Milwaukee Milkmen sign veteran right-hander and social media star Tim Dillard

The Milwaukee Milkmen have announced a new addition to the roster who will get the ball in today's series finale at Franklin Field against the St. Paul Saints. Right-handed pitcher Tim Dillard has received permission from the Texas Rangers to play independent baseball this summer and will return to a city and state that have fallen in love with him over the course of a 17-year professional career.

Dillard began his professional career as a 34th round draft pick by the Milwaukee Brewers back in 2002. He made it to the big leagues with Milwaukee in 2008 and pitched in parts of four MLB seasons, including stints with the Brewers playoff teams in 2008 and 2011. All together, Dillard owns a 4.70 ERA and 4.13 FIP in 84.1 innings at the game's highest level, covering 73 appearances. All of those outings came for the Brewers.

Dillard last appeared in the majors in 2012 but continued to pitch in the minors with the Brewers until 2018, although he did have a couple of brief stints with the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League in 2013 and 2014. He joined the Rangers organization before the 2019 season, which gave him an opportunity to pitch at the Triple-A level in Nashville, which is where Tim and his family make their home. Last season with the Sounds, Dillard led the Pacific Coast League with 153.1 innings pitched and posted a 4.75 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9. During his time with the Brewers and Rangers, Dillard has pitched in parts of nine season for the Nashville Sounds and is that franchise's leader in wins, appearances, innings pitched, walks, and strikeouts.

Dillard has also become notable for his presence on social media. He gained a bit of a following with his Tim Kurkjian impression on ESPN back in 2012, and he created his Twitter account -- @DimTillard, which now has over 47,000 followers -- in 2013. Over the years he has contributed to social media for both the Brewers and Rangers, has had stints in the radio and TV broadcasting booth during Spring Training and September, has involved teammates in his music and acting lip-sync videos, has created a YouTube channel, and most recently, started his own podcast.