Moving On: The Former Milwaukee Brewers and Braves We Lost in 2023

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Baseball Mitt and Ball

Before we turn the calendar to 2024, it’s time to take a look back at the notable figures from Wisconsin’s baseball history who we lost in 2023. Eleven former Milwaukee Brewers, four former Milwaukee Braves and one former Brewers coach are among those who passed away this year. Thank you to Stathead and David Schultz for their help compiling this list, presented chronologically:

Bill Campbell, age 74, passed away on January 6

While his professional career was delayed by the Vietnam War and later abbreviated by arm injury, Bill Campbell made a significant mark on the game of baseball during a relatively brief span in its upper echelon. In the early days of the evolution of relief pitching Campbell was one of the game’s best firemen: For the 1976 Twins he pitched 78 games in relief and logged 167 2/3 innings, becoming the first-ever winner of the American League’s Rolaids Relief Award.

As one of baseball’s first free agents, he signed a five-year, $1 million contract with the Red Sox and in his first season there in 1977 he became the first Boston pitcher and just the 12th pitcher in MLB history to record 30 saves in a season. Racking up over 300 innings in relief across two seasons took its toll, however, and arm trouble would follow Campbell across his remaining ten MLB seasons.

Campbell spent much of the coaching portion of his baseball life in the Brewers organization, working as a pitching coach in the minors for several seasons in the 1990s before being promoted to the major league coaching staff in 1999. His season in Milwaukee coincided with the final year for longtime general manager Sal Bando and manager Phil Garner and following that year he left too.

There’s much more about Campbell in his SABR Bio, written by Vincent Cannato, and his obituary at RIP Baseball.

Ted Savage, age 86, passed away on January 12

Another player whose professional career was delayed by matters far from home, Ted Savage nonetheless played nine seasons in the majors spread across eight organizations. Due to a combination of military service and a contract-related legal dispute early in his professional career, Savage was a highly regarded prospect but didn’t make his major league debut until he was 26 years old. In his first season at the big league level he played in 127 games for the 1962 Phillies, where he batted .266 with a .345 on-base and .373 slugging in what would also be his last full MLB season for almost a decade.

Savage had bounced around between part time roles with the Pirates, Cardinals, Cubs, Dodgers and Reds and had been traded four times before the new Milwaukee Brewers purchased him from the Reds on April 5, 1970, just two days before their first-ever Opening Day. Savage was one of 16 players to appear in the franchise’s first game representing Milwaukee, getting a pinch hit appearance in the fifth inning.

That season in Milwaukee would turn out to be the best one of Savage’s career. He appeared in 114 games for the new Brewers and batted .279 with a .402 on-base and .482 slugging, setting career bests for home runs (12), runs batted in (50) and walks (57). Savage also opened the 1971 season with the Brewers but was traded to Kansas City in May and his major league career ended later that year. In his post-playing days, he spent 25 years working with the Cardinals in community relations.

Much more about Savage can be found in his SABR Bio, written by David E. Skelton, and his obituary at RIP Baseball.

Frank Thomas, age 93, passed away on January 16

Long before “The Big Hurt” won back-to-back American League MVPs in 1993 and 1994, another notable slugger also named Frank Thomas was terrorizing National League pitchers for much of the 1950’s and ‘60s. Thomas, whose Baseball Reference page listed him as 6’3” and 200 pounds, was a big baseball player for the era and flexed his power with 286 home runs across 16 MLB seasons, including 30 for the Pirates in 1953 and 35 in 1958.

The first of Howard’s two stints in Milwaukee started in May of 1961, when the Braves acquired him from the Cubs just 18 games into their season. Howard, 32 years old at the time, hit above his career averages and provided significant thump to an already deep Braves lineup, batting .284 with a .335 on-base and .506 slugging and connecting for 25 home runs in 124 games. In a lineup that already included future Hall of Famers Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron and slugging first baseman Joe Adcock, Thomas batted sixth most days despite already having over 200 career home runs.  Following the season, the Braves traded him to the Mets but would later reacquire him for 15 September games during their final season in Milwaukee in 1965.

