On this day in 1937 Juan Pizarro was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He signed with the Braves as an amateur free agent in 1956, was the South Atlantic League MVP in his first professional season and made his major league debut in 1957, pitching in 24 regular season games for the only World Series championship team in Milwaukee baseball history. Pizarro pitched in one game each for the Braves in the 1957 and '58 Fall Classics.
All told, Pizarro pitched in 90 games over four seasons in Milwaukee, posting a 3.93 ERA over 444.1 innings. Following the 1960 season the Braves traded him to the Reds, who sent him along to the White Sox on the same day. Pizarro went on to have his best seasons in Chicago, making back-to-back All Star teams in 1963 and 1964 while posting sub-3 ERAs over 450+ innings.
Overall Pizarro pitched 488 major league games over 18 seasons as a member of eight teams, finishing his career with a 3.43 ERA over 2034 innings.
Thanks to the B-Ref Play Index for reminding me that Pizarro turns 76 today. We'd also like to wish a happy birthday to:
- 2007-09 Brewer Seth McClung, who turns 32.
- 1985 Brewer Carlos Ponce, who turns 54.
Today is also the eighth anniversary of Jeff Cirillo returning to the Brewers as a free agent in 2005. We covered that event in this space last year.