On this day in 1964 Kevin Reimer was born in Macon, Georgia. He went to college at Cal State Fullerton before the Rangers selected him in the eleventh round of the 1985 draft, and he was a big leaguer for the first time in 1988.
Reimer patrolled the outfield and served as a designated hitter for Texas for parts of five seasons before the Rockies took him in the 1992 expansion draft, then immediately traded him to the Brewers for outfielder Dante Bichette. A few years later Bichette would lead the NL with 40 home runs, 128 RBI and 197 hits. Reimer only played one season as a Brewer, but did have a single, very memorable day.
On August 24, 1993, in the second game of a doubleheader, Reimer set a Brewer record with six hits. He doubled twice and scored four runs in a game the Brewers won 7-6 in 13 innings.
With that said, those six hits were some of Reimer's last contributions as a big leaguer. He only had eight more hits as a Brewer, left for Japan in 1994 and never appeared in the majors again.
Thanks to the B-Ref Play Index for reminding me that Reimer turns 49 today. We'd also like to wish a happy birthday today to:
- 2006-07 Brewer Chris Spurling, who turns 36.
- Chad Green, the Brewers' first round pick (#8 overall) in 1996. He turns 38.
- 2006 Brewer Corey Koskie, who turns 40.
- 1970 Brewer Al Downing, who turns 72.
- Seattle Pilot Fred Talbot, who would have turned 72.
- Fond du Lac, Wisconsin native and Beloit College alum Bob Blewett, who would have turned 136. He was a member of the 1902 New York Giants.
Today is also the 17th anniversary of reliever Doug Jones rejoining the Brewers as a free agent in 1996, and we covered that event in this space last year. It's also the 26th anniversary of Teddy Higuera setting a career high by striking out 13 Blue Jays in 1987, and we covered that event in this space two years ago.