Thomas played his entire 16-year career in the National League, and at the time of his retirement in 1966 he was one of just 15 players in that league’s history to amass 1600 hits, 260 doubles and 260 home runs.

There’s much more about Thomas’ life and career in his SABR Bio, written by Bob Hurte, and his obituary at RIP Baseball.

Sal Bando, age 78, passed away on January 20

A 16-year major league player, four-time All Star and the owner of World Series rings from three consecutive seasons with the 1972-74 Oakland A’s, Sal Bando had already had quite the baseball life before writing several, often complicated, additional chapters in Milwaukee. Bando was arguably the biggest addition in the relatively brief Brewers’ franchise history when he signed a five-year contract as a free agent before the 1977 season, and he was there as an everyday player for the first winning season in franchise history in 1978 and as a part-timer in his final season for the first Brewers team to reach the postseason in 1981.

When he retired he was one of just three players in MLB history with 1000 games played at third base, 1000 RBI and 1000 walks (Hall of Famers Eddie Mathews and Ron Santo were the others). In 1987, his first and only year of eligibility, three voters included him on their Hall of Fame ballots.

Bando’s baseball life, however, quickly shifted from one chapter to the next. He became a special assistant to then-Brewers general manager Harry Dalton and eventually took over for Dalton following the 1991 season. Bando wasted no time making waves in his new role: He fired longtime manager Tom Trebelhorn, at the time the winningest skipper in franchise history, and replaced him with former teammate Phil Garner. In March of 1992 he traded polarizing but highly talented young infielder Gary Sheffield, who would immediately go on to win a batting title with his new team. And, following a winning season in 1992, he was one of the public faces of an ugly negotiation with free agent Paul Molitor that led to the future Hall of Famer leaving for Toronto. The Brewers won 92 games in Bando’s first season at the helm but 69 in his second year, the first of 15 consecutive losing seasons.

Bando remained in the area following the end of his baseball tenure and was living in Oconomowoc when he passed in January. He has a New York Times obituary, another at MLB.com written by longtime Brewers reporter Adam McCalvy, an entry at RIP Baseball, a SABR Bio written by Gregory H. Wolf and we discussed his legacy here at the time of his passing.

Pete Koegel, age 75, passed away on February 4

A one-time top prospect and an impressive physical specimen, Pete Koegel played three MLB seasons before his 25th birthday.

Koegel, who RIP Baseball mentions was the brother of an NFL center and was 6’6” as a 17-year-old, was the 79th overall pick in the 1965 MLB Draft and was later acquired by the Seattle Pilots in a trade near the end of their lone season going by that name in 1969. In 1970 Koegel batted .278 with a .362 on-base and .509 slugging in 133 games across the AA and AAA levels and in September the Brewers called the 22-year-old up to the majors for the first time. He hit his first MLB home run on Sept. 25 of that season, and it would turn out to be his only one.

Koegel had played just nine games as a Brewer (seven in 1970, two in 1971) when they traded him to the Phillies in a deal that brought John Briggs to Milwaukee, where he would be one of the stars of the franchise’s early years. Koegel, meanwhile, played in just 53 games across two seasons in Philadelphia before returning to the minors and never getting the callup again. Koegel eventually retired from professional baseball following the 1977 season when he was still only 30 years old and, according to his obituary, “spent the last 35 years of his life with his family.”

Sandy Valdespino, age 84, passed away on February 26

A native of Cuba who took the long way to the big leagues, Sandy Valdespino nonetheless logged seven major league seasons as a member of five franchises, including the original Brewers.

Born with the first name Hilario, Valdespino’s SABR Bio (written by Alan Cohen) says he acquired the nickname “Sandy” as an eighteen-year-old because he resembled fellow Cuban and then-Dodgers infielder Sandy Amoros. Valdespino had almost a decade to carry that nickname before he followed in Amoros’ footsteps and made his MLB debut as a 26-year-old in 1965. Valdespino played three seasons as a corner outfielder for the Twins, then was with the Braves in 1968 and the Astros in 1969 before an August trade sent him to the expansion Seattle Pilots.

