"With George, he was very relaxed about the way he went (about) business, but he knew what he wanted to accomplish. One thing George did, he would always talk to his players. He communicated really well and you knew exactly where you stood."

Coming of Age

Compared to the inaugural game of the previous year, Milwaukee's 1978 opening day lineup featured five new starters and two veterans who would begin the new season at new positions.

One of those new starters was outfielder Larry Hisle, a coveted free-agent signing from Minnesota Hisle brought a potent bat to a roster that included Cecil Cooper, Gorman Thomas, Ben Oglivie, Sixto Lezcano, Sal Bando and Don Money who in 1978, would become the first Brewer in franchise history to be voted as a starter in the All-Star Game.

"Offensively we knew we could compete against anyone," remembered Hisle, who batted .290 with 34 home runs and 115 runs batted in on the way to being named Brewers' Most Valuable Player for the 1978 season.

"We had a great offensive squad. There were certain teams that we knew, just because of offense, if there was a three-game series, we were going to win two. Milwaukee was in that class."

"We are going to score runs," Brewers general manager, Harry Dalton told reporters in the days leading up to the new season. "The pitching may have some inconsistency because of the inexperience, but I think we're going to get better as we go along."

Dalton, honored in 1978 as General Manager of the Year, came to the Brewers after serving six years as general manager of the California Angels and, prior to that, six years as Orioles' vice president of player development.

"Harry was a dealer," said Lezcano -- who hit .292 with 15 home runs and 61 RBI in 1978 -- last month. "He always went into the market to get the best (talent) so that team could make it right away, turn it into a winner."

After averaging approximately 92 losses during its first eight years, Milwaukee was a team maturing into a contender in 1978. The Brewers recorded the first winning season in franchise history by posting a final record of 93-69 and a third place finish behind the New York Yankees (100-63) and Boston Red Sox (99-64) in the ultra-competetive American League East.

"We just swung the bat real well and pitched well when we had to, said Augustine, whose career in Milwaukee stretched from 1975-'84.

"What happened other years, we all started out the season fairly well and could never consistently keep it up. I think one thing that happened in 1978, when George came in, he went to more of a consistent lineup. Our farm system started bringing up players that helped the major league team.

<< Back

Next >>

1 comment about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by Dusty_Bottoms on April 4, 2008 at 9:44 a.m. (report)

Good times. However, I don't believe it's possible for a pitcher to record a save when his team wins 11-3. By definition, when the lead is more than 3 runs, the tying run must be on base, at bat or on deck.