On this day in 1977 the Orioles beat the Brewers 5-0 at County Stadium behind a complete game shutout for Rudy May. The Brewers tried out a new guy at shortstop that day, as Ed Romero went 0-for-2 with a pair of walks in his major league debut.
Romero, starting in place of Robin Yount for the first of nine consecutive games, was just 19 years and 219 days old. That's more than a full year older than Yount was when he appeared in the big leagues for the first time (18 years, 201 days), but he's still the second youngest player in Brewer history.
Romero hit .280/.379/.320 in ten games before being returned to the minors and wasn't seen in the big leagues again until 1980. He went on to play 12 MLB seasons, though, including eight as a Brewer.
Since retiring following the 1990 season Romero has managed 1166 minor league games, including stints at the helm of Brewer affiliates in El Paso (AA, 1998), Huntsville (AA, 2001) and Indianapolis (AAA, 2002). He managed the Astros' affiliate in the Gulf Coast League last season.
With help from Brewerfan.net and the B-Ref Play Index, we'd like to wish a happy birthday today to:
- Helena Brewer Leonard Lorenzo, who turns 21.
- Huntsville Star Nick Bucci, who turns 22.
- 1970 Brewer Bob Burda, who turns 74.
Today is also the 16th anniversary of the Brewers' 20-7 win over the Tigers on this day in 1996. We covered that event in this space last year.