Tim Dillard

Tim Dillard made 73 relief appearances in parts of four seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers between 2008 and 2012. During his 17-year minor league career, he developed a strong media presence, posting jokes, videos, and random ramblings on Twitter (now known as ‘X’) and Instagram. Nearly 100,000 online followers have enjoyed his takes on movies and TV shows, along with comical baseball posts.

When it came to building his social media presence, Dillard said he signed up for Twitter and Facebook in 2013 while he was living in a host family’s basement trying out for an independent league’s team in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. “With a degree in marketing, my wife thought social media would continue to grow and that I would be perfect for it. Well, I quickly loved it and she immediately regretted it,” Dillard said with a laugh.1

“I don’t post anything my kids can’t watch or read and it’s not negative in any way,” Dillard said. “Eventually I began making short videos in the clubhouse in spring training one year, including lip-synching Latin songs with teammates and suddenly that helped propel me all the way to a skit at the Univision Primos Deportes Award show in December 2017.”2

Dillard spent nine years in Nashville and became a beloved figure in the Music City. He also learned his craft under the tutelage of veteran manager Don Money. “I learned how to compete, how to communicate from player to manager, and what it takes to survive in professional baseball from Don Money,” Dillard said.3 Dillard and Money spent five years together over three different stops in the minors.

***

Timothy Charles Dillard was born on July 19, 1983, to Steve and Mary Jane Dillard in Sarasota, Florida. Steve Dillard had been a ballplayer who spent eight years (1975-1982) in the majors with the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, and Chicago White Sox. “My dad taught me everything a player could learn at the amateur level, sometimes to a fault. I would occasionally find myself frustrated with the way other coaches would try to teach or instruct me.”4 Mary Jane had gone to nursing school but left college to follow her husband in his baseball career. Tim has two older brothers, Jeff and Andy, both of whom played baseball in college and went on to play in independent leagues.

Dillard began his baseball career as a Little Leaguer in Florida but moved with his family to Saltillo, Mississippi in his early teen years. In August 1999, 16-year-old Tim had just finished running errands; he parked his car in the garage and headed to his bedroom. A few moments later, his mom, who was the only other person at home, heard a loud bang in the garage. She opened the door, saw flames coming from the car and let out a scream. Tim came out to see what had happened and started looking for a fire extinguisher. By the time they found a couple of extinguishers, the fire had raged out of control. Tim ran outside but Mary Jane had stayed inside, trying to call the fire department; however, the phone did not work. Tim grabbed his mom and the two ran barefooted down the gravel driveway to a nearby relative’s house to make the call. But it was too late – the house burned down to its foundation. Years later, Mary Jane said, “I’ve always felt like the Lord used a very traumatic moment to change the path that Timothy might have been headed on. I think he went down a better road, because it made him see life more seriously.”5

Dillard lettered in both basketball and baseball at Saltillo High School. After his senior year, Dillard, who pitched and caught for his team, was mentioned as one of the “Dandy Dozen Baseball 2001” team members by the Jackson, Mississippi Clarion-Ledger.6 He was also named to the second team All-State squad and was listed as a first team player for District 3A.

Dillard showcased his hitting skills for some scouts after a high school game during his senior year and hurt his left shoulder. He made it known that he was injured but the Brewers still drafted him in the 15th round.7 He chose not to sign and had shoulder surgery in October 2001, performed by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham.8

That winter, Dillard enrolled at Itawamba Community College (ICC) in Fulton, Mississippi. That year was a “rehab” year, according to Dillard. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound right-hander was again drafted by the Brewers in the June 2002 draft but fell to the 34th round. He elected not to sign immediately but instead signed a national letter of intent to play at the University of Mississippi beginning in 2003-04. His dad had been an All-American performer at Ole Miss 30 years before.

