Donald Glenn August (born July 3, 1963) is an

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former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

pitcher who played for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

from to . He lived in

Mission Viejo, California Mission Viejo ( ; corruption of ''Misión Vieja'', Spanish for "Old Mission") is a commuter city in the Saddleback Valley in Orange County, California, United States. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities e ...

and graduated from Capistrano Valley High School.

Minor pro career

August attended

Chapman University Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California. It encompasses ten schools and colleges, including Fowler School of Engineering, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Fowler School of Law, and Schmid College of Sci ...

, where he was a Division II All-American. After competing for the

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at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

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, he was drafted 17th overall by the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

. He spent a year in the Astros' minor league system before being traded along with fellow pitcher Mark Knudson to the Brewers on August 15, 1986 in exchange for

Danny Darwin Danny Wayne Darwin (born October 25, 1955), known as the "Bonham Bullet" and "Dr. Death", is an American professional baseball pitcher and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, ...

Milwaukee Brewers

After beginning 1988 with a 4–1 record and a 3.52 ERA for the Denver Zephyrs (now the

New Orleans Zephyrs New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

) of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Ba ...

, August was called up to the Brewers. He continued his success at the Major League level, going 13–7 with a 3.09 ERA and ranking ninth in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

in winning percentage. He finished fourth in the voting for AL Rookie of the Year;

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

shortstop

Walt Weiss Walter William Weiss (born November 28, 1963) is an American former professional baseball shortstop and manager and current bench coach for the Atlanta Braves. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1987 through 2000 for the Oakland Athleti ...

won the award. August suffered a case of the

sophomore jinx A sophomore slump or sophomore jinx or sophomore jitters refers to an instance in which a second, or sophomore, effort fails to live up to the relatively high standards of the first effort. It is commonly used to refer to the apathy of students ...

in 1989, slipping to 12–12 with a 5.31 ERA. He was sent back down to Denver for some time, where he garnered a 1–1 record with a 4.94 ERA. A notable moment came on June 5, when he was the winning pitcher in the inaugural MLB game played at the SkyDome (now

Rogers Centre Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, ...

) in

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, a 5–3 Brewers victory over the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

. In 1990, he pitched five games, and had a record of 0–3. He started 23 games during the

1991 season File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, 1991 Russian presidential election, elected as Russia's first President of Russia, president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated ...

, and had a 9–8 record in his final season.

References

External links

Baseball Almanac: Don August
{{DEFAULTSORT:August, Don 1963 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Baseball players from Inglewood, California Calgary Cannons players Chapman Panthers baseball players Charlotte Knights players Columbus Astros players Denver Zephyrs players London Tigers players Major League Baseball pitchers Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Milwaukee Brewers players Olympic silver medalists for the United States in baseball Toledo Mud Hens players Tucson Toros players Vancouver Canadians players Wichita Wranglers players American expatriate baseball players in Taiwan American expatriate baseball players in Italy Jungo Bears players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Pericos de Puebla players Piratas de Campeche players Rimini Baseball Club players Sinon Bulls players Rakuten Monkeys players Anchorage Bucs players