Ladies and Gentlemen, your 1995 Replacement Milwaukee Brewers (almost)

Of course, none of this came topass. But it got pretty close. The court ruling that effectively ended thestrike came down just two days before the Mets and Marlins were set to open theregular season in Miami. Had the replacements taken the field, every player on each team’s 32-manreplacement roster would have been given a $5,000 roster bonus, as well as thepromise of a $20,000 severance check when the regular players returned. For thereplacements, most of whom had come from the minor leagues or out ofretirement, this was a significant payday. Their pay as replacements would havebeen the league minimum, amounting to about $600 per day.

And about that 32-man roster. Withthe union out on strike, the owners settled on 25-man active rosters with 7-man“taxi squads.” There would be no disabled list with the replacements; injuredplayers would be replaced by the taxi squaders. The Brewers started camp withover 160 players – some taken directly from open try-outs the team held. Fromthis, a squad of about 40 was selected to play in Spring Training games. Fromthis group, the 32-man roster was finalized just before the strike ended. Theroster was, to say the least, not Major League-quality. Just three of theplayers had Big League experience, which totaled just 79 career games. And 23of those games had belonged to catcher Robbie Wine, who had last played in 1991and had spent the previous two seasons as the Brewers bullpen catcher. The mostnotable experience probably belonged to infielder Billy Bates, who had scoredthe winning run in GameTwo of the 1990 World Series (it was the last time he played in the majors) andhad onceraced a cheetah at Riverfront Stadium. He won easily, although the cheetahslowed up when it was distracted by Bates’ cap flying off.

Bob Kappesser was working at anelevator repair company when he joined the team. He was tabbed as the team’sstarting catcher. Tim Dell was managing a restaurant in Vancouver when he left for Spring Training. Hemade the starting rotation. Darrin Duffy used vacation time to take a breakfrom his job with Motorola to take a shot at the majors. He was pegged as areserve infielder. Ron Rantz had no pro experience at all. He had last pitchedat Louisiana State University. Bobby Cuff hadn’t played organized ball since 1987, when he played a singleyear at the lowest minor league level. Both were to pitch out of the bullpen.Of the 32 players that made the team, 9 had played at the AAA level in 1994, 7came from AA leagues or lower, 4 came from independent leagues or Mexico, and12 had not played professional baseball at all during the 1994 season.

The Brewers were playing the Rockies in Arizona when the ruling came down that ended the strike. It was issued by then-federal judge Sonia Sotomayor. Many players were shocked by the quickness of her ruling and had expected—or hoped, at least—that it would take at least long enough for the Mets and Marlins to make them all $25,000 wealthier. “Dang, girl,”pitcher Mike Farrell said upon hearing of the ruling, “give me a little time!” Withthe ruling, it was all but assured that the big league dreams of theReplacement Brewers were over. When the team provided a catered rib dinnerafter the game, outfielder Rich Aldrete referred it at as their “last supper.”Two days later, plans were announced for the union players to return immediatelywith an abbreviated Spring Training and that the regular season in late April.The Replacement Brewers were all either released or reassigned to minor leagueteams. Each of the Replacements was given a $1,000 severance check by the teamand each was allowed to keep the uniform he would have worn in Anaheim had theystarted the season (an image of catcher Bob Kappesser and his ’95 uniform).

Of the 32, 11 never playedorganized baseball again. Only three—pitchers Jamie McAndrew (who would havebeen the Replacement’s opening day starter), Ron Rightnower, and Brian Givens—ended up making the Major Leagues. When called up, each of them encountered cold shoulders from their new teammates, the typical treatment for those theunion loyalists considered “scabs.”

The 32 man roster that would have been the 1995 Milwaukee Brewers had the strike not been settled.

Starting Nine:

C: Bob Kappesser, 28 years old

1B: Bo Dodson, 24 y/o

2B: Tim Barker, 27 y/o

3B AlanLewis, 28 y/o

SS: Greg Smith,27 y/o

LF: RichAldrete, 30 y/o

CF: MikeHarris, 25 y/o

RF: ToddSamples, 25 y/o

DH: ToddTrafton, 31 y/o

Starting Rotation:

SP: JamieMcAndrew, 27 y/o

SP: MikeFarrell, 26 y/o

SP: DarrinReichle, 29 y/o

SP: TimDell, 27 y/o

Bullpen:

CP: RonRightnower, 30 y/o

P: KurtArcher, 26 y/o

P: GeneCaruso, 25 y/o

P: BobbyCuff, 30 y/o

P: ChrisDorn, 26 y/o

P: DaveFitzgerald, 29 y/o

P: RonGerstein, 26 y/o

P: Brian Givens,29 y/o

P: LeeLangley, 29 y/o

P: “Pop”Popplewell, 27 y/o

P: RonRantz, 23 y/o

Bench:

C: JavierGonzalez, 26 y/o

C: RobbieWine, 32 y/o

2B: Billy Bates,31 y/o

3B/SS: DarrinDuffy, 29 y/o

IF: Mark Cole, 28 y/o

IF: MikeDumas, 24 y/o

OF: KennyJackson, 30 y/o

OF: ChrisWilson, 24 y/o

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