On this day in 1994 the Red Sox scored four runs in the first inning and never looked back, beating the Brewers 7-1. Most of the remaining fans in attendance at Fenway Park probably hardly noticed when the Brewer infielders moved around in the bottom of the seventh to make room for a new third baseman. The player being inserted into the game was Jeff Cirillo, though, and this was his major league debut.
Cirillo was an eleventh round pick in 1991 and 1994 was his fourth professional season and second with AAA New Orleans. He was a career .316/.404/.476 hitter in the minors, so the fact that he also became a pretty effective player in the big leagues really shouldn't have been surprising.
Cirillo did, however, take some time to get going in the majors. He didn't get an at bat in his major league debut on this day, then went 0-for-3 in a start at third the next day. His first major league hit was a double on May 13. He played in 39 games in the strike-shortened 1994 season and hit .238/.309/.381. By the time he retired following the 2007 season, though, Cirillo was one of just four players in franchise history to hit over .300 in more than 3000 plate appearances.
With help from the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to 2006-07 Brewer Francisco Cordero. He turns 37.
Today is also the 12th anniversary of a 14-8 Brewer win over the Cubs in 2000 that lasted four hours and 22 minutes, making it the longest nine-inning game in NL history. We covered that event in this space last year.