Valdespino played in 20 games for the Pilots down the stretch and didn’t hit much, just .211 with a .250 on-base and .237 slugging in 40 plate appearances, but nonetheless followed the team to Milwaukee and made the Opening Day roster for the new Brewers in 1970. Like Ted Savage above, he was one of just 16 players to get into the team’s first game representing Milwaukee. That was also one of his final Brewers appearances: He played in just eight games before being traded to the Royals, where he made his final MLB appearance in 1971. His RIP Baseball obituary mentions he worked in the Yankees organization in the 1970s and ‘80s helping Latino players adjust to life in the United States.

Mike Young, age 63, passed away on May 28

A one-time Rookie of the Year candidate in Baltimore, Mike Young’s brief tenure in Milwaukee is best remembered for a misunderstanding.

A career .292 hitter with a .392 on-base and .481 slugging in the minors, Young’s bat put him on the fast track to the majors. He reached that level with the Orioles for the first time as a 22-year-old in 1982, where one of his six appearances came in the game where the Brewers clinched the AL East on the final day of the season. By 1984 he was a regular at the MLB level. He received votes for AL Rookie of the Year that year and in 1985 he set a career high with 28 home runs.

The Orioles traded Young to the Phillies in 1988, however, and his career got off track. He struggled in infrequent opportunities and after 83 games he was traded again, this time to Milwaukee, where he played in eight games without getting a hit and was released. In his third game with the Brewers, he was involved in an unfortunate mix-up: Meaning to include him in the lineup batting fifth, manager Tom Trebelhorn instead wrote “Yount,” putting Robin Yount in his lineup twice. The mistake led to an umpire’s ruling that Yount had to be removed from the game.

After his release from the Brewers Young played in 32 more games with Cleveland in 1989 before being done with Major League Baseball before his 30th birthday. Young has a Baltimore Sun obituary, a SABR Bio written by Malcolm Allen and an entry at RIP Baseball.

Miguel de la Hoz, age 84, passed away on May 28

A native of Cuba and a nine-year major leaguer, Miguel de la Hoz was a regular during the Braves’ final seasons in Milwaukee.

De la Hoz came to the US as a 19-year-old in 1958 and immediately started hitting, batting .301 with a .361 on-base and .433 slugging across parts of seven seasons in the minor leagues. Those gaudy numbers never translated to significant major league playing time or success, however: Across his first four seasons in the majors with Cleveland he never played in more than 67 games or batted more than 183 times.

In April of 1964 the Milwaukee Braves picked de la Hoz up, however, and over the next few seasons they used him a fair amount off the bench. 1964 would be his best season as a big leaguer, as he set career highs in hits (55) and runs scored (25) and Total Zone Rating, an attempt to statistically evaluate players’ defense, rated him as the National League’s third best defensive second baseman. On Oct. 3, 1965, de la Hoz was the starting third baseman in the Braves’ final game representing the city of Milwaukee. He played two more seasons with the team after their move to Atlanta and got into one final game as a Red in 1969.

De la Hoz has a SABR Bio written by Jose I. Ramirez and Rory Costello and an obituary at RIP Baseball.

Bobby Bolin, age 84, passed away on June 2

A longtime member of the Giants and Red Sox organizations, Bolin’s career turned in a new direction during a relatively brief stay in Milwaukee.

Bolin signed his first professional contract with the New York Giants in 1956 but the team had moved to San Francisco by the time he made his MLB debut in 1961. He made 144 starts and 201 relief appearances for the Giants over the nine years that followed with a 3.26 ERA across 1282 1/3 innings and pitched in two games in the 1962 World Series. He’s a member of the Giants Wall of Fame.

