SCOTT DETROW, HOST:

When the Milwaukee Brewers were last in the World Series, longtime NPR senior editor and correspondent Ron Elving was in the County Stadium stands. Ron was working for the Milwaukee Journal at the time the Brewers were in their one and only World Series - that is, until last night, when another exciting fast Brewers squad swept the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers to make the World Series. Now, it just so happens that after decades in Washington, D.C., Ron had recently moved back to Milwaukee and joins us now. Ron, as I say that, it feels like you should take credit for this World Series run.

RON ELVING, BYLINE: Thank you, Scott. I don't think anyone else thinks so. Even my grandsons wouldn't buy that.

DETROW: But what is it like to be back in Milwaukee during this pennant run?

ELVING: The nostalgia is huge, but it's just maybe the smallest part. Some people in this town still recall 1957, when the Milwaukee Braves, who later moved to Atlanta, beat the New York Yankees in seven games. That was an epic series.

DETROW: They had a pretty good outfielder, didn't they?

ELVING: Oh, we had Hank Aaron, and then of course the Yankees had a guy named Mickey Mantle. So it was historic in many ways. But far more, I recall the series that I mentioned from 1982, back when there were two separate newspapers, the Journal and the Sentinel. But this team belongs to the present.

DETROW: We were talking a little bit - you know, I mentioned you were in the stands in the ALCS and the World Series in 1982. You've said that this current team does kind of remind you a little bit of that 1982 Brewers team. How so?

ELVING: Mostly the team spirit. Yeah, there were some superstars. People might remember the most valuable player, Robin Yount, or such great talents as Cecil Cooper and Paul Molitor. But there was also a team mentality, a sense that anyone on the team could be the hero on a given night from any spot on the batting order, maybe a pinch hitter, oftentimes a relief pitcher you didn't know the name of a couple of months ago.

There are a couple of other big differences, though. The Brewers were called the Bombers for their reign of home runs back in the 1980s. This Brew Crew is known for pitching. First and foremost, they've got Jacob Misiorowski, who is a lock for the Cy Young Award, extraordinary 23-year-old throwing well over 100 miles per hour again and again and again, and for bunting, as you say, for getting on base and moving the runner along and all kinds of means of eking out a run, trying to score in every inning. In that last game with the Padres, the Brewers scored in 5 innings out of 8, and they only needed eight because that was enough to beat the Padres.

DETROW: Ron, making the World Series is great. Making the World Series with such a strong playoff run is great. But how much sweeter do you think this has been for Brewers fans from Milwaukee sweeping the LA Dodgers, the team that has won the last two World Series and has dominated the NL for so long?

ELVING: That's one of the points of comparison to back in 1957. Everybody knew the Yankees as the lords of baseball in that era, and for Milwaukee to beat New York in that situation, it was just overwhelming. And everybody knows about the current Dodgers. They are, in this time, the lords of baseball, loaded with Hall of Famers. So yes, last year really hurt. The Brewers had the best regular season record, but they were dismissed by the Dodgers in the playoffs. This year feels much better.

DETROW: Ron, last question. What do you think it will be like at American Family Field - which I have to say, in my mind, will always be Miller Park - for that first home game of the World Series?

ELVING: Some of us remember County Stadium before that. And, you know, whichever park they're in, it's going to be the fulfillment of a lot of dreams and the renewal of many dear, happy memories, and there will be a rockin' house full of both.

DETROW: NPR's Ron Elving. Ron, I always like talking politics with you, but it's much more fun to talk baseball. Thank you.

ELVING: Thank you, Scott.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE CALIFORNIA HONEYDROPS SONG, "LEAD ME HOME")