On this day in 1992 Major League Baseball held an expansion draft to help fill out the rosters of its two newest teams, the Marlins and Rockies. The players the Brewers lost in the draft weren't household names: Reliever Darren Holmes, third baseman Jim Tatum and reliever Curtis Leskanic (who would later return).
After the draft, however, the Brewers made a deal that would live in infamy: They traded outfielder Dante Bichette to the Rockies for former Texas outfielder Kevin Reimer.
Bichette had spent the previous two seasons in Milwaukee and his performance had been nothing special: He hit .261/.293/.399 over 246 games. After moving to the thin air of Denver, though, Bichette became one of the game's top power hitters. He made four All Star teams and won a Silver Slugger Award as a Rockie and finished second in the balloting for NL MVP in 1995.
Reimer, meanwhile, played just one season for the Brewers before departing for Japan and never returning to the majors again.
With help from Brewerfan.net and the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to:
- 2012 Wisconsin Timber Rattler Mike Strong, who turns 24.
- Ryan Braun, who turns 29. We covered his birthday in this space last year.
- 1965 Milwaukee Brave Dan Osinski, who turns 79.
- Mike Garcia, 2000 inductee into the Appleton Baseball Hall of Fame, who would have turned 89.