Four Brewers Are In A Hall Of Fame You've Never Heard Of

Those nine players, along with two broadcasters (Bob Uecker and Pat Hughes) and executive Larry Whiteside from the team’s early days in Milwaukee comprise the team's representatives in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

However, there are four more Brewers who can call themselves Hall-of-Famers—albeit not in Cooperstown. Instead, they are in the Australian Baseball Hall of Fame, including two Brewers who had significant impact through the team’s nadir following the retirement of Robin Yount and the departure of Paul Molitor via free agency, and one whose legacy arguably includes the CC Sabathia trade. Let’s take a look at these four Brewers.

C/1B/OF/DH Dave Nilsson (1992-1999)

Nilsson came up as a catcher in 1992 and handled that position on and off during his eight seasons with the Brewers. He also played first base, both corner outfield spots, and designated hitter, often to get his potent left-handed bat in the lineup.

In 1999, he secured an All-Star Game nod, the first for an Australian, as he was the team’s primary catcher that season, en route to the best year of his career. He went to NPB in 2000 in order to be eligible to represent Australia in the Olympics, and did not return to the US until a brief stint in the Brave’s Triple-A affiliate in Richmond in 2004, the year Australia’s baseball team earned a silver medal in the Olympics.

Nilsson was part of the Australian Baseball Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 2005, inducted alongside his brother, Bob. Nilsson currently manages the Brisbane Bandits, where the Brewers have sent some minor-league prospects in recent years, and Australia’s national team.

LHP Graeme Lloyd (1993-1996)

Like Nilsson, Lloyd was part of the inaugural class of the Australian Baseball Hall of Fame. His legacy for the Brewers, though, extended beyond not just his departure via an August 1996 trade with the Yankees, but even beyond his retirement from MLB in 2003. The reason for this may sound like an episode of James Burke’s Connections, but it shows how a player can impact a team for years beyond a departure.

Lloyd was a left-handed reliever during his time in Milwaukee, often serving as a bridge to closer Mike Fetters during that window. He arrived after a trade between the Brewers and the Phillies, who took him in the Rule 5 draft. The return for including Lloyd in the 1996 trade with the Yankees included reliever Bob Wickman—and the legacy only continued from there. In 2000, Wickman was part of the package that netted the Brewers first baseman Richie Sexson. After Lloyd’s final MLB season in 2003, Sexson was dealt to the Diamondbacks for a package that included starter Chris Capuano, infielder Craig Counsell (later arguably the best manager in Brewers’ history), and first baseman Lyle Overbay.

Overbay was later traded to the Blue Jays for starter Dave Bush, who would secure a win in the 2008 National League Wild Card series against the Phillies. Lloyd’s legacy, in essence, included Milwaukee breaking a lengthy playoff drought and securing the current era of competitiveness down the line.

UT Trent Durrington (2004-2005)

Durrington had two cups of coffee with the Crew, one in 2004, the other in 2005. His calling cards during his professional career were versatility (during his pro career, he played all nine positions on the field between MLB and the minors) and speed (377 career stolen bases in the minors, 14 more in the majors).

With the Brewers, Durrington mostly served as a pinch-hitter and pinch-runner off the bench, stealing nine bases and scoring 16 runs. Notably, he hit three triples in just 82 at-bats at the major-league level in 2004. During the 2004 season, he made an appearance on the mound with the Brewers, and retired the only hitter he faced on one pitch. He is the only player to have just one pitch in MLB, according to Stathead.

Durrington did not have eye-popping numbers for the Brewers, but he was a contributor to the 2004 and 2005 Brewers teams, the latter of which posted a .500 winning percentage, the team’s first non-losing season since 1992.

Durrington was inducted into the Australian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.

RHP Grant Balfour (2007)

Balfour had a brief tenure with the Brewers in 2007, making a comeback after missing the 2005 season with an injury and spending 2006 in the Reds’ system. In fact, his numbers with the Brewers that year were awful (0-2 record, 20.25 ERA).

However, as the 2007 season’s trade deadline neared, the Crew flipped Balfour to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for right-handed pitcher Seth McClung, who became a valuable swingman on the 2008 club that secured the National League Wild Card berth after the trade for CC Sabathia, giving Balfour a legacy similar to that of Lloyd, albeit in a more immediate sense.

Balfour blossomed into a valuable late-inning reliever with the Rays, then went to Oakland, where he became a solid closer for the Athletics before closing out his MLB career with two more seasons in Tampa.

Balfour was inducted alongside Trent Durrington into the Australian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.

Are you interested in Brewers history? Then check out the Milwaukee Brewers Players Project, a community-driven project to discover and collect great information on every player to wear a Brewers uniform!