Ollie Brown

Ollie Lee "Downtown" Brown (February 11, 1944 – April 16, 2015) was an American professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to . He began his big league career with the San Francisco Giants and was the first draft choice for the expansion San Diego Padres, in . While with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1973, he was the first player to come to bat as a designated hitter after the rule was adopted by the American League that year.

After signing with the Giants, prior to the season,

In , Brown was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the California League while playing for the Fresno Giants (the league champions that year, with an 86-53 record). That summer, he became a top prospect, hitting 40 home runs (HR), with 133 runs batted in (RBI), while posting a batting average (BA) of .329, and amassing a 1.083 on-base plus slugging (OPS) Sabermetric score.

Brown was best known for his defensive skills, particularly the strength of his throwing arm. Before games, he entertained fans by throwing the baseball from the far right field corner to third base on the fly.

In 1221 games over 13 seasons, Brown posted a .265 batting average (964-for-3642) with 404 runs, 102 home runs, 454 RBI, 30 stolen bases.324 on-base percentage and .394 slugging percentage. He recorded a .977 fielding percentage playing at all three outfield positions.