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Directed by: Sean Hanish
Starring: Bob Uecker, Bud Selig, Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Rollie Fingers, Ted Simmons, Cecil Cooper, Gorman Thomas, Peter Vuckovich, Jim Gantner, Charlie Moore, Ben Oglivie, Mike Caldwell, Jim Slaton, Moose Haas, Don Sutton
Rated: TV-MA
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Plot
In 1982, the Milwaukee Brewers were one game away from winning it all. The highs and lows of the season that came close to winning the championship exemplify the forty-year love affair between a struggling blue-collar city and a perfectly matched team.
Verdict
This is a fun watch if you're a sports fan, and especially so if you enjoy baseball. A hard scrabble team fights all the way to the end, nearly every game. They don't have enough to win it all, but their city celebrates them anyway. Some sports docs transcend the sport, becoming a human story. This doesn't quite do that, but as a fan of baseball I enjoyed it. The story is especially apt as the Brewers have not only made it to the 2026 World Series, they won in five games.
It depends.
Review
The 1982 season was the first and only time the Brewers made it to the World Series, until 2026.
The Brewers came so close in 1982, a team full of colorful characters and more than a few Hall of Famers in Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Ted Simmons, and Rollie Fingers. After a heartbreaking loss and despite the talent of the team, the Brewers never made it back to redeem the loss. In 1983 they finished fifth in their division.
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| 1982 - Game 162: Robin Yount hits a home run |
Baseball returned to Milwaukee in 1970 after the Braves left for Atlanta after 1965. The new team was sub-par for a decade, but in 1981 they had a playoff team though they lost to the Yankees. In 1982 with a new manager, the team caught fire. They led the division but losses to the Orioles down the stretch take them to the final game of the season against the Orioles. The winner takes the division and the Brewers manages to win. In the championship series they lose twice to the Angels. They can't lose another game, and they manage to do the impossible, winning three straight to defeat the Angels.
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| 1982 - Brewers are AL Champions |
The first half of the documentary is the run to the World Series with the second have covering each game as they face the Cardinals. The Brewers put up a big first game, en route to heading back to St. Louis up three games to two. They just need to win one. The Cardinals win the next game, and then they take the second. One moment can change the momentum of the game. The Brewers found theirs against the Orioles and Angels, but it was the Cardinals that had their moment in the World Series.
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| 1982 - Cardinals win game 7 of the World Series |
Despite the loss, the city celebrates their team. The Brewers dejected, are hopeful that next season they can fulfill their promise. MVP of the 1982 series Robin Yount summed it up, that loss is haunting. The team never made it back to the World Series. Yount never got a ring. Redeeming that loss could have mitigated their melancholy, but the city of Milwaukee, when this was made, was still waiting not just for a title but another World Series.
In October 2026, the Milwaukee Brewers faced the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series. It would be the first Series win for either team, but it's a chance for the Brewers to redeem missing out over forty years ago. In five games the Brewers won and brought a championship home to Milwaukee.
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| Title Card |
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