On this day in 1957 Jesse Orosco was born in Santa Barbara, California. He attended Santa Barbara City College and was 21 years old when the Twins selected him in the second round (41st overall pick) of the 1978 January draft. Little more than a year later he made his major league debut as a Met in 1979.
The left-handed Orosco had already appeared in 598 major league games (including four starts) as a member of three teams over 12 major league seasons when the Brewers acquired him from the Indians following the 1991 season. He spent his 13th, 14th and 15th major league campaigns in Milwaukee, making 156 relief appearances and posting a 3.74 ERA over 134.2 innings. He also struck out 143 batters as a Brewer, roughly nine and a half per nine innings of work.
Orosco was 37 years old when he left the Brewers as a free agent following the 1994 season, and a lesser man might have been tempted to hang up the spikes. Orosco, though, went on to pitch five more season with the Orioles. Then one with the Cardinals. And two more with the Dodgers. Then he split a season between the Padres and Yankees before finally finishing off his career as a Twin in 2003.
Orosco was 46 when he pitched his 1252nd and final major league game with the Twins in 2003, and remains the major league record holder for career pitching appearances. He posted a 3.16 ERA over 1295.1 career innings.
Orosco turns 55 today. With help from Brewerfan.net and the B-Ref Play Index, we'd also like to wish a happy birthday to:
- 2011 AZL Brewer Malcolm Dowell, who turns 19.
- Milwaukee native and UW -Oshkosh alum Jack Taschner, who turns 34. Taschner pitched six major league seasons between 2005-2010 as a member of the Giants and three other teams.
- 2000-01 Brewer Kevin Brown, who turns 39.
Today is also the anniversary of Ryan Braun's 2009 overcycle: He went 5-for-5 with two home runs in the Brewers' 11-4 loss to the Phillies. You can learn more about overcycles here.
Finally, today is the 25th anniversary of the end of the Brewers' season-opening winning streak in 1987, as they lost 7-1 to the White Sox to fall to 13-1 on the season. We covered that event in this space last year.