Kevin Lowell Kramer (born October 3, 1993) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

in 2018 and 2019.

Amateur career

Kramer attended Turlock High School in

Turlock, California Turlock is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States. Its population was 72,740 at the 2020 United States census, making it the second-largest city in Stanislaus County after Modesto. History Founded on December 22, 1871, by pr ...

. He was drafted by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

in the 25th round of the

2011 Major League Baseball draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the firs ...

, but did not sign and attended the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA), where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the Bruins. In 2013, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Orleans Firebirds The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

Professional career

Pittsburgh Pirates

After his junior year, he was drafted by the

in the second round of the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

. Kramer made his professional debut with the Low-A

West Virginia Black Bears The West Virginia Black Bears are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Granville, West Virginia, and play their home games at Kendrick Family Ballpark, which is across the Monongahela River from Morga ...

and was promoted to the Single-A

West Virginia Power The Charleston Dirty Birds are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a MLB Partner League, partner league ...

during the season. In 58 total games between the two teams, he batted .291 with 20 RBIs. He played 2016 with the High-A

Bradenton Marauders The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as the ...

where he posted a .277 batting average with four home runs and 57 RBIs in 118 games. In 2017, Kramer played with the Double-A

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of ...

, batting .297 with six home runs and 27 RBIs in 53 games before a fractured right hand ended his season in June. Kramer began the 2018 season with the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

of the

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

and was called up to the majors for the first time on September 4. He made his MLB debut the next day as a pinch hitter against the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

. In 21 games with Pittsburgh, Kramer slashed .135/.175/.135 with 4 RBI. Kramer spent the majority of the 2019 season with Indianapolis, playing in only 22 games with the Pirates, with whom he batted .167/.260/.190 with 5 RBI. On May 20, 2020, Kramer underwent surgery on his right hip, and missed the entire 2020 season. On October 30, Kramer was outrighted off of the 40-man roster. He began the 2021 season with Indianapolis, where he batted .196/.318/.296 with 3 home runs and 22 RBI in 51 games.

Milwaukee Brewers

On July 4, 2021, Kramer was traded to the

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

in exchange for Nathan Kirby. He played in 23 games for the Triple-A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

, slashing .245/.379/.321 with no home runs and 4 RBI. On August 17, Kramer was released by the Brewers organization. On June 1, 2022, Kramer affirmed that he had retired from professional baseball and has since started his own solar power firm after his release from the Brewers organization.

Personal

Kramer and his wife, Riley, welcomed their first child, a daughter, in November 2019.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kramer, Kevin 1993 births Living people Baseball players from Turlock, California Turlock High School alumni Major League Baseball second basemen Pittsburgh Pirates players UCLA Bruins baseball players Orleans Firebirds players West Virginia Black Bears players West Virginia Power players Bradenton Marauders players 21st-century American sportsmen Altoona Curve players Indianapolis Indians players Nashville Sounds players La Crosse Loggers players