Ben Sheets is the most notable name to appear for both Team USA and the Brewers in this look back at Olympic baseball history
Baseball at the Olympics has an up-and-down history, as MLB has never officially agreed to release its players, meaning most professional baseball players didn’t make it to the Olympics. There are a few notable exceptions, including Brewers’ star pitcher Ben Sheets, but the bulk of the USA’s Olympic representatives have come from college and the minor leagues.
With the 2024 Olympics set to officially kick off on Friday and baseball expected to make its return to the Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles, let’s take a look at some of former Brewers who also played for Team USA in the Olympics.
1984 Olympics (Los Angeles – Second Place (No Medal Awarded))
Don August: August was 21 at the time of the 1984 Olympics, wrapping up his season with Chapman University as he was drafted in the first round of the MLB Draft by the Astros. He was ultimately traded to the Brewers in 1986, making his MLB debut in 1988. He finished fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting that season, ultimately finishing his four-year career (all with Milwaukee) with a 34-30 record, 4.64 ERA, 4.47 FIP, and 181 strikeouts across 440 career innings before spending several seasons overseas.
B.J. Surhoff: Like August, Surhoff was an amateur player in 1984, having played at North Carolina leading up to the 1984 Olympics. He was the No. 1 pick int he 1985 MLB Draft by the Brewers, the first and still only No. 1 overall draft pick in Brewers history. He made his debut with Milwaukee in 1987 and played nine seasons with the Crew, appearing in 1,102 games while hitting .274/.323/.380 (92 OPS+) with 57 homers, 524 RBIs, 472 runs, and 102 steals. He appeared at every position except pitcher in his time with Milwaukee and ended up breaking out after signing as a free agent with the Orioles for the 1996 season, earning an All-Star selection in 1999 and getting some MVP votes as he hit .308/.347/.492 with 28 homers and 107 RBIs that year.
1988 Olympics (Seoul – First Place (No Medal Awarded))
Jim Abbott – Abbott is the first Brewer at the Olympics that I was able to dig up Olympic stats on, as he went 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in the 1988 Summer Games. Best known for being a one-handed pitcher born with no right hand, Abbott had a successful major league career, winning 87 games across 10 seasons in the majors. He spent his final season with Milwaukee, struggling to a 2-8 record and a 6.91 ERA (6.06 FIP) across 20 appearances (15 starts) in 1999.
Ben McDonald – McDonald was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1989 MLB Draft by the Orioles and followed the opposite trajectory of Surhoff as he started his career with the Orioles before heading to the Brewers. Across two seasons with Milwaukee (1996-97), McDonald started 56 games, with a 20-17 record, 3.96 ERA, 4.06 FIP, and 256 strikeouts across 354 1⁄3 innings.
1992 Olympics (Barcelona – Fourth Place)
Jeffrey Hammonds – Hammonds batted .414 in the 1992 Summer Games, ultimately being selected No. 4 overall by the Orioles in the 1992 MLB Draft out of Stanford. He played 13 seasons with six teams, including three years with Milwaukee, though he struggled to replicate his 2000 All-Star season. From 2001-03 with the Crew, he hit .248/.321/.398 (89 OPS+) with 16 homers, 65 RBIs, 69 runs, and nine steals in 187 games.
Rick Helling – Like Hammonds, Helling was a first round pick in the 1992 MLB Draft as he was selected by the Texas Rangers 22nd overall. His MLB career spanned 12 seasons, including his final two years with Milwaukee from 2005-06. In 35 games (nine starts) for the Brewers, he went 3-3 with a 3.11 ERA, 3.80 FIP, and 74 strikeouts across 84 innings.
1996 Olympics (Atlanta – Bronze)
Mark Kotsay – Kotsay hit .303/.452/.697 in 33 at-bats with Team USA in 1996, slugging three homers and driving in six on 10 hits while scoring 10 runs. Now the manager of the Oakland A’s, Kotsay was the No. 9 overall pick by the Marlins in 1996 out of Cal State Fullerton. He played 17 seasons in major league baseball, including his age 35 season with the Brewers in 2011. He hit .270/.329/.373 with three homers, 31 RBIs, 18 runs, and three steals in 104 games that year.
Braden Looper – Looper, the No. 3 overall pick in 1996 by the Cardinals, pitched six scoreless innings across four appearances for Team USA in 1996, allowing three hits and a walk with six strikeouts and one save. He spent 12 years in MLB, with his last season in 2009 with the Brewers. He led the league with 34 starts that year, though he struggled to a 5.22 ERA and 5.74 FIP with 14-7 record and 100 strikeouts across 194 2⁄3 innings.
2000 Olympics (Sydney – Gold)
Marcus Jensen – A catcher, Jensen went just 3-for-18 (.167 batting average) with a homer and five RBIs in the Olympics as Team USA won their first and only gold medal in baseball. Jensen was a first rounder in 1990 out of high school by the Giants, spending two seasons with Milwaukee in 1998 and 2002. He made just 18 appearances with the Brewers, hitting .108/.190/.189 with a homer, four RBIs, and two runs in 42 plate appearances.
Ben Sheets – Sheets was the ace for a strong United States pitching staff, as the team went 8-1 with a 1.35 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 80 innings. Sheets led the team with 22 innings pitched, striking out 11 and allowing just one earned run for a 0.41 ERA. A 1999 first-round pick, Sheets spent eight seasons with the Brewers as injuries ultimately derailed his career, but he earned four All-Star appearances and went 86-83 with a 3.72 ERA, 3.56 FIP, and 1,206 strikeouts in 1,428 innings across 221 starts.
2008 Olympics (Beijing – Bronze)
Brett Anderson – After Team USA missed the 2004 Olympics, Anderson helped the team bounce back with seven innings pitched in a win in the bronze medal game against Japan in the 2008 Olympics. A second-round pick out of Stillwater High School in Oklahoma in 2006, Anderson spent 13 seasons with six teams, including his final two years with Milwaukee from 2020-21. In 34 starts for the Crew, he went 813 with a 4.22 ERA, 4.39 FIP, and 90 strikeouts across 143 innings.
2020 Olympics (Tokyo – Silver)
Tyler Austin – Austin raked for Team USA in the Olympics, hitting .417/.462/.792 with two homers, three doubles, seven RBIs, and five runs scored across 24 at-bats. A 13th-round pick by the Yankees in 2010, Austin’s MLB career spanned four years from 2016-2019. He had a short stint with the Brewers in 2019, appearing in 17 games as he hit .200/.370/.450 with one homer, four RBIs, and five runs over 27 plate appearances.