B. J. Surhoff

B. J. Surhoff was a catcher who played for the USA at the 1984 Olympic demonstration baseball tournament. In 1983 he also won international medals with a silver at the Intercontinental Cup and a bronze at the Pan American Games. Surhoff played college ball at the University of North Carolina and was then the first overall pick of the 1985 Major League Baseball Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Surhoff started out as a catcher in the majors, but later transitioned to mostly playing left field and some first base. He also occasionally played third base. He had a long career in the bigs, playing from 1987 to 2005, first with the Brewers from 1987-95. He was then with the Baltimore Orioles in 1996-2000 and again in 2003-05, and he was with the Atlanta Braves between stints with the Orioles. Surhoff finished with a career batting average of .282, and hit 188 home runs and 1,153 RBIs. He played in the All-Star Game in 1999.

Surhoff came from an athletic family. His father played a few years in the NBA in the early 1950s. His son, Austin, swam at the University of Texas, and won the NCAA title in the 200 individual medley. B. J. Surhoff’s brother, Rick, played a few games in the majors in 1985 with the Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers.