

Home Runs – 14

Bases on Balls – 102 [2]

Strikeouts – 105

ERA – 3.34 [6, tied with Jim Beattie]

Hit Batters – 5 [17, tied with six others]

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 6 [18, tied with eleven others]

Midseason Snapshot: 10-4, ERA - 3.09, SO – 58 in 110.2 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 8 (in 9 IP) vs. Minnesota 7/8

10+ strikeout games – 0

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 3 (in 9 IP) at Texas 4/24, (in 9 IP) vs. Boston 7/3

Fielding

Chances – 56

Put Outs – 13

Assists – 39

Errors – 4

DP – 1

Pct. - .929

Postseason Pitching:

G – 4 (ALCS vs. California – 2 G; World Series vs. St. Louis – 2 G)

GS – 4, CG – 1, Record – 0-2, PCT – .000, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 28.1, H – 31, R – 16, ER – 14, HR – 3, BB – 12, SO – 12, ERA – 4.45, HB – 1, BLK – 0, WP – 0

Awards & Honors:

AL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

18^th in AL MVP voting (11 points, 3% share)

  

AL Cy Young voting (Top 5):

Pete Vuckovich, Mil.: 87 pts. – 14 of 28 first place votes, 62% share

Jim Palmer, Balt.: 59 pts. – 4 first place votes, 42% share

Dan Quisenberry, KC: 40 pts. – 4 first place votes, 29% share

Dave Stieb, Tor.: 36 pts. –  5 first place votes, 26% share

Rick Sutcliffe, Clev.: 14 pts. – 1 first place vote, 10% share

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Brewers went 95-67 to finish first in the AL Eastern Division by 1 game over the Baltimore Orioles. The pitching staff led the league in saves (47). Won the ALCS over the California Angels, 3 games to 2. Lost the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 3. The struggling Brewers came to life after manager Buck Rodgers was replaced by Harvey Kuenn in June. “Harvey’s Wallbangers” were primarily heralded for their hitting and went 72-43 the rest of the way, surviving the loss of bullpen ace Rollie Fingers in the final month and a surge by the Orioles, who they defeated in the season’s last game to clinch the division title.

Aftermath of ‘82:

A torn rotator cuff sidelined Vuckovich until August in 1983 when he was able to start three games until a pulled hamstring ended his season for good. Surgery to remove a bone spur and repair muscle damage completely wiped out his 1984 season. Vuckovich was ineffective during an injury-plagued 1985 season and went 6-10 with a 5.51 ERA. After further surgery his attempt to come back in 1986 resulted in his announced retirement at the end of spring training. After working as a scout and minor league instructor during the season he joined Vancouver of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in August and performed well, posting a 2-1 record with a 1.26 ERA. Activated by the Brewers in September he started six games and went 2-4 with a 3.06 ERA. Vuckovich retired for good the following April. His overall major league record was 93-69 with a 3.66 ERA and 882 strikeouts over 1455.1 innings pitched. He was 40-26 with a 3.88 ERA and 266 strikeouts in 533 innings pitched with the Brewers. Following his retirement as a player Vuckovich worked as a television announcer for Brewers games, appeared in the movie Major League, and then was with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization for many years.

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Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.