On this day in 1976 Kyle Peterson was born in Elkhorn, Nebraska. After pitching for three years at Stanford, Peterson was selected by the Brewers with the #13 overall pick in the 1997 draft. Lance Berkman, Adam Kennedy and Jayson Werth were among the players selected later in the same first round.
Peterson climbed through the minors quickly, reaching AAA already in his first full professional season in 1998 and earning his first callup to the big leagues midseason in 1999. He made 17 appearances (12 starts) for the Brewers that year and posted a 4.56 ERA over 77 innings.
Unfortunately, those innings were the highlight of Peterson's pro career. Injuries limited him to just four minor league games in 2000 and he was ineffective in 2001, appearing in just three games in the big leagues and posting a 5.71 ERA in 20 appearances for AAA Indianapolis. Peterson retired before 2002 despite the fact that it would have been just his age 26 season.
Since retiring, Peterson has covered Little League and college baseball for ESPN.
Peterson turns 36 today. With help from the B-Ref Play Index, we'd also like to wish a happy birthday to:
- 2009-10 Brewer Chris Smith, who turns 31.
- 2006 Brewer Dennis Sarfate, who turns 31.
- 1993-96 Brewer Graeme Lloyd, who turns 45.
Today is also the 47th anniversary of the first game played in the Astrodome, the majors' first indoor facility. We covered that in this space last year.