University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Former Bruin Kramer Makes MLB Debut With Pittsburgh Pirates
September 06, 2018 | Baseball
PITTSBURGH, Pa. ย โ Former UCLA infielder Kevin Kramer on Wednesday became the 79th Bruin ever to reach the major leagues, as he appeared as appeared as a pinch-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals in his MLB debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
He had his contract selected by the Pirates on Tuesday, Sept. 4, following the conclusion of the regular season for Pittsburgh's AAA affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians.
Kramer excelled in his first season of AAA ball, winning Indianapolis's team rookie of the year award while batting .311 and leading the club in home runs (15), doubles (35), and RBIs (59). He ranked among the league leaders in slugging (.492) and on-base percentage (.365).
He was a second round selection (62nd overall) by Pittsburgh in the 2015 MLB draft after a standout career at UCLA.
The Turlock, Calif. native was the starting third baseman on the 2013 squad that won the national championship. As a redshirt junior in 2015, he posted career-bests with a .323 average and seven home runs en route to Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year semifinalist honors. Kramer finished his collegeย career with a .297 batting average, 114 runs scored, and 89 RBIs.
Congrats @Kevin_Kramer7! 79th Bruin ever to appear in the MLB. #GoBruins https://t.co/9ie1zWI8ay
โ UCLA Baseball (@UCLABaseball) September 6, 2018
With his debut, Kramer becomes the 18th Bruin coached by current head coach John Savage to reach the major leagues. In addition, at least one player from every UCLA team from 1965-2015 has competed in the MLB, a span of 50 consecutive years.
Before Kramer even entered a game, he attracted plenty of attention on social media after appearing next to teammate Kevin Newman in the dugout, alluding to a pair of characters on the sitcom Seinfeld.ย
That's gold, @Pirates! Gold! pic.twitter.com/xpPQK0GL8G
โ Cut4 (@Cut4) September 4, 2018
Keep up to date on all things UCLA Baseball by following @UCLABaseball on Twitter.
John Savage-Coached Bruins to Reach Majors (debut team)
Hector Ambriz (Cleveland Indians)
Trevor Bauer (Arizona Diamonbacks)
Charles Brewer (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Trevor Brown (San Francisco Giants)
Tyson Brummett (Philadelphia Phillies)
Gerrit Cole (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Brandon Crawford (San Francisco Giants)
Jermaine Curtis (St. Louis Cardinals)
Cody Decker (San Diego Padres)
Erik Goeddel (New York Mets)
Matt Grace (Washington Nationals)
David Huff (Cleveland Indians)
Kevin Kramer (Pittsburgh Pirate)
Adam Plutko (Cleveland Indians)
Rob Rasmussen (Toronto Blue Jays)
Josh Roenicke (Cincinnati Reds)
Pat Valaika (Colorado Rockies)
Zack Weiss (Cincinnati Reds)
