Yount-Braun comparison

[rickh150]

This has to be the all-time wow Yount stat that I came across.... he only made three all-star games! He played for the Brewers twenty years, has a statue, and "only" appeared in three all-star games? That can't be, can it?

 

Braun has made five out of six already, and it would have been all six if he played his entire rookie season in the majors.

 

Why didn't Yount make more? Was there another great SS other than Ripken keeping him out?

[dlk9s]

Part of it was likely that Yount played pre-internet, pre-cable and therefore didn't have much national exposure since he played in Milwaukee.

[JohnBriggs12]

Part of it was likely that Yount played pre-internet, pre-cable and therefore didn't have much national exposure since he played in Milwaukee.

 

That wasn't part of it, it was basically all of it. Back then the only way to get votes was on ballots passed out at the parks. Most NL fans had no idea who he was until 1982 but their votes counted as much as. Ripken was never a factor as he came along later. Yount got passed over for guys like Bobby Grich, Bucky Dent and Rick Burleson. Those guys were solid but couldn't hold a candle to Yount. But they played on big market teams. Yount hurt his shoulder while in his prime, and spent half his career in the OF. That was a much tougher group. He didn't even make the All Star team in his 1989 MVP season. He tore it up in the 2nd half that year.

[jerichoholicninja]

The All Star roster was smaller back then too wasn't it?

[NYChez]

An example is 1978. Freddie Patek started and played the entire all-star game and his OPS that year was .630. Yount's was .752. However, Patek stole a bunch of bases and his team, the Royals, had played in the ALCS the past 2 years against the Yankees. Patek was very likely a more household name, and that's all that mattered back then.

 

Another example is 1984. Alfredo Griffin made the all-star team and his OPS that year was .546. Yount's was .806 and Yount played in 160 games (so he wasn't hurt). Yount was also statistically better on defense that year, but Griffin was likely known as a "slick fielder" whose plays showed up frequently on "This Week in Baseball".

[brewcrewdue80]

Yeah, I agree on the Balloting. County Stadium? Plenty of games where weather would leave seats empty. I remember going to those games when I was younger looking forward to punching my vote in and never even getting the ballots handed out. So when 12-20k fans are in attendence which is in the lower half and the fans that can vote their team in the AS game aren't even handed a ballot. You're not going to be in the top 3 at your position in votes.

Though this still is an issue today as I believe Napoli made the AS this year off the top of my head. Kinda like Harper, undeservedly.

[brewcrewdue80]

Adding, what I think helps Braun's case is Fantasy Baseball. He's a top 5 pick. People all around the US who play Fantasy Baseball know this and he's going to get more votes. There's that added recognition as who the best is due to who you would take in your top 25picks. Trout will be AS for at least the next 7seasons after last year. Whether he deserves it that year or not.

[MNBrew]

Small point, JB12, but Bobby Grich was a 2B, not a SS, for the vast majority of his career (1,765 GP at 2B, 159 at SS).

 

And the year he was an All-Star at SS was '72, which of course was before Yount was drafted.

[monty57]

Plenty of games where weather would leave seats empty.

 

Plenty of games where horrid teams and fan discontent with ownership would leave seats empty. In the County Stadium days, other than Opening Days, I never purchased tickets in advance, and I live an hour and a half away from the stadium. If we decided to go to a game, we just jumped in the car knowing there would be plenty of tickets available at the gate. The Brewers' attendance was normally in the teens-to-lower 20's, and it's awful hard to get All Stars when the only way to vote was ballots at the ballpark.

[Ennder]

Because Yount hit over 25 HR just one time. Way too much of Yount's value is tied up in stats that people don't pay any attention to. The same way that Ben Zobrist has been one of the best players over the past 4 years but has only 1 all star game and that was the year he hit a bunch of HR to go with the great defense and doubles and walks.

[RockCoCougars]

Yount didn't really get 'good' until about '79 or so. Once he was an established star, he had the shoulder issues and Ripken had became the flavor of the week. I don't put too much stock into the whole small market deal early on because Molitor was voted into the game at least once around '80 or '81. Later in his career, the balloting probably played a larger role with the Pucketts, Cansecos and Bo Jacksons of the world. Heck, Robin probably didn't even become the most popular Brewer until '82 ....he was definitely behind Molitor and perhaps Gorman and Cooper in that aspect.

 

From what I remember, Bucky Dent was voted in at AL SS at least a few times pre-Ripken.... has anyone outside perhaps Mazeroski parlayed a single home run into more?

[markedman5]

People are concentrating too much on the "voted in". The real story is that he didn't get named to more even when he wasn't voted in as a starter.

 

He just didn't have that many "wow" seasons. The rule that every team must be represented probably hurt him in some years too.

[RockCoCougars]

The rule that every team must be represented probably hurt him in some years too.

 

This is probably true. Yount didn't even make the AS team the year of his second MVP. That in of itself has to be pretty rare, but I just checked the AS roster for that season and was stunned to see that Jeff Leonard made it that season as the M's rep... this was post his horrible Brewers stint. I'm stunned that he made an AS team after that run, as I thought he was completely out of baseball soon after leaving Milwaukee.

[Mass Haas]

Dayn Perry with a Braun lovefest here.

 

I'm sure we all can realize just the type of historic player we have in our midst.

[DocLuna7]

This is a tough debate. I idolized both Yount and Molitor (as I am sure most boys growing up in SE Wisconsin did in the 80's) but if I were to wager I'd say that Braun will likely eclipse Yount in nearly all of the all-time offensive categories in Brewers franchise history. Braun is on pace to put up some ridiculous numbers, and his long contract ensures that he will be in a Brewers uniform for years to come.

[logan82]

Braun is fantastic but I am not sure he will be able to keep playing at a high enough level for long enough to be a HOF player. He got kind of a late start. We really need the Brewers to get into at least one WS for Braun to get elevated to Yount's level. It sucks but team accomplishment means a lot for an individual player.

[RockCoCougars]

Barring future injury issues, I think that Braun is on a HOF pace. He needs 8-10 more productive seasons to get in the 500 homer/3,000 hit range, but I wouldn't sell him short.