This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy’s Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SAN DIEGO -- Some heavy hitters in the entertainment industry are stepping up to tell the story of one of the Brewers’ heaviest-hitting teams. 

Wisconsin native, longtime Brewers fan and former president of CBS entertainment Kelly Kahl, with Cannonball Productions principals Sean Hanish (another Wisconsin native) and Paul Jaconi-Biery, are producing a documentary called, “Just a Bit Outside: The Story of the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers.” Hanish is directing and former Brewers slugger Gorman Thomas is an associate producer on the project, which recently completed principal photography. 

A release date for the film has not yet been announced. The Brewers first connected with Kahl --  born in Burlington, Wis. -- when a group of players made cameos on “The Young And The Restless” on CBS in 2007. 

“They say, ‘never meet your heroes,’ because they are bound to disappoint,” Kahl said. “But I can attest, these ballplayers deliver insights, recollections and stories about the magical summer of ’82 that have never been shared before. Their pure joy, and eventual heartbreak, will resonate not only with any Brewers’ fan, but any fan of the game.”

Hanish, the director, grew up in Brookfield, Wis., and was 14 years old in 1982. He says he was in the stands for “over 60 games” that season as the Brewers battled the Orioles down to the final day of the season to win the American League East -- the first division title in franchise history. It’s no spoiler to say the Brewers defeated the Angels in the ALCS before falling to the Cardinals in Game 7 of the World Series.

The Brewers provided some footage to the filmmakers from that era and helped facilitate sit-downs with many of the key figures from that team, including Hall of Famers Robin Yount, Ted Simmons, Paul Molitor and Rollie Fingers, Brewers founder Bud Selig and broadcaster Bob Uecker. Thomas, Cecil Cooper and 1982 AL Cy Young Award winner Pete Vuckovich are among the other players who sat for the cameras and told the story of that joyous Brewers team against the backdrop of factory closures and recession at the time.

“Being able to meet my boyhood idols,” Hanish said, “and hear them open up about the highs and lows of that season, and their intimate connection to each other and to Brewer fans, is the culmination of a boyhood dream that I’m thrilled to share with sports lovers everywhere.”

“We had one hell of a team, and one hell of a time,” Thomas said. “The fans know the story of what happened on the field, but it’s what happened off the field that made this team unique. We were a group of lunatics, philosophers and pranksters who loved being together, and loved winning together. I’m just excited that the fans get to hear stories that they’ve never heard before.”