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On this day in 1962 Kevin Seitzer was born in Springfield, Illinois. He went to college at Eastern Illinois before the Royals selected him in the eleventh round of the 1983 draft, and three years later he was a big leaguer for the first time with Kansas City in 1986.
Seitzer was a career .294/.380/.394 hitter but for some reason the Royals released him near the end of spring training (on his birthday, actually) in 1992, and a few days later he became a Brewer for the first time. With the exception of a brief stint as a 1993 Athletic Seitzer spent the next five seasons in Milwaukee, hitting .300/.376/.422 over 539 games and making the 1995 All Star Team.
In 1996 the Brewers traded Seitzer to the Indians and got outfielder Jeromy Burnitz in return. Seitzer went on to hit .386/.480/.542 down the stretch for a Cleveland team that reached the playoffs for just the second time since 1954.
Thanks to the B-Ref Play Index for reminding me that Seitzer turns 51 today. With help from Brewerfan.net, we'd also like to wish a happy birthday to:
- 2012 Wisconsin Timber Rattler Chadwin Stang, who turns 24.
- 2011 Brewer Josh Wilson, who turns 32.
Today is also the 21st anniversary of the 1992 trade that sent Gary Sheffield to the Padres. We covered that event in this space last year.