In the meantime, Dillard continued to play for ICC and finished the season with a record of 11-0 and five saves, including a victory in the NCAA Junior College World Series over defending champion Parkland College of Champaign, Illinois. He earned first team junior college All-American status.9 Dillard signed with Milwaukee in late May 2003 for $300,000 with scout Doug Reynolds. 10

Dillard began the 2003 season in the rookie Arizona League but soon went to Helena (Montana) in the Pioneer League. He had a nice season at the two rookie levels, posting a 3.32 ERA in 14 games (four starts) and earning a promotion to Single-A Beloit (Wisconsin) in the Midwest League.

Dillard pitched in 43 games for Beloit in 2004, earning 10 saves. Those numbers were good enough for him to move up to High-A Brevard County (Florida) in 2005.

The 21-year-old earned postseason All-FSL honors and led the league in complete games, shutouts, and innings pitched. After the solid season, Dillard earned a bump up to the Double-A Huntsville (Alabama) Stars for the 2006 campaign. He was also named the Brewers’ minor league pitcher of the year.11

The Stars had a tough first half, finishing with a 24-45 mark. Dillard was one of the bright lights, earning a spot on the Southern League’s North Division all-star team. Huntsville played much better in the second half, posting a mark of 43-26, but lost to Montgomery in four games in the Southern League championship series.

Dillard began the 2007 season in the starting rotation for Triple-A Nashville in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). In mid-June, however, he was moved to the bullpen. He ended the season with a record of 8-4 and a 4.74 ERA. After the season, Dillard was assigned to the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League, a place for extended development of teams’ top prospects. He didn’t fare very well, making 11 relief appearances and posting an ERA of 6.52. Despite the lackluster performance, Dillard was named to the Brewers’ 40-man roster in November.12

Dillard began the 2008 campaign at Nashville, working out of the bullpen. In late May, he earned a call-up to the big club when closer Éric Gagné was placed on the 15-day DL with rotator cuff tendinitis.13 Dillard made his major league debut on May 23 against Washington at Nationals Park, entering the game in the bottom of the eighth inning, trailing 5-1. He got two groundballs, sandwiching a strikeout of Aaron Boone in between.

In his first five outings, Dillard pitched five and two-thirds innings, allowing only one hit and two walks while striking out three. In one of those games, an 8-1 loss to Atlanta at Miller Park, Dillard collected his first (and only) big-league hit, singling to right field in the bottom of the fifth inning against Jorge Campillo. Dillard struggled in his next three outings, allowing nine hits, 10 runs (five earned), and three walks in just two and two-thirds innings of work. He was sent back to Nashville after a rough outing in which he gave up four runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning.

Dillard pitched in Nashville until he got called back to Milwaukee in September. He was solid in five appearances and finished the season with an ERA of 4.40.

During spring training in 2009, Dillard was sent down in the middle of March and pitched as a starter for Nashville, his first starts since 2007. Dillard’s nine victories led the PCL, but his 3.91 ERA ranked 18th. His inconsistencies and pedestrian ERA might have been why he was not named to play in the PCL All-Star game. “You want to be on the All-Star team,” Dillard said. “I was kind of pulling for this one. But I don’t think there is frustration. If anything, it’s like it is a little more incentive to try to do even better.”14

Dillard was honored as the PCL’s Pitcher of the Week after his eight-inning, one-hit shutout of Memphis on July 22.15 A couple days later, the Brewers called up Dillard when Seth McClung went on the 15-day disabled list with discomfort in his pitching elbow. Dillard pitched only twice before getting sent back to Nashville, where he finished the season. He won 11 games, which ranked fourth in the PCL.

