Major League Vs. The 2002 Brewers
Sunday, August 12th, 2007Most of us know and love the movie Major League. It’s a classic and it’s still as funny now as it was then. It’s probably my favorite sports movie of all time (Yes, even beating out Field of Dreams, however it helps that I was at the filming for Major League when I was a kid, so perhaps I’m biased).
We Milwaukee fans as a whole love Major League even more than other cities because our beloved Bob Uecker takes center stage as Harry Doyle. It also has local favorite Pete Vuckovich as the bad-ass Clue Haywood. Not to mention, the baseball games were actually filmed in Milwaukee at County Stadium.
I don’t know about you, but my friends and I always agree that Major League is really about the Brewers. We see the torture that was the 2002 season in this humorous movie. I felt it was time to lay it out for all to see; The undeniable truth that Major League was ahead of it’s time because the team could have been based on the terrible 2002 Brewers. Here is the proof that we all know already:
Those in Charge of the Team:
Major League: The team was owned by a female owner, named Rachel Phelps, who hated the team and wanted to drive it further into despair
2002 Brewers: The team was owned by a female owner with a last name that also started with P, Wendy Selig-Prieb. The team was near triple digit losses during her tenure and ended with a winning percentage of .420
Major League: The team was managed by a first time manager named Lou Brown
2002 Brewers: The team was managed by a first time manager named Davey Lopes (still his only managerial stint)
Major League: The team had a new General Manager named Charlie Donovan who hated seeing his team go down the drain.
2002 Brewers: We also had a new General Manager, one Doug Melvin, who had to hate seeing this team go down the drain.
The Players or “Who are these f**king guys”:
Major League has an old catcher with his last shot at the majors named Jake Taylor, we had Paul Bako who never started over 60 games again. I will say that this is my weakest part of the argument, but keep reading, it gets stronger again.
[caption id="attachment_350" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="Paul Bako"][/caption]Major League had a slugger who could hit the fastball great, but curveball not so much in Pedro Cerrano. We had Richie Sexson who had 29 taters, but 136 K’s and batted below the Mendoza line in 2 out or tie game situations in 2002.
[caption id="attachment_352" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="Richie Sexson"][/caption]Major League had a young fast gun who shot onto the scene. Of course it’s pre-muscular Wesley Snipes as Willy Mays Hayes. We had a fast little center fielder as well named Alex Sanchez, who was later busted for steroids (Possibly trying to look like Snipes in Blade)
[caption id="attachment_354" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="Alex Sanchez"][/caption]Major League had one high priced free agent acquisition; infielder Roger Dorn. However, Dorn had a flaw he couldn’t shake…poor fielding. The Brewers had a high priced free agent infielding acquisition named Jose Hernandez who also had one major flaw he couldn’t shake…strikeouts.
[caption id="attachment_356" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="Jose Hernandez"][/caption]Major League had a pitcher named Eddie Harris who couldn’t throw the heat so he added his own touches (Bardol and Vagisil to name two). The 2002 Brewers had a pitcher named Ruben Quevedo. It was said that his fast ball had the same velocity as his change up. He needed some KY because his pitching was awful.
[caption id="attachment_358" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="Ruben Quevedo"][/caption]Major League had a young hurler named Ricky Vaughn whose previous accolades in the California Penal made him feared. He had some issues (Walks and Hitting Batters), but could really throw the heat (A League Leader in K’s). We had young Ben Sheets who hit 10 people (second most on the team) but struck out 170 (most on the team). His previous accolades in the Olympics made him respected.
[caption id="attachment_360" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="Ben Sheets"][/caption]There you have it: All the proof you need that Major League was the precursor to the 2002 Brewers. Of course, the Indians in Major League actually won the pennant and was a lovable brand of losers, while the Brewers lost 106 games and it’s impossible to love Ruben Quevedo or Alex Sanchez. Other than that, you can take this great information and use it at your next social (drinking) gathering. If you have anything to add, please post.