Gorman Thomas on Brewers’ change of manager during 1982 season
Gorman Thomas and producer Kelly Kahl, both part of the ‘Just a Bit Outside’ documentary on the 1982 Brewers, recall a midseason manager switch.
Madison West alumnus and Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin became the fourth Wisconsin high-school alumnus to win the rookie of the year award in Major League Baseball.
The 24-year-old Baldwin had an .810 OPS this season with 19 homers, 80 RBIs and a .341 on-base percentage, all while playing a demanding position.
He got 21 first-place votes out of 30 and accumulated 183 points, ahead of Chicago Cubs pitcher Caleb Horton (139) and Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Caleb Durbin (69), as well as Brewers outfielder Isaac Collins (62).
Baldwin, a third-round draft pick out of Missouri State University in 2022, joins a small fraternity of Wisconsin high-school alumni to win the award, and only two in the past quarter-century.
Here were the others:
Harvey Kuenn (1953)
Before he became Milwaukee Brewers manager in 1982, a midseason arrival who led the franchise to their one and only World Series, he was a shortstop (and later an outfielder) for the Detroit Tigers. At age 22, he had a .742 OPS and received 23 of the 24 votes for the award.
Kuenn went on to win a batting title in 1959 and made 10 all-star teams. The West Allis and Milwaukee Lutheran High School alum played college baseball at the University of Wisconsin. His second wife, Audrey, inherited the reins of local bar Cesar’s Inn, located near County Stadium, from her parents. Harvey and Audrey famously operated the bar and lived next door during his days working for the Brewers.
Tony Kubek (1957)
The Bay View High School alumnus took baseball by storm in 1957, playing a litany of positions on the diamond for the New York Yankees and posting a .716 OPS with 39 RBIs for a team that eventually lost to his hometown Braves in the seventh game of the World Series, where Kubek served as starting left fielder. He shockingly hit two homers in Game 3 of the series, a 12-3 victory for the Yankees in the first game of the series, played at County Stadium. Kubek hit only three homers in the regular season.
Kubek actually stopped playing baseball at Bay View to focus on other sports, but he was noticed on sandlots by a New York scout. Kubek had 23 of the 24 first-place votes.
His second career came in broadcasting, becoming a color commentator for NBC, which ultimately landed him the Ford C. Frick Award bestowed by the Baseball Hall of Fame to a broadcaster each year.
Eric Hinske (2002)
The Menasha alumnus immediately caught on with the Blue Jays, posting an .845 OPS and hitting 24 homers with 13 steals (caught just once). It turned out to be his best season in the big leagues, though he went on to win World Series titles with Boston in 2007 and the Yankees in 2009.
Hinske, who played college baseball at Arkansas, was selected in the 17th round by the Cubs in 1998, but he was traded to the Oakland Athletics for infielder Miguel Cairo at the outset of the 2001 season, then traded to the Blue Jays alongside another future big-leaguer in Justin Miller for reliever Billy Koch after the 2001 season.
The third baseman received 19 first-place votes and 122 total points, well ahead of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Rodrigo López (97 points) for the American League honor.
Bonus: Frank Howard (1960)
Howard was born in Ohio and died in Virginia but spent a huge part of his life in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he played minor-league baseball for the Dodgers and met his wife. He lived there and operated shopping centers there during his career, and he also became a coach with the Brewers.
The 6-foot-7 behemoth won the National League rookie of the year in 1960 after he hit 23 homers and drove in 77 runs, good for a .784 OPS as a 23-year-old. He went on to hit 30 homers five times, including seasons of 44, 44 and 48 homers en route to four all-star appearances.