On this day in 1941 Ken Sanders was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He was 18 when the Kansas City A's signed him as an amateur free agent in 1960 but didn't get his first full time opportunity in the majors until 1966, when he split time between the A's and the Red Sox.
Sanders was already a veteran of ten minor league seasons but had appeared in just 90 major league games when the Brewers acquired him in a six player trade in 1970. Shortly thereafter he became one of the greatest workhorse pitchers in Brewer franchise history.
Sanders didn't make his Brewer debut until May 30 of 1970 but still appeared in 50 of the team's final 118 contests. The next year he set a Brewer franchise record that still stands by appearing in 83 games and finishing 77 of them, working 136.1 innings in relief. He appeared in 62 more games in 1972 before the Brewers sent him to the Phillies as part of the deal that brought Don Money to Milwaukee.
Despite one of the heaviest workloads in Brewer franchise history Sanders posted a 2.21 ERA over 321 innings for Milwaukee. He was the first Brewer ever to reach 30 saves when he closed 31 games in 1981, and it took 18 years for another Brewer to get there.
Sanders turns 71 today. With help from the B-Ref Play Index we'd also like to wish a happy birthday to:
- Seattle Pilot Bucky Brandon, who turns 72.
- 1959-61 Milwaukee Brave Al Spangler, who turns 79.
Today is also the fourth anniversary of CC Sabathia's Brewer debut. We covered that event in this space last year.