Milwaukee’s Best, Part 3: The 50 Best To Play For Braves, Brewers: 30-21
By Phil Watson
B.J. Surhoff, as shown on a 1993 Upper Deck baseball card.
27. B.J. Surhoff, C-3B
Brewers 1987-95
B.J. Surhoff came to Milwaukee with a lot of expectations after the Brewers made him the No. 1 overall pick out of the University of North Carolina in the 1985 amateur draft.
He arrived with the Brewers for Opening Day in 1987 and for his first three seasons was sort of a super-utility guy, playing often, but all over the place. He became the regular catcher in 1990 before moving to third base in 1993 and eventually played a lot of first base and left field by his final season with the Crew in 1995.
He was a solid hitter without a lot of pop for the Brewers, never hitting more than 13 homers in a season, a total he reached in 1995. But that season he was also sixth in the AL in batting and in 1993 he was sixth in the league in doubles.
Surhoff became a free agent during the players strike in 1994 and eventually returned to Milwaukee on a one-year deal in April 1995.
But that offseason he left to sign with the Baltimore Orioles in December 1995, where he would make his only All-Star appearance in 1999. He was later traded to the Atlanta Braves in July 2002 before returning the Baltimore as a free agent in March 2003, March 2004 and December 2004.
He retired at the end of the 2005 season after 19 big-league seasons.
Here are Surhoff’s statistics from his nine seasons with the Brewers:
| Year | Age | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 22 | 115 | 445 | 395 | 50 | 118 | 22 | 3 | 7 | 68 | 11 | 10 | 36 | 30 | .299 | .350 | .423 | .773 | 102 |
| 1988 | 23 | 139 | 541 | 493 | 47 | 121 | 21 | 0 | 5 | 38 | 21 | 6 | 31 | 49 | .245 | .292 | .318 | .611 | 71 |
| 1989 | 24 | 126 | 477 | 436 | 42 | 108 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 55 | 14 | 12 | 25 | 29 | .248 | .287 | .339 | .626 | 77 |
| 1990 | 25 | 135 | 530 | 474 | 55 | 131 | 21 | 4 | 6 | 59 | 18 | 7 | 41 | 37 | .276 | .331 | .376 | .706 | 99 |
| 1991 | 26 | 143 | 553 | 505 | 57 | 146 | 19 | 4 | 5 | 68 | 5 | 8 | 26 | 33 | .289 | .319 | .372 | .691 | 93 |
| 1992 | 27 | 139 | 543 | 480 | 63 | 121 | 19 | 1 | 4 | 62 | 14 | 8 | 46 | 41 | .252 | .314 | .321 | .635 | 81 |
| 1993 | 28 | 148 | 599 | 552 | 66 | 151 | 38 | 3 | 7 | 79 | 12 | 9 | 36 | 47 | .274 | .318 | .391 | .709 | 91 |
| 1994 | 29 | 40 | 154 | 134 | 20 | 35 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 14 | .261 | .336 | .485 | .821 | 106 |
| 1995 | 30 | 117 | 462 | 415 | 72 | 133 | 26 | 3 | 13 | 73 | 7 | 3 | 37 | 43 | .320 | .378 | .492 | .870 | 120 |
| TOTALS | 1102 | 4304 | 3884 | 472 | 1064 | 194 | 24 | 57 | 524 | 102 | 64 | 294 | 323 | .274 | .323 | .380 | .703 | 92 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/19/2015.
Next: 26. Was Nicknamed Volcano In Double-A