Pat Listach
A speedy shortstop who electrified baseball by winning Rookie of the Year, then dedicated decades to coaching the next generation.
Born 1967 (age 59)·American baseball player and coach·Birthday: September 12·Generation X
Biography
Pat Listach arrived in the majors with a burst of kinetic energy, a compact shortstop whose legs were his fortune. In 1992, his first full season with the Milwaukee Brewers, he led the American League in stolen bases and played with a scrappy intensity that earned him the league's top rookie honor. His playing career, later spent with the Houston Astros, was ultimately shortened by injuries, but that pivot only opened a longer chapter in the game. Listach transitioned seamlessly into instruction, becoming a respected minor league manager and a major league coach. His story is less about sustained stardom and more about a deep, enduring baseball life—the flash of early brilliance refined into the steady craft of teaching the game's nuances from the dugout and the third-base box.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Pat was born in 1967, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Pat Was Born
The biggest hits of 1967
#1 Movie
The Jungle Book
Best Picture
In the Heat of the Night
#1 TV Show
The Andy Griffith Show
Pat's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1967Born
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1972Started school
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1980Became a teenager
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1983Could drive
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1985Could vote
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1988Turned 21
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1997Turned 30
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 40
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 50
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 59 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 1992 with the Milwaukee Brewers.
- Led the American League with 54 stolen bases during his rookie season.
- Served as the third base coach for the Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals in the majors.
- Managed multiple minor league affiliates, including the Iowa Cubs and the Tacoma Rainiers.
Did You Know?
He was drafted by the New York Mets in 1988 but did not sign, entering the draft again the next year.
His rookie season stolen base total of 54 remains a Milwaukee Brewers franchise record.
He played college baseball at Arizona State University and Louisiana Tech University.
He was a teammate of Hall of Famer Paul Molitor during his rookie year in Milwaukee.
“You don't steal bases by thinking about it; you go when the pitcher blinks.”
