Brooks Kieschnick Interview
Joseph Aiello from a Cubs blog called The View From the Bleachers (which is linked on the right of this site) has an interview with Brewers jack-of-all trades Brooks Kieschnick. Brooks gives some pretty safe answers, but still it's worth a quick read. The fact that Kiesch did this interview is a testament to what a cool guy he is. I've met him on several occasions because of my work with the Milwaukee Brewers, and he has been one of the nicest players I have come across (coincidentally, Wes Obermueller is in that group as well, who Kieschnick mentions later in the interview).

Personally, I have always wondered what Kieschnick would have done had he received 400 at-bats in a Major League Season. His numbers at the plate are respectable (.244/.315/.444) given the fact that the past two years all he has done in 90% of his plate appearances was pinch-hit. He has never received more than 90 at-bats in a season. For his career he has 16 homeruns in 306 at-bats, roughly one HR every 20 at-bats. Translated over a 400 at-bat season that's about 20 homeruns. The problem is that Kiesch is a liability in the field (either corner OF or 1B) and probably doesn't have the stick to make up for it.

The fact that Brooks really never had a chance in the Major Leagues is interesting. Kiesch makes a reference to the fact that there was a regime change the year after he was drafted. Still, he put up monster numbers in the minor leagues and was one of the most prestigious college baseball players of all time. It's really too bad he never had more of a shot to show what he could do.

Kieschnick has found a great role with the Brewers. I don't think people fully appreciate how rare what he is doing is in the Major Leagues. Dave McCarty tried to be Boston's version of Kieschnick, but was unable to hack it. If Kiesch was playing the role of pitcher/pinch-hitter/DH/occasional OF in a bigger market you know all the wannabe comedians on Sportscenter would be cracking jokes about his skills and they probably would even throw some unnecessary and overproduced graphics onto the screen breaking down Kieschnick's contributions to the team.