Brock Beauchamp

Lary Sorensen was born in Michigan in 1955. He attended the University of Michigan for college and was drafted by the Brewers in the 8th round in the 1975 draft; He rocketed through the Brewers' minor league system, needing only 45 games to reach the majors. From there, he became a rotation mainstay for four seasons. Sorensen was a sinkerball pitcher who rarely walked batters (for his career, his walk rate is an impressive 2.1 walks per 9 innings). He hated walking batters, and he said that walking a batter sometimes made him more upset than giving up a home run. He never struck out many batters either, inducing countless grounders throughout his career. Sorensen's rookie season was promising, but it was his sophomore campaign in 1978 that made people take notice. Sorensen was a workhorse, averaging roughly eight innings per start. Surprisingly, his 17 complete games did not lead the team that year - Mike Caldwell had 23. Named to the all-star team (his only appearance in the mid-season classic), Sorensen worked three shutout innings in the Midsummer Classic. While Sorensen appeared to be a star in the making, the workload would take its toll on his arm. He had decent seasons in 1979 and 1980 but was far less dominant than his 1978 campaign. His innings and effectiveness waned with each season. Sorensen was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals after the 1980 season in the famed deal that brought Pete Vukovich, Ted Simmons, and Rollie Fingers to Milwaukee. Sorensen would have a solid (but injury-limited) year in St. Louis before being traded to Cleveland. By 1984, his career as a starting pitcher was almost over. He would bounce around the majors and minors until 1988 with limited success. He was done as a player at age 32. During his four years in Milwaukee, Sorensen won 52 games, averaged 213 innings pitched a season, and had a 3.72 ERA. He produced a solid 12.2 bWAR / 11.6 fWAR. After baseball, Sorensen got into broadcasting, working for ESPN and then the Detroit Tigers. He was praised for his quick wit and friendly nature. However, Sorensen won't be best remembered for his time on the diamond or in the booth. Instead, his life has been littered with drug and alcohol-related problems. The first incident occurred while he was still a player when he was one of 11 players fined for admitting to cocaine use during a drug trial in Pittsburgh. In 1992, he received a DUI - the first of seven in his life. In 1998, Sorensen was let go as a Tigers announcer due to substance abuse problems. Things continued to spiral downhill for Sorensen. In the 2000s, he served two prison terms related to his alcohol-related arrests. In 2008, after crashing his auto, his blood-alcohol level was a staggering .480 - a level that would kill most adults. He lost his job, freedom, and marriage to alcohol. In 2014, Sorensen landed a broadcasting job for Wake Forest baseball and then added football in 2017, which he continues to do. But more importantly, he got - and stayed - sober. He credits much of his recovery to his now-wife, Elaine. Before becoming a lawyer, Sorensen's son, Mark, pitched for Michigan State before spending four seasons (2008-12) in the Detroit Tigers minor league system. Please share your memories of former Brewer pitcher Lary Sorensen View full player

This is a soft launch, thought I would put it out here so those of you interested can play around with it. The Players Project is open to all Brewer Fanatic users. If you want to add to a player or create a new player, please do so! Just hit the Players Project index page and check to make sure he doesn't exist using the search tool. We want to make this the first and foremost tool to find cool information about Brewers players. If you know of a link or an article that should be included, take 30 seconds and add it to the player link roll. Or if you're a baseball card fanatic, add a few for your favorite players. The sky here is the limit. This is meant to be for Brewers fans and by Brewers fans. The more esoteric and fun we make the project, the better it will be. The Players Project: https://brewerfanatic.com/milwaukee-brewers-players-project/ A brief tutorial on the project: https://brewerfanatic.com/help/all-help/how-to-use-the-milwaukee-brewers-players-project-r12/

