Catcher Jesse Levis first made the Indians in early 1992 and he impressed his new manager Mike Hargrove, The Akron Beacon Journal wrote, especially with his attitude.
"I wish I had 25 guys with the attitude Jesse has," Hargrove told The Beacon Journal that May. "He works hard, he stays ready, and you only have to tell him something once and it's done. It's a pleasure to have him around."
Levis' time with the Indians that year ultimately proved the first of nine total seasons in which he'd see the bigs. In two of those campaigns, both with the Brewers, Levis saw 99 and 104 games as a major league regular.
Levis' career began in 1989, taken by the Indians in the fourth round of the draft out of the University of North Carolina. He played his high school ball at Northeast High School in Philadelphia.
At North Carolina, Levis gained interest with his hitting as he hit .417 by early April 1989 and had a 16-game hitting streak to start the season, The North Carolina Daily Tar Heel wrote. He also gained experience with national youth teams, the U.S. National Youth Team and in the Olympic Festival.
"It gave me confidence," Levis told The Daily Tar Heel of his work on those teams, "because I saw what the best was, and I saw they weren't that much better than me."
Levis started with the Indians at rookie Burlington and single-A Kinston. He even got a game at AAA Colorado Springs. He then played 1990 at high-A Kinston and 1991 at AA Canton-Akron.
He debuted in Cleveland in late-April 1992 and saw 28 games that year. He hit .279. He saw the Indians for stretches each of the next three seasons.
For 1996, he arrived in Milwaukee in a trade and became a regular. He saw 104 games and hit .236. That July, he knocked in a game-winner in the 10th on a single.
"We needed that," Brewers manager Phil Garner told The Wisconsin State Journal afterward. "It seems like when the game gets on the line, Jesse has a real good good, concentrated approach at the plate."
He returned for 99 games in 1997 and hit .285. He then saw 22 games with the Brewers in 1998, 10 with the Indians in 1999 and 12 final appearances back with the Brewers in 2001. He saw time in three more seasons at AAA to end his career.
Levis has since been credited as managing at rookie Kingsport in 2005 and as a scout.
- North Carolina Daily Tar Heel, April 7, 1989: Levis hitting his way into national prominence
- Akron Beacon Journal, May 14, 1992: Attitude is good, but Levis needs seasoning
- Racine Journal Times, Wisconsin State Journal, July 18, 1996: Brewers snap extra-inning curse
Made the Majors:1,332-33.3%-X
Never Made Majors:2,674-66.7%
5+ Seasons in the Majors:546-X
10+ Seasons in the Minors:329
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