Dillard was designated for assignment in early 2010, but after clearing waivers, was outrighted to Nashville. The Brewers wanted Dillard to change his delivery to more of a sidearm angle. He struggled in spring training, allowing four earned runs in 3 1/3 innings. “In ’08, I had a 2.00 ERA in the bullpen, and the next year, they wanted me to be a starter,” Dillard said. “Now they want me to throw sidearm in the ’pen. But whatever they want me to do, whatever role they want me to fill, I’ll do it.”16

Prior to 2010, Dillard used a three-quarters delivery. “My arsenal was mostly sinker and slider, but I dabbled many times with a four-seam fastball, change-up, and split finger.”17 After dropping down, his pitching repertoire changed somewhat. “I featured a four-seam fastball that acted like a sinker and also threw a four-finger curveball. I learned a change-up from a guy named Cheelo in Mexico that to this day is the strangest grip/pitch/delivery/armpath pitch I’ve ever encountered.”18

He spent the entire season in Nashville, appearing in 41 games while making eight starts. In those starts, he won four of six decisions while pitching to a 2.77 ERA. After the season, the Brewers re-signed Dillard to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.19

Dillard made 10 appearances for Nashville in 2011 before he was called up to Milwaukee in mid-May when pitcher Brandon Kintzler went on the 15-day DL with right triceps tendinitis. At the time, Dillard was on the verge of matching the Nashville Sounds franchise record of 35 victories, held by Keith Brown, who pitched for the team between 1988 and 1992 when it was a Cincinnati Reds affiliate.20 Dillard rode the Nashville-Milwaukee “shuttle” a couple more times that season, finishing the year one win shy of Brown’s mark, which he eclipsed in 2013 on his way to 48 wins.21 With Milwaukee, Dillard made 24 relief outings and posted a record of 1-1 with an ERA of 4.08.

That win, on June 5 against the Florida Marlins, would be the only one in Dillard’s big-league career. He entered in the ninth inning of a 5-5 game. The Marlins had loaded the bases against LaTroy Hawkins and Zach Braddock. Dillard got Gaby Sánchez to ground into a 5-2 force for the second out and then induced Giancarlo Stanton to fly out to left to get out of the jam. The 10th inning was easier: Dillard set the Marlins down on a lineout and two groundouts. Josh Wilson hit a two-out home run for the Brewers in the top of the 11th and closer John Axford negotiated a five-batter bottom of the 11th to secure the win for Dillard.

Dillard made the big club out of spring training in 2012 and pitched with them until early July, when he got demoted back to Nashville. Dillard appeared in 34 games for Milwaukee, with an 0-2 record and 4.38 ERA. His last major league game came on July 7, against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Dillard pitched one-third of an inning, allowing one hit, and struck out Chris Johnson as his final big-league hitter in a 6-3 loss. Dillard was granted free agency after the season.

He signed with Piratas de Campeche in the Mexican summer league in early spring 2013 but got cut at the end of training camp. Dillard then drove to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, tried out for the independent Atlantic League Lancaster Barnstormers, and signed with them.22 This was when he launched his social media ventures.

In early May, the Brewers once again signed Dillard to a minor league contract. He spent the year back at Nashville, appearing in 38 games, and posting a win-loss record of 4-2 with a 4.40 ERA. After the season he was granted free agency again.

In February 2014, Dillard re-signed with Lancaster. He pitched a couple of times in the regular season before signing again with Milwaukee in early May, just like the previous year. He was assigned to Double-A Huntsville and pitched in 43 games for the Stars before getting called up to Nashville when pitcher Ariel Peña was put on the disabled list. Dillard finished up the year playing for Águilas del Zulia in the Venezuelan winter league, where he posted a 4-1 record in 16 appearances.

Dillard spent the next four seasons (2015-18) pitching for Triple-A Colorado Springs in the PCL. He pitched in a total of 109 games (12 starts) and posted a record of 15-9 with three saves and an ERA of 6.04.

After the 2018 season, Dillard signed as a free agent with the Texas Rangers. That organization was going to give him the opportunity to play yet again at Nashville, which was where the pitcher and his family resided. The Nashville Sounds became a Rangers affiliate in 2019 after being in the Oakland A’s chain for the four previous seasons.

Dillard returned to the Sounds for his ninth season and was welcomed by his fans on social media, including Twitter (as it was then still known) and Instagram. Dillard frequently posted funny videos of himself and teammates, along with crazy pictures, random musings from “Dim Tillard” himself, and movie scene recreations with his teammates as the actors.23

In 2019, 21 of Dillard’s 33 appearances were starts. At the end of the year, he signed a minor league contract with the Rangers. Dillard was at spring training in 2020 when word filtered down that the start of the major league season would be postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The minor league season ended up being canceled completely, throwing a lot of players’ careers into chaos.

