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On this day in 1954 Randy Lerch was born in Sacramento, California. He was 18 when the Phillies selected him in the eighth round (170th overall pick) in the 1973 draft, and pitched his first six big league seasons in Philadelphia between 1975-80.
Lerch was still only 26 in 1981 when the Brewers acquired him from the Phillies in exchange for veteran outfielder Dick Davis. The 1981 season was his only full year in Milwaukee, and he posted a 4.31 ERA over 110.2 innings in the strike-shortened campaign.
Those numbers were good enough to earn Lerch a spot in the playoff rotation, and when his spot came up the Brewers had their back to the wall: They trailed the Yankees 2-0 in the best-of-five ALDS with three games in New York left to play. Lerch was up to the challenge, though, holding the Bronx Bombers to a run on just three hits over six innings. The win was the franchise's first ever in the postseason.
Lerch turns 58 today. With help from the B-Ref Play Index, we'd also like to wish a happy birthday to:
- Racine, Wisconsin native and 2011 Nashville Sound Jason Jaramillo, who turns 30.
- 1998-99 Brewer Bill Pulsipher, who turns 39.
- 1992 Brewer Jim Tatum, who turns 45.
- 1989 Brewer Ray Krawczyk, who turns 53.
- Brian Downing, 2001 inductee into the Appleton Baseball Hall of Fame, who turns 62.
- 1970 Brewer Mike Hershberger, who would have turned 73.
- 1901 Milwaukee Brewer Bill Reidy, who would have turned 139. We covered his birthday in this space last year.