Ron Brand facts for kids

Ronald George Brand (born January 13, 1940) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball, which is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada. Ron Brand was also one of the very first players for the Montreal Expos team.

Ron Brand's Baseball Journey

Starting with the Pittsburgh Pirates

Ron Brand began his baseball career by signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates. This happened after he finished high school at North Hollywood High School. He spent five years playing for the Pirates' minor league teams. These are teams where players develop their skills before joining the main league.

He finally made it to the big league team in 1963. On June 20, he hit his first ever home run in a major league game. This exciting moment happened against a pitcher named Denny Lemaster from the Milwaukee Braves.

Playing for the Houston Astros

After spending all of 1964 in the minor leagues again, Ron Brand was chosen by the Houston Colt .45s team. This happened in a special event called the 1964 rule 5 draft. The Houston Colt .45s team changed its name to the Houston Astros before the 1965 season began.

In 1965, another catcher named John Bateman was the Astros' main catcher on Opening Day. However, Ron Brand soon took over as the starting catcher. On August 18, Ron Brand hit his second home run of that season. It was also the third and last home run of his entire major league career.

In 1966, John Bateman became the starting catcher again. Ron Brand then played as the back-up catcher. They shared the catching duties fairly evenly in 1967. But in 1968, Ron Brand started the season with the Astros' top minor league team. This team was called the Oklahoma City 89ers. He only played in 29 games for the Astros that year.

Joining the Montreal Expos

On October 14, 1968, the Montreal Expos team picked John Bateman in a special draft. This draft was for new teams joining Major League Baseball. Fifty-two picks later, the Expos also chose Ron Brand. This meant that Ron Brand and John Bateman would play together again in Montreal.

They continued to share catching duties for one season. But in 1970, Ron Brand started playing different positions. He became a "utility infielder", which means he could play various positions in the infield. In 1971, he only caught for two innings. However, he played in 22 games as a shortstop.

Ron Brand spent all of 1972 with the Expos' top minor league team. This team was called the Peninsula Whips. He was released from the team at the end of that season. He later joined the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1975. He spent that entire season in Bakersfield, California. There, he was a player and manager for their minor league team. After that season, he retired from baseball.