Dillard signed with the Milwaukee Milkmen of the independent American Association in 2020. The Milkmen finished first in the six-team league and defeated the Sioux Falls Canaries four games to one in a seven-game championship series.

Dillard retired in March 2021. He signed a one-year contract with the Brewers as the main analyst on the ‘Brewers Live’ pregame and postgame shows. He remains in that role as of the 2026 season.

In July 2022, the Nashville Sounds retired Dillard’s number 17 jersey, joining only Skeeter Barnes (00) and Don Mattingly (18) as Sounds players who have been so honored.24 Three years later, in April 2025, Dillard was inducted into the Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame.25

Dillard and his wife Erin (née Houston) married in the 2006 offseason. They have three children – Brooks, Camryn, and Hayes – and still live in the Nashville area.

Last revised: July 22, 2026

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Tim Dillard for his input via email and direct messages, August 2025-June 2026. This biography was reviewed by Gregory H. Wolf and Rory Costello and checked for accuracy by SABR’s fact-checking team.

Photo credits: Tim Dillard, Trading Card Database and courtesy of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

Notes

1 Author email exchange with Tim Dillard, June 16, 2026.

2 Author email exchange with Tim Dillard, June 16, 2026

3 Author email exchange with Tim Dillard, June 1, 2026.

4 Author email exchange with Tim Dillard, June 1, 2026.

5 Levi Weaver, “Fire, jokes, and bingo: How Tim Dillard became one of baseball’s most distinctive characters,” The Athletic, https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/895146/2019/04/04/fire-jokes-and-bingo-how-tim-dillard-became-one-of-baseballs-most-distinctive-characters/, accessed January 21, 2026.

6 Bill Spencer, “Gang can chunk it, plunk it,” Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Mississippi), February 15, 2001: 4D.

7 Author email exchange with Tim Dillard, January 9, 2026.

8 Author email exchange with Tim Dillard, January 9, 2026.

9 “Brewers swap out pitchers,” Independent-Record (Helena, Montana), August 22, 2003: B1.

10 “Foul! Brewers dream up another gimmick,” Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press, May 29, 2003: B1.

11 “Manatees pitcher honored,” Florida Today (Cocoa, Florida), October 5, 2005: 2D.

12 “Manatees hire new manager,” Florida Today, December 12, 2007: 1D.

13 “Notes from around the National League,” Progress-Index (Petersburg, Virginia), May 25, 2008: B5.

14 Larry Taft, “PCL wins leader finds motivation in All-Star snub,” The Tennessean (Nashville, Tennessee), July 13, 2009: 1C.

15 “Brewers call up Swindle,” The Tennessean, July 28, 2009: 3C.

16 Maurice Patton, “Dillard tries new approach to majors,” The Tennessean, April 8, 2010: 5C.

17 Author email exchange with Tim Dillard, June 1, 2026.

18 Author email exchange with Tim Dillard, June 2, 2026.

19 “Free agency looms for three Brewers,” Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wisconsin), November 6, 2010: B2.

20 Greg Sullivan, “Brewers may delay Dillard’s record chase,” The Tennessean, May 14, 2011: 5C.

21 Dillard also set Nashville Sounds franchise records with wins, games (242), strikeouts (437), and innings pitched (710).

22 Author email exchange with Tim Dillard, January 22, 2026.

23 Jessica Bliss, “Social Pitch,” The Tennessean, May 30, 2019: B1.

24 Mike Organ, “Sounds retiring Tim Dillard’s jersey number,” The Tennessean, July 24, 2022: B2.

25 “Tim Dillard to represent ICC in MACC Sports Hall of Fame,” Itawamba Community College Athletics website, https://letsgoicc.com/sports/bsb/2024-25/releases/20250422floddj, accessed January 21, 2026.