MLB history: Forgotten stars of the current NL Central teams

Jeff D’Amico, Brewers – Considering the Milwaukee Brewers for a forgotten star, one encounters a problem like the Houston Astros’ – a team that hasn’t been in its current league that long, and therefore, any player selected isn’t likely to be really forgotten.

The Brewers moved to the NL in 1998, and for two years they finished fifth in the NL Central. In 2000, however, they finally moved out of the cellar, and an unlikely player was a star on that team: Jeff D’Amico.

I can actually hear Milwaukee baseball fans shaking their heads at this point. Well, not actually their heads moving, of course, but they’re all muttering, “D’Amico was a bum.”

This is where the argument is rolled out that goes, in its stripped-down form, “No one in MLB is really a bum. They’re all very, very good baseball players.” However, D’Amico’s aggregate record was not impressive in the least. He finished an eight-year career at 45-52 with an overall ERA of 4.61.

The guy just put too many people on base. His career WHIP was 1.343.

And yet his personal MLB history does include that one line from the year the NL Brewers finally crawled out of the cellar. The 6-foot-7 or 6-foot-9 right-hander, depending on your source, went 12-7 that year and challenged for the ERA title for the season, finishing third.

Interestingly, the Brewers ace that season needed to eat innings in his last start to qualify for that title, and barely made it, but in giving up six earned runs to the Reds Sep. 28, he slipped behind Kevin Brown and Randy Johnson for the seasonal honor.

The fact is that Jeff D’Amico was plagued by injuries for most of his career, but in 2000, he was sharp – his 1.164 WHIP was the Brewers best mark among starters that campaign.

He also holds the distinction of having hit the first triple in Miller Park history.