This is the third entry in a ten part series discussing the greatest moments in Brewer All Star history. Parts one and two ran yesterday.
Trevor Hoffman will always be remembered as a Padre, but Brewer fans will remember that he was excellent in his debut season in Milwaukee in 2009. Despite not starting his season until April 27, Hoffman had an 18 inning scoreless streak to open play and recorded 20 saves in the first half to earn his seventh All Star appearance.
With the game tied at three in the sixth inning Hoffman was called upon to relieve Chad Billingsley, who had allowed the tying run to score one inning earlier. He got Andruw Jones to fly out to open the frame, then allowed a single to Josh Hamilton. Undeterred, Hoffman forced Michael Young to ground into a double play to end the inning. He needed just five pitches to complete the frame, which was worth +.074 WPA. The NL went on to lose the game 4-3.
Hoffman was actually better after the All Star break than before, posting a 1.63 ERA and finishing the season with 37 saves.