Following the 1969 season, however, the Giants traded Bolin to the Seattle Pilots, soon to become the Milwaukee Brewers, and he was a member of the team’s first Opening Day roster in their new city. After a decade of swinging between relief and starting the Brewers primarily used Bolin as a starter early that season, but he posted a 7.11 ERA in April and had to be lifted from several games early. On Aug. 21 of that season, he had another brief start, and it would be his final one in the majors. Bolin pitched his final four games as a Brewer out of the bullpen before being traded to Boston, where he experienced significant success as a closer over his final four seasons.

Bolin has a New York Post obituary, a SABR Bio written by Corey Stolzenbach and an entry at RIP Baseball.

Mel Roach, age 90, passed away on July 31

One of the last surviving members of the original Milwaukee Braves, Mel Roach spent most of his eight seasons in the majors in the city.

In the years before the MLB Draft the league attempted to keep teams from getting into bidding wars over amateur players through the “bonus baby” rule, which required a player receiving a signing bonus above $4,000 to remain in the majors. That’s how infielder Mel Roach, a student at the University of Virginia from September through June, ended up spending the Milwaukee Braves’ first two seasons on their active roster but appearing in just eight games. After those two years on the bench and two more in the Navy, Roach returned home to play baseball in 1957 but his skills had stagnated. He was pretty successful when he played, batting .281 with a .311 on-base and .399 slugging across the 1957-60 seasons, but appeared in just 118 games over those four years.

That doesn’t change the fact, however, that Roach was on the bench for some of the biggest moments in the history of baseball in Milwaukee. His passing leaves just one surviving member of the original 1953 Milwaukee Braves (fellow bonus baby Joey Jay) and six members of the 1957 World Series championship team.

Roach was a member of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Virginia Baseball Hall of Fame, and his Richmond Times-Dispatch obituary mentions he retired as president of Signet Trust Company. He has a SABR Bio written by David Fleitz and an entry at RIP Baseball.

Wayne Comer, age 79, passed away on October 4

A five-year big leaguer, Wayne Comer experienced success at the game’s highest and lowest levels in a relatively short span in the game.

A native of Shenandoah, Virginia, Comer hit his way up the minor league ladder, made his major league debut with the 1967 Tigers and got a longer look in 1968, which was a good time to be there: Comer batted just .125 with a .160 on-base and .229 slugging in 48 games in his longest taste of the majors to date, but made Detroit’s World Series roster. He collected a hit in his only plate appearance in the series, a pinch-hit single in the seventh inning of Game 3. After the series the Tigers left him unprotected in that fall’s expansion draft, however, and the Seattle Pilots added him to their first roster.

Comer played in the second-most games of any Seattle Pilot in that first season, getting into the lineup 147 times, and Baseball Reference estimates that he was worth 3.2 wins above replacement, tied for the most on the team. Fifteen of his 16 MLB home runs came that season, as did 18 of his 22 stolen bases. Comer followed the team to Milwaukee, but his success did not: The Brewers traded him after just 13 games in 1970, and he played in just a few more games in the majors after that.

After his playing career Comer returned home to Shenandoah, where he had been coaching high school baseball until this spring. Comer has obituaries in his local paper, the Daily News-Record, and another in the Detroit News, as well as a SABR Bio written by Brian Borawski and an entry at RIP Baseball.

Jeff Peterek, age 61, passed away on October 8

A total of 936 players were selected in the primary and secondary phases of MLB’s 1985 June Draft and Jeff Peterek was not one of them. He reached the major leagues anyway, however, achieving more than many of the players chosen over him.

A Michigan City, Indiana native, the Brewers signed Peterek as an undrafted free agent in 1985 and tossed him right into the fire, allowing him to log 168 2/3 innings in the hitter-friendly California League in 1986. His 2.88 ERA that season was about a run and a half below league average, setting the stage for a minor league career where he routinely defied the odds in tough environments. In 1989 the Brewers finally called him up in September and he pitched in seven games, including four starts. His final appearance that season was a 4 2/3 inning relief outing on his 27th birthday. It would also be his last MLB game.

