Braun retires

[owbc]

[MrTPlush]

Sounds like the Brewers will celebrate the last day of the season.

 

Weird timing for all this when we are in the thick of a postseason race...but whatever I suppose.

[Lathund]

I doubt even this will completely stop the posts from people expecting him to come back for a playoff run...

[jerichoholicninja]

He just needed to take some heat off his buddy Arod. Perfectly timed announcement.

 

Blue? Maybe.

[markedman5]

Happy for him.......hope they pack the place and give him a great send off.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Sounds like the Brewers will celebrate the last day of the season.

 

Weird timing for all this when we are in the thick of a postseason race...but whatever I suppose.

 

I kinda get the feeling he was keeping the door open for a possible return through the summer, but likely came to the realization eventually that he really didn't miss it all that much. Kinda a crappy way for him to go out with a mediocre season in front of no fans, but he's a player I will always remember fondly for coming up with some HUGE franchise moments and helping usher in this current era of competitive Brewers baseball.

[dlk9s]

I doubt even this will completely stop the posts from people expecting him to come back for a playoff run...

 

Tellez did just get put on the IL....

[MrTPlush]

Happy for him.......hope they pack the place and give him a great send off.

 

I think this was partly orchestrated to get fans to go to a meaningless September game. Get a little hype going into the postseason.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Not surprised at this point obviously, but in long-term hindsight I definitely am. I was pretty sure his retirement was a "I'll be there if they're in first place in August" type of deal. But I guess he meant it over the years when he always sort of said or hinted that baseball was never his true love.

[phnxcrew]

people on mlbtr getting one last chance to hate on the guy. Now maybe they can move onto some one else who once stole a cookie from the cookie jar.

[tmwiese55]

people on mlbtr getting one last chance to hate on the guy. Now maybe they can move onto some one else who once stole a cookie from the cookie jar.

 

While probably simultaneously saying how cool it is for Nelson Cruz to be doing what he's doing at his age.

[KeithStone53151]

Weird that my most fond memory of Braun will be the applause he got after returning from his suspension...and all the national sportswriters being completely appalled by our fan base.

 

Aside from that, one of the sweetest swings a Brewer has ever had...especially his opposite field stroke. He seems to be enjoying his time with family and I'm certainly happy for him.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I enjoyed watching him on the Brewers but he was very easy to dislike and we'd probably all think he's a doofus on any other team. The suspension was just icing on the cake but he had the kind of personality that's "charming" for one team and "douchey" for all the others.

[bjkrautk]

I think that, had the Brewers had a number of injuries to the outfield, Braun would have gotten the call. The only real lingering injury at this point is Taylor, and he's even eligible to return before the end of the regular season (I think).

 

I'm glad that we don't really have a need for him going into the postseason.

[MillerParkSouth]

Forget the hall of fame rule, #8 needs to be retired up next to the others.

[tmwiese55]

Yea one of the best RH swings I've ever seen, pretty much textbook and exactly what to coach. I remember saying at one point when complaining how the Brewers were bad my whole life saying something like 'when do we get our pujols, everyone else seems to get them'. A few years later we basically got two at the same time in Braun/Fielder(obviously each one notch below) and MKE baseball has been solid to good ever since. Braun would've been an interesting HOF debate without the PED issue and that thumb injury kind of costing him 2ish years of prime stats.

 

Yea the Brewers OF injuries hit early in the year when he probably wasn't an option. With the emergence of Taylor and all the others back and ready to go the need around mid to late season never materialized. Really doubt he'd have spent 7-10 days in AAA getting ready either and it's not ideal to have him get read taking bats at the MLB level while in a pennant race, so I was skeptical the whole time. Sure would be funny for them to get a title a year after he's gone. But also good they don't do a cheesy put him on the roster for one day and give him one AB type thing then give him a ring.

[sveumrules]

Sounds like the Brewers will celebrate the last day of the season.

 

Weird timing for all this when we are in the thick of a postseason race...but whatever I suppose.

 

I kinda get the feeling he was keeping the door open for a possible return through the summer, but likely came to the realization eventually that he really didn't miss it all that much. Kinda a crappy way for him to go out with a mediocre season in front of no fans, but he's a player I will always remember fondly for coming up with some HUGE franchise moments and helping usher in this current era of competitive Brewers baseball.

 

Was reading an SI article about MLB Authentication the other day & apparently HR balls rarely get authenticated because once it enters the stands, chain of custody is compromised.

 

Since there were no fans in 2020 they were able to authenticate considerably more HRs & they had a tidbit in there about how Braun was trying to get as many of his bombs back as possible since it was probably his last season.

