Dan Plesac came up with the Brewers as the young left-handed gun from the bullpen. He sometimes had trouble locating his slider, but, along with Mark Clear, he formed a potent 1-2 punch out of the Brewers pen for several years.
I thought he was the coolest guy on the team. It didn't seem like he was all that much older than me -- and, to be fair, a little over 10 years isn't that much older...at least these days. He was the hot-shot 24-year-old rookie, and he was a Midwestern Boy from Crown Point, Indiana, to boot.
Plesac stayed 7 seasons in Milwaukee, which was long enough for him to beat out Jim Slaton by one appearance as the Brewers' all-time leader in games. After he left Milwaukee entering his age-31 season, he started spending 2-year stints all over the place -- 2 years with the Cubs, then 2 years with the Pirates, then 2.5 with the Blue Jays, then 1.5 years with the Diamondbacks, then back to Toronto for a year and a half, and finally finishing up in Philadelphia for about 2 years.
By the time he hit Toronto and like Bob McClure before him, he had been reconfigured as a LOOGY. Plesac eventually appeared in 1064 games -- 14 starts (all with Milwaukee) -- and totaled 158 saves. Of those, 133 were with Milwaukee. That, too, is a Milwaukee franchise record.
I just thought he was cool because, as a 24-year-old rookie, he took about 3 or 4 minutes to talk to a 14-year-old high-school fanboy. From all indications on MLB Network, he's still pretty much the same guy he was back then -- cracking jokes and having a good time, but very serious when it comes to doing his job.
I have 133 Plesac items with the Brewers, including the random autographed items and a ton of Milwaukee Brewers Police Card variations.
1986 (14)
Donruss The Rookies #14
Fleer Update #90T
Fleer Milwaukee Brewers Team Sticker (autographed on front in blue sharpie by Plesac and in black pen by Rob Deer)
Milwaukee Brewers Butler Police and Butler Area Chamber of Commerce
Milwaukee Brewers Caledonia Police and Caledonia Jaycees
Milwaukee Brewers Delafield and Hartland Police and Delafield Lioness Club
Milwaukee Brewers Milwaukee Police
Milwaukee Brewers Milwaukee Police (autographed on front in blue sharpie)
Milwaukee Brewers City of Oconomowoc Police and Oconomowoc Kiwanis Breakfast Club
Milwaukee Brewers St. Francis Police
Milwaukee Brewers Wausau Police and Hoffer's Inc.
Milwaukee Brewers Weston Police and First Wisconsin National Bank - Weston
Topps Traded #87T
5x7 Photograph taken at Milwaukee County Stadium in dugout
1987 (16)
Donruss #214
Fleer #354
Milwaukee Brewers Germantown Police and Germantown Rotary Club
Milwaukee Brewers Greendale Police, Greendale Jaycees, and Greendale Village Jaycees
Milwaukee Brewers Hales Corners Police and Tri City National Bank of Hales Corners
Milwaukee Brewers Milwaukee Police, Kinney Shoes, and WTMJ Radio
Milwaukee Brewers City of Muskego, E.J. Salentine Buick/Pontiac and Lincoln State Bank
Milwaukee Brewers City of New Berlin Police
Milwaukee Brewers Weston Police and Trend Setters Hair Design
Red Foley Sticker #70
Sportflics Team Preview #19
Topps #279
Topps Tiffany #279
Topps Stickers #201
Toys R Us Rookies #22
1988 (18)
Donruss #109
Donruss All-Stars #18
Donruss Baseball's Best #221
Fleer #171
Fleer #625 "Classic Relief" w/Dave Righetti
Fleer Glossy #625 "Classic Relief" w/Dave Righetti
Fleer Star Stickers #39
Milwaukee Brewers Milwaukee Police, Stadia Athletic Shoes, and WTMJ Radio
Panini Stickers #118
Score #77 (autographed on front in blue sharpie)
Score #77
Sportflics #191
Starting Lineup Talking Baseball Team Set #25
Topps #670
Topps Tiffany #670
Topps Mini Leaders #20
Topps Sticker Backs #65
Topps Stickers #203
1989 (15)
Bowman #133
Bowman Tiffany #133
Cadaco Disc #NNO
Donruss #382
Donruss All-Stars #22
Fleer #195
Fleer SuperStars #32
Milwaukee Brewers Menomonee Falls Police and Federated Financial S&L
Milwaukee Brewers Milwaukee Police, Sargento Mootown Snackers & WTMJ Radio
Milwaukee Brewers Yearbook Card
Score #320
Sportflics #128
Topps #740
Topps Tiffany Parallel #740
Upper Deck #630
1990 (26)
Bowman #386
Donruss #175
Donruss Aqueous Test #175
Donruss #175 on front of Donruss Value Pack
Donruss Best of the AL #36
Fleer #334
Fleer Canadian #334
Fleer League Leaders #29
Kmart (Topps) #30
Leaf #216
Milwaukee Brewers Milwaukee Police, Piggly Wiggly & SAV-U Foods, and WTMJ Radio
Milwaukee Brewers St. Francis Police
Milwaukee Brewers Waukesha Police & Fan Appreciation
Milwaukee Brewers Wisconsin State Patrol
Milwaukee Brewers Miller High Life SGA
Milwaukee Brewers Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department
Milwaukee Brewers Yearbook Cards
MLBPA Baseball Button
Panini Sticker #95
Publications International Stickers #503
Score #86
Score Hot 100 Superstars #86
Topps #490
Topps Mini Leaders #21
Topps Stickers #200
Upper Deck #477
1991 (19)
Bowman #34
Classic Game #33
Donruss #104
Fleer #594
Leaf #287
Milwaukee Brewers Chilton Police
Milwaukee Brewers Milwaukee Police Delicious Cookies
Milwaukee Brewers Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department
Milwaukee Brewers New Richmond Police
Milwaukee Brewers Waukesha Police
Milwaukee Brewers Wisconsin State Patrol
Milwaukee Brewers Miller High Life SGA
Red Foley Sticker #72
Score #275
Stadium Club #7
Topps #146
Topps Micro #146
Ultra #179
Upper Deck #322
1992 (14)
Donruss #682
Fleer #185
Milwaukee Brewers Milwaukee Police Delicious Cookies
Milwaukee Brewers New Richmond Police
Milwaukee Brewers Sheboygan Police
Milwaukee Brewers Waukesha Police
Milwaukee Brewers Wisconsin State Patrol
Pinnacle #162
Score #567
Stadium Club #532
Topps #104
Topps Gold #104
Ultra #388
Upper Deck #550
1993 (8)
Donruss #677
Fleer #633
Score #456
Stadium Club #24
Topps #16
Topps Gold #16
Topps Inaugural Rockies #16
Topps Micro #16
2007 (1)
Hero Deck Milwaukee Queen of Hearts
2017 (2)
Topps MLB Network Insert #MLBN-10
1989 Topps Rediscover Topps Silver
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