On this day in 1960 Neal Heaton was born in South Ozone Park, New York. The Indians selected him out of the University of Miami in the second round of the 1981 draft, and one year later he was a big leaguer for the first time in 1982.
Heaton had pitched in 373 games over eleven major league seasons as a member of the Indians, Twins, Expos, Pirates (where he made his lone All Star appearance in 1990) and Royals when Kansas City released him in 1992, and shortly thereafter he signed with the Brewers.
On September 18, 1992 Heaton made his Brewer debut, pitching a scoreless ninth in the Crew's 12-4 win over the Orioles. It was also his final game as a Brewer, and the team released him after the season.
All told, Heaton posted a 4.37 career ERA over 1507 innings as a member of seven teams.
Thanks to the B-Ref Play Index for reminding me that Heaton turns 53 today. With help from Brewerfan.net, we'd also like to wish a happy birthday to:
- 2012 Helena Brewer Jose Pena, who turns 20.
- 2011-12 Brewer Eric Farris, who turns 27.
- 2009 Brewer Jorge Julio, who turns 34.
Today is also the 60th anniversary of the St. Louis Browns attempting to move to Milwaukee, only to be thwarted by the then-Boston Braves. We covered that event in this space last year.