A hacking, heavyset, righthanded slugger, Deer's prodigious home runs were matched
by equally prodigious strikeout totals. He came up through the Giants minor league
chain, winning three minor-league home run crowns (one at each level), but also leading
his league in strikeouts four times.
Deer was with the Giants for all of 1985, but
was traded to the Brewers after hitting only .185 with eight home runs in 78 games,
and he won Milwaukee's right field job in 1986. He belted 33 HR in his first AL season,
but also fanned a whopping 179 times, then set an AL record with 186 strikeouts the
following season (breaking Pete Incaviglia's year-old mark by one). He led the league
again in 1988 with 153 strikeouts, hitting a career-high .252 as his home run output
fell to 23.
After two more seasons which saw his batting average drop down to .210 and .209, Deer signed a free-agent contract with Detroit in November 1990. The change of venue failed to arrest his downward spiral, however, as he batted a miserable .179 while fanning 175 times. His second season with the Tigers proved much better (.247 with 32 home runs), but the following year would be his last in the big leagues save a brief 25-game comeback attempt with the Padres in 1996. (SCL)
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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»December 18, 1985: The Giants trade strikeout-prone slugger Rob Deer to the Brewers for minor leaguers Eric Pilkington and Dean Freeland.
»April 19, 1987: Rob Deer's 3-run homer and Dale Sveum's 2–run shot off Greg Harris caps a 5-run rally in the bottom of the 9th inning and gives the Brewers a 6–4 win over Texas and a 12-0 record, breaking the 1981 A's record for the best start in American League history.
»August 19, 1987: Paul Molitor collects four hits to extend his hit streak to 34 games and tie Dom DiMaggio for 11th spot on the all-time list. The Brewers beat Cleveland 13–2. Rob Deer has a grand slam for the Brewers, and tomorrow will hit another—just the 11th player in history to hit grand slams in consecutive games.
»April 13, 1993:
The Tigers defeat the Athletics, 20-4. Rob Deer, Mickey Tettleton, and Travis Fryman each contribute 3-run homers. Detroit collects 18 hits and leaves 12 on base.
»April 17, 1993: Seven players score as the Tigers score 20 runs in a game for the 2nd time this week, beating the Mariners, 20-3. Rob Deer is 1-for-2 and scores four runs, while Travis Fryman has four hits and scores five times. Chad Kreuter adds four hits and three runs and Gary Thurman paces the Bengals with four RBIs. Mike Hampton takes the loss with 2.1 innings of work.
»August 21, 1993: The Tigers trade OF Rob Deer to the Red Sox for a player to be named. Deer will homer tomorrow in his first at bat for the Sox in a 3–2 loss to the Indians.
»July 23, 1996:
At the Astrodome, San Diego's Rob Deer launches one of the highest balls ever hit, striking a cable holding up a loud speaker. It's declared a dead ball. The Pads don't need it as they win, 7–4.
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