Peterek returned to the minors in 1990 but the Brewers released him after just nine outings. His last known professional appearance was in 1991 in the Mexican League. Following his playing career he launched a second career in real estate. His obituary can be seen here and he has an entry at RIP Baseball. A pitcher who went from relative unknown to the game’s largest stage in less than four months, Pete Ladd was up to the task of replacing a legend.

Ladd was a 25th round draft pick in 1977, the 620th overall pick that year, and had seen just 10 MLB appearances (all with the 1979 Astros) when the Brewers acquired him following the 1981 season. The Brewers promoted Ladd to the big leagues in July of 1982 and his role grew dramatically down the stretch as the Brewers were increasingly without reigning American League Cy Young and MVP Award-winning closer Rollie Fingers. After pitching in the minors in July, Ladd was working key innings in the postseason that October. He pitched three of the five games in that season’s American League Championship Series and another in the World Series and did not allow a run.

When Fingers was unable to pitch for the entire 1983 season Ladd took his place at the end of the bullpen, posting a 2.55 ERA in almost 50 innings and logging 25 saves, becoming just the third Brewer ever to do so. All told, Ladd pitched 143 games across four seasons as a Brewer and collected at least two saves in each of those years. His final MLB game was with the Mariners in 1985 and he spent several years trying to get back, going so far as taking out an ad in the USA Today to announce his availability to pitch.

Ladd’s RIP Baseball entry notes that he worked as a prison guard and high school guidance counselor at various points during the offseason and tried out several more jobs during his post-playing career. In addition to that entry, Ladd has a Journal Sentinel obituary.

Rob Gardner, age 78, passed away on October 21

A longtime well-traveled lefty pitcher, the sixth and final stop on Rob Gardner’s MLB journey came at County Stadium.

A man who once described himself as “always the eleventh man on a ten-man pitching staff,” Gardner started his professional career with the Twins but was traded to the Mets before making his MLB debut, setting the tone for a career where he was always on the move.

Gardner pitched in 46 games for the 1965 and ’66 Mets, 18 for the 1967 Cubs, five for Cleveland in 1968, 23 across the 1970, ’71 and ‘72 seasons for the Yankees, four for the A’s in 1971, three more in a second stint with the A’s in 1973 and his contract was eventually purchased by the Brewers, who put him into his last ten MLB games. Gardner’s tenure in Milwaukee started off well but in late June and early July he had a span where he allowed 12 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings and the Brewers had seen enough, returning him to the A’s. He pitched two more seasons in the minors before calling it a career.

Gardner’s SABR Bio, written by Gregory H. Wolf, notes that he worked as a firefighter and paramedic following his baseball career. His obituary notes that he once pitched 15 scoreless innings in a single game for the Mets, setting a franchise record that stands to this day. He also has an entry at RIP Baseball.

Ken MacKenzie, age 89, passed away on December 14

A native of Gore Bay, Ontario and a Yale alum, Ken MacKenzie took an unlikely path to an extended MLB career that started in Milwaukee.

MacKenzie was 22 years old when he wrapped up his time as an Ivy Leaguer and signed his first professional contract with the Milwaukee Braves, and four years later when the lefty pitcher made his MLB debut in 1960 he was only the eleventh Canadian player in franchise history.

MacKenzie’s stops in Milwaukee did not last long: He pitched in just nine games for the 1960 Braves and five more for the 1961 team, logging 15 1/3 innings and a 5.87 ERA. Following that second season the Braves sold him to the expansion Mets, where he’s likely best known for logging 42 pitching appearances and being the only pitcher with a winning record on what might have been the worst team in modern MLB history, finishing 40-120. After two seasons in New York MacKenzie wrapped up his MLB career with brief stops with the Cardinals, Giants and Astros. He finished with a 4.80 ERA in 129 MLB appearances.

MacKenzie’s claim to fame with the Mets earned him a New York Times obituary. He also has a SABR Bio written by Ron Rembert.