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On this day in 1957 Teodoro Valenzuela Higuera was born in Los Mochis, Mexico. He was 25 when the Brewers purchased him from Ciudad Juarez in the Mexican League and made the jump to the majors after pitching just one season in the minors.
Higuera had no problem adjusting to major league hitting as he posted a 3.90 ERA and worked 212.1 innings in his debut season in 1985, finishing second in the voting for AL Rookie of the Year. That was the start of the best four-year stretch any Brewer pitcher has ever had, as he posted a 3.25 ERA over 766 strikeouts while working 949.2 innings between 1985-88.
Amazingly, despite his dominance Higuera was only an All Star one time and was completely left off the AL Cy Young balloting in both 1985 and 1988, when he had a 2.45 ERA and led the AL with a 0.999 WHIP.
Unfortunately, the 1988 season was the beginning of the end for Higuera, as he would never break 170 innings or 30 starts again. From 1991-94 he made just 32 appearances over four seasons, posting a 6.34 ERA before retiring.
Higuera turns 55 today. With help from Brewerfan.net and the B-Ref Play Index, we'd also like to wish a happy birthday to:
- 2012 AZL Brewer Dustin Houle, who turns 19.
- 2006-10 Brewer Dave Bush, who turns 33.
- 1993-97 Brewer Angel Miranda, who turns 43.
- 1983-85 Brewer Dion James, who turns 50.
- 1953-60 Milwaukee Brave Bill Bruton, who would have turned 87.
Today is also the 30th anniversary of Robin Yount being named the 1982 AL MVP. We covered that event in this space last year.