September 3, 2025
By Kevin Glew
Cooperstowners in Canada
Fourteen years ago today, Milwaukee Brewers catcher George Kottaras stepped to the plate in the ninth inning at Minute Maid Park in Houston with a chance to accomplish something that no other Canadian had done in 124 years.
Facing Astros right-hander David Carpenter, Kottaras (Scarborough, Ont.) belted the second pitch into deep centre field.
Astros centre fielder Jason Bourgeois pursued it, but the ball bounced off the hill in deep centre and over the fence for a ground-rule double. And with that, Kottaras became the first Canadian to hit for the cycle in a major league game since Tip O’Neill in 1887.
“I kind of new [of the chance for a cycle], but I wasn’t just trying to hit a double,” Kottaras told reporters after the game. “I was just going to try to have a good at bat. It’s a crazy game, you never know what you’re going to get.”
How he hit for the cycle
After lining out to left field in his first at bat in the second inning that day, Kottaras clubbed a solo home run to right field in the fourth and then tripled to deep centre in the sixth. Both hits came off Astros starter Bud Norris.
The Canadian catcher then lined an RBI single between first and second base, scoring Taylor Green (Comox, B.C.), in the seventh to set the stage for his final at bat against Carpenter.
Unfortunately, with the Astros trailing 8-2 in the ninth and well out of contention, few fans were left at Minute Maid Park to witness Kottaras make history.
As noted earlier, Kottaras became the first – and still only – Canadian to hit for the cycle in a major league game since 1887 when O’Neill accomplished the feat twice in an eight-day span for the American Association’s St. Louis Browns. Outfielder George Wood (Pownall, P.E.I.) also hit for the cycle for the National League’s Detroit Wolverines on June 13, 1885.
Unlikely cycle candidate
Heading into the game, Kottaras seemed an unlikely candidate to hit for the cycle. He began the contest with a .241 batting average and was starting because regular catcher Jonathan Lucroy had played the previous night. His four-hit performance boosted his batting average to .273.
Born in Scarborough, Ont., Kottaras played fastball until he was 15 when he was convinced to try out for the Ontario Blue Jays. He was a quick learner who soon became one of the team’s top prospects.
In 2002, he was selected in the 20th round by the San Diego Padres. After parts of four seasons with the Padres, he was dealt to the Boston Red Sox to complete a deal for David Wells in 2006.
Pro career
In total, Kottaras spent parts of seven seasons in the minors in the Padres and Red Sox organizations before he made his major league debut on September 13, 2008. Fittingly, his first game was against his hometown Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. He entered the game as a defensive replacement for Jason Varitek in the seventh inning.
In his first two big league seasons (2008 and 2009), Kottaras had the thankless job of serving as knuckleballer Tim Wakefield’s personal catcher with the Red Sox.
After the 2009 season, Kottaras was claimed off waivers by the Brewers and in 2010, he would club nine home runs and drive in 26 in 67 games in his role as back-up catcher. He returned to the Brew Crew in the same capacity in 2011 and proceeded to make history by hitting for the cycle.
“I wasn’t trying for the cycle, just trying to play the game the right way and the way it’s meant to be played,” Kottaras told reporters after the game. “It made me feel good inside. It was a great feeling.”
Fun Facts:
-Kottaras’s triple in the sixth inning was one of just three he hit during his major league career.
-Kottaras became the first major league player to hit for the cycle during the 2011 season. Less than two weeks later, on September 15, 2011, Pablo Sandoval accomplished the feat for the San Francisco Giants.
-Kottaras became the seventh Milwaukee Brewer to hit for the cycle, joining Mike Hegan (September 3, 1976), Charlie Moore (Oct. 1, 1980), Robin Yount (June 12, 1988), Paul Molitor (May 15, 1991), Chad Moeller (April 27, 2004) and Jody Gerut (May 8, 2010).
-Surprisingly, Kottaras was the third Brewers’ catcher to hit for the cycle, joining Moore and Moeller.
-Kottaras was the 14th catcher to hit for the cycle in a major league game.
-No catcher would hit for the cycle in the majors again until J.T. Realmuto did it for the Philadelphia Phillies on June 12, 2023.
George donated his jersey from the cycle game to our Hall of Fame. So cool
Thanks for your note, Scott. I should have a photo of this jersey for the article.
Thanks for the article on George Kottaras.
Thanks for reading it, Bob.