Teodoro Valenzuela Higuera was born in Mexico in 1957. He didn't began playing baseball until he was 17, but by age 21, he was pitching in the Mexican League. In 1983, in the wake of the success of fellow Mexican Fernando Valenzuela , the Brewers took a shine to the short, stocky 25-year old lefthander with a five-pitch repertoire. Milwaukee bought Higuera's contract from the Mexican League, and after one year in the minors, installed him into their starting rotation. Teddy Higuera 's career began with a very good rookie campaign in 1985. The 27-year old threw 212 innings, won 15 games, and had a 3.90 ERA. He broke out the following season, producing one of the finest seasons in Milwaukee Brewer history. Higuera won 20 games, threw 248 innings and struck out 207 batters. He had a 32 inning scoreless streak. He finished 2nd in the Cy Young voting (behind Roger Clemens ), was named to the all-star team, and finished 15th in MVP voting. Higuera continued to dominate the next two seasons, winning 18 and 16 games, respectively. His 1986-88 run represent three of the five highest season bWAR ratings in team history. However, beginning in 1989, injuries began to take their toll on Higuera. He was limited to 22 and 27 starts the next two seasons, pitching well, but not great. Then, in 1991, Higuera tore his rotator cuff. He missed most of the season and all of 1992. Higuera struggled to come back the next two years. After the 1994 season, his career was over. In retirement, Higuera stayed involved in baseball in his native Mexico. He served as the pitching coach for the national team during 2006, 2009 and 2013 World Baseball Classics. He was inducted into the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. He was also added to the Brewers' Walk of Fame in 2014 Higuera was a great story back in the 1980s. Emerging from the obscurity of the Mexican Baseball League, he was an All-Star and Cy Young runner-up just two short years later. He didn't have overpowering stuff, but he succeeded by keeping hitters off balance with a variety of pitches, sharp control and deception. Higuera had an incredible four-year run in Milwaukee (1985-88), throwing nearly 950 innings during the span, and averaging 17 wins a year. For his career, Higuera won 94 games, produced a .595 winning percentage, a 3.61 ERA, 1380 innings pitched, 50 complete games, 12 shutouts, and 1081 strikeouts. If injuries had not derailed his career, he would likely own most every major pitching record in Milwaukee. Today, Higuera sits as one of the most talented and productive pitchers in team history. View full player

Huh, wayyyyyyy more than I expected.

Nope, we'll keep this one, I prefer to leave game threads to users, I just create them to make sure they're here every morning.

Is it just me or is it weird to throw a sinker and a cutter?

Jon Heyman has reported that former Tiger pitcher and left-handed starter Matthew Boyd is showcasing for teams as he attempts to return from Tommy John surgery. Boyd, 33 years old, went down with arm issues last season and is expected to return later in the 2024 season. Heyman pointed out that Boyd was throwing 92-93 mph, which is right in line with his career numbers. While Boyd is sure to draw attention from several teams, no contender rotation is in as dire straights as the Brewers, who are last in baseball in innings pitched by starters. View full rumor

This team is so much better than I expected them to be!

Was just about to flip on the game and see that it is already well in hand.

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Robert Murray of FanSided wrote a trade rumor roundup this morning and mentioned that the Padres' AJ Preller - one of the most aggressive general managers in baseball - was talking to the White Sox about left-handed starting pitcher Garrett Crochet. Murray then went on to make the argument that the Brewers would be an excellent fit for the 24-year-old starter. Crochet's price would be incredibly high. He won't be arbitration-eligible until after this season and is currently pitching to a 116 ERA+ with 12 strikeouts per nine innings. While the Southsiders don't need to trade Crochet, their major league team is the worst in baseball and their farm system is barren, ranked 20th by MLB.com before the 2024 season. View full rumor

Okay, let's put the Phillies behind us and get back to winning series.

As a person who watches a lot of different teams, most of baseball feels feast or famine by design. Given how players achieve success today and the velocity of pitchers, it's harder than ever to scratch runs out. The Brewers do all the things "right" that should lead to consistency - stolen bases, on-base percentage, batting average, decent power - but this is just how baseball is now (to my chagrin).

I don't know if my opinion has changed drastically but the most concerning aspect was the lack of offense. Considering the Phillies lineup, both the starters and relievers acquitted themselves very well against what might be the best team in the NL. Allowing seven runs in three games to Philadelphia is a feat. But when you're swept while doing it...

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If the Brewers are able to acquire a 2, I'm moderately comfortable hoping Gasser, Ashby, or Hall slide into that 3 slot, pushing Rea to 4.

Honestly, Rea being anything more than a fourth starter in the second round of the playoffs probably isn't going to cut it. I like Rea as much as anyone but I don't want him pitching more than once per series in October.

There's nothing wrong with going 1-2 against the Phillies in Philly, but... you gotta win to get there.

Well, we all knew that was coming. Bummer.

That was an ugly half inning.

The pitching article is coming tomorrow. 😁

Tough loss last night but the Phillies are a great team, especially with Wheeler on the mound. Let's run it back and try again.