Inside the Brewers Players Project: Two Teds and a Fred Bring Baseball Back to Milwaukee

[Michael Trzinski]

Major League baseball returned to Milwaukee in 1970 as the Seattle Pilots became the Milwaukee Brewers. The team had two solid players, both named Ted. Second baseman Ted Kubiak and outfielder Ted Savage were good players on the first-year team. Another player was not that good, but he would play on a pair of World Championship teams down the road. His name was Fred Stanley.

What is the Players Project? It's a community-driven, wiki-style project that focuses on Brewers players of all stripes. It's open to all Brewer Fanatic users and we've had contributions for current players, past players, and players who never even made the major leagues but played in the Brewers farm system. Create your favorite player today!

Ted Savage played a major part with the 1970 Brewers. His five triples ranked second on the team, as did his 10 stolen bases. His 12 home runs and 50 RBIs ranked fourth, and his OPS+ of 144 was second behind that of Tommy Harper. Savage had a solid slash line of .279/.402/.482 across 276 at-bats. The following year, Savage struggled, going just 3-for-17 in the first month before being traded to Kansas City.

Ted Kubiak played in 158 games during the 1970 season and set career highs of 136 hits, nine doubles, four home runs, 41 RBIs, and 72 walks. Kubiak played for the Brewers until late July 1971, when he was traded in a controversial swap of players to the St. Louis Cardinals involving Jose Cardenal. The Cardinal outfielder was reluctant to report to Milwaukee because he felt the ‘Cardinals got nothing in exchange for me.’ Eventually, the trade went through.

 

Fred ‘Chicken’ Stanley played in only six games for the Brewers in 1970 after playing in 17 games in 1969 for the Seattle Pilots. Ironically, Stanley scored the only run of his Brewer career when he got knocked in from second base on a single by Ted Kubiak. Stanley would go on to play for the New York Yankees for eight years and would be a part of the 1977 and 1978 World Series teams.

 

Milwaukee lacked a major league team for four years in the late 1960s. The early editions of the Milwaukee Brewers were not always good, but the players of the 1970 team were a part of the beginning of a team that brought baseball back to the Brew City.

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