Today In Brewer History: The George Kottaras Cycle

On this day one year ago the Brewers beat the Astros 8-2, connecting for 13 hits off Houston starter Bud Norris and four relievers. George Kottaras had four of those hits, becoming the seventh Brewer (and the third Brewer catcher) ever to hit for the cycle.

Kottaras' big day didn't actually start until the fourth inning, when he hit a solo home run off Norris. He then tripled to lead off the sixth, singled in the seventh and doubled in the ninth to complete the feat. You can see all four hits in this montage:

As Brewers go, Kottaras is one of the least likely cyclists. The triple he hit on this day was one of just two he's hit in the majors, and to date this is still his only four hit game.

With help from Brewerfan.net and the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to:

• Helena Brewer Paul Eshleman, who turns 22.
• Huntsville Star R.J. Seidel, who turns 25.
• Juan Perez, who turns 34.
• 1998-2002 Brewer Chad Fox, who turns 42.
• 1998-99 Brewer Eric Plunk, who turns 49.
• La Crosse, Wisconsin native Ed Konetchy, who would have turned 127. Konetchy played 15 major league seasons between 1907-21 as a member of the Cardinals and five other teams.

Today is also the anniversary of another unlikely cycle: Brewer backup first baseman Mike Hegan became the first player in franchise history to complete the feat on this day in 1976. We covered that event in this space last year.