 

Molitor (125 OPS+, 269 batting runs, 59.9 WAR) & Yount (115 OPS+, 233 batting runs, 77.3 WAR) were better overall players, but Braun (134 OPS+, 316 batting runs, 47 WAR) retires as the best hitter in franchise history.

 

Yelich is currently at 149 OPS+ & 115 batting runs with Milwaukee, so he'd need to average almost 30 batting runs a year over the remainder of his contract to pass Brauny. As a point of reference Yelich notched 29 batting runs in 2016 with a 135 OPS+ over 659 PAs.

 

While I'd love it if Christian put up that kind of production throughout his thirties, that's probably more than a tad optimistic, so the distinction will likely be Braun's for some time.

[MrTPlush]

I enjoyed watching him on the Brewers but he was very easy to dislike and we'd probably all think he's a doofus on any other team. The suspension was just icing on the cake but he had the kind of personality that's "charming" for one team and "douchey" for all the others.

 

I thought he was pretty likable and personable until everything went down. Then he started giving off that closed off rich athlete vibe. I guess that is to be expected to some extent. Hard to really interact with fans etc. when there will always be one douche around to scream negativity at you.

 

He still showed up for off season events, like the food drive, or the gear-up for the season event in January. Of course his contract probably stipulated him to do stuff like that barring a legit excuse, but he still looked like he enjoyed it regardless.

[owbc]

What will I remember about Braun? Prettiest swing but most annoying batting routine. The guy you wanted up to bat with the game on the line. He was the last of the prospects from the mid-00s resurgence and the one that put the Brewers over the top in terms of being a playoff contender. The grand slam in 2008. The MVP year.

 

And then...one of the worst cases of self-sabotage that I've ever seen. The PED use itself was no surprise, everyone coming out of Miami in that era was doing it. I remember exactly where I was when I found out he tested positive, it was such a typical 'Brewers' moment of that era to have our first bit of real success tainted so quickly. By the time he owned up the damage was permanent, his celebrity friends permanently disappeared from games, and he was never quite the same player.

 

But, to Braun's credit, he went back to work, never complained through the losing and rebuild, and by all accounts was a clubhouse leader and positive asset to the contending team in 2017 and the NLCS team in 2018. In 2019 he gave us one of the best regular-season moments in a while when he hit that 9th inning grand slam against the Cardinals. And finally, I give him credit for not trying to impede or be a distraction on the 2021 Brewers, he's focused on his family and he's cheering this team on like the rest of us. I hope he can continue to have a role in the franchise in the future and I would absolutely support retiring his number.

[TURBO]

Forget the hall of fame rule, #8 needs to be retired up next to the others.

 

 

100% truth!

[Jopal78]

 

And then...one of the worst cases of self-sabotage that I've ever seen. The PED use itself was no surprise, everyone coming out of Miami in that era was doing it. I remember exactly where I was when I found out he tested positive, it was such a typical 'Brewers' moment of that era to have our first bit of real success tainted so quickly. By the time he owned up the damage was permanent, his celebrity friends permanently disappeared from games, and he was never quite the same player.

 

 

Look at the stat sheet from 2012. He was every bit as good, even after the positive test, as he was in 2011 when he won the MVP and was using.

 

What gets lost in the Braun story is the thumb injury in 2013 and 2014. As I recall, he hurt his thumb in 2013 and tried to play through it while experiencing a major power outage. He missed a month on the DL, came back reaggravated the thumb, was shut down and placed on the DL. It was then that he cut a deal with MLB and served a suspension when he was not liekly to play anyways due to the injury.

 

He again played through the thumb injury in 2014 then had the nerves frozen in his thumb. After that surgery he was 31 and hit .279/.341/.501 for the remainder of his career. Sure maybe not the .900+ OPS player he was at 25, but neither was Mickey Mantle.

 

Pound for pound the best hitter the Brewers had since I started following the team in 1988.

[homer]

His greatest accomplishment....owning the Cubs:

 

[markedman5]

Goose bumps

 

[pacopete4]

A true end to an era where the success of the Brewers franchise turned around. Braun had a large part in that. That swing is something that was worth tuning in for. I hope that Brewers fans pack that last game to honor a great Brewers baseball player. It's well earned. And with that, a new avatar. It's CC time! Work that magic and get us that trophy.

[wibadgers23]

Braun played a significant role in putting Brewers baseball back on the map and for that I will be forever grateful. One of the most clutch Brewers of all time without a doubt.