Today In Brewer History: Happy Birthday, Ken Felder

by Kyle Lobner on Feb 9, 2012 6:00 AM CST in History

On this day in 1971 Kenneth Wesley Felder was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He was 18 years old when the Padres drafted him in the second round of the 1989 draft, but opted not to sign and went to Florida State. He was playing there when the Brewers selected him with the #12 overall pick in 1992.

Unfortunately, being drafted early might have been the highlight of Felder's professional career. He hit just .243/.322/.409 in five minor league seasons before a freak batting practice injury ended his career at age 26.

If you're the kind of person that likes looking down the untraveled path, here are some of the best players drafted after Felder in the first round in 1992:

Player	Team	Career Wins Above Replacement (rWAR)
Johnny Damon	Royals (#35)	51.6
Jason Kendall	Pirates (#23)	37.7
Charles Johnson	Marlins (#28)	22.0
Shannon Stewart	Blue Jays (#19)	19.8
Rick Helling	Rangers (#22)	18.6

Felder turns 41 today. With help from the B-Ref Play Index, we'd also like to wish a happy birthday to 1996 Brewer Ramon Garcia. He turns 43.

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ugh. don't get me started.

off the top of my head, i think the brewers wanted a faster of and thought felder could bring that to the table. so they drafted him. keep in mind he was injured at the time and undergoing shoulder surgery, which was a fairly big deal at the time. sigh.

by Capt Science on Feb 9, 2012 11:38 AM CST reply actions

Earned $4.9MM from his injury award.

Not from the Brewers, but from the physiotherapists that the Brewers hired. In trial, a former Mets scout testified that he had “more power than Frank Thomas” and estimated that his 7-years career would have been worth more than $27MM. He was eventually awarded $7MM and found 30% at fault.

I thinks that’s a fair consolation for a struggling minor leaguer whose career is cut short by injury.

by mpbMKE on Feb 9, 2012 1:50 PM CST reply actions

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