On this day in 2000 the Brewers beat the Rockies 5-0 to improve to 43-60 on the season, but were still fifth in the NL Central and 14.5 games back. It was time to sell and that's what they did, sending pitchers Jason Bere, Steve Woodard and Bob Wickman to the Indians in exchange for a four-player package featuring Richie Sexson.
Sexson was 25 at the time and in his second full major league season. The Indians knew his bat would play (he was already a career .265/.314/.507 hitter) but didn't have a position for him, as they already had Jim Thome at first base. Sexson went on to play four seasons as a Brewer and hit .276/.366/.536 with 133 home runs while making two All Star appearances.
Interestingly enough, the best player of the seven moved in this trade might have been the least heralded at the time: Minor league shortstop Marco Scutaro joined the Brewer organization a month later as a PTBNL, but spent parts of two seasons with AAA Indianapolis before the Mets claimed hm off waivers in spring training in 2002. Scutaro made his major league debut later that same season and has since appeared in nearly 1200 major league games, batting .270/.337/.386.
With help from the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to:
- 1971-72 Brewer Ron Theobald, who turns 69.
- Seattle Pilot Dick Simpson, who turns 69.
Today is also the anniversary of Steve Woodard outdueling Roger Clemens and the Blue Jays in his major league debut in a 1-0 win in 1997. We covered that event in this space last year.