The Five Best Second Basemen In Brewers History

I can't help but wonder if Luis Urias will belong on this list by the end of his Brewers tenure if he ends up moving over to 2b, which appears likely.  I envision him doing really well there for us.

4 hours ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

I just realized that no Brewer second baseman ever accumulated even 20 fWAR while in Milwaukee. Gantner came really close at 19.5.

Having really only followed the Brewers from 1984 on, I never felt impressed by Gantner. Weeks, far and away was the most impressive. You just KNEW something good could happen at the plate in any given AB. Vina was scrappy. Molitor... well, imagine if he'd never moved from second.

The rest... hard to really set anyone apart. Urias could be one contender. Turang another. Hiura had a shot after 2019... but slumped a lot in 2021 after showing power in 2020 (wonder if he'd not fallen for the launch-angle fad, if he'd have been better).

58 minutes ago, clancyphile said:

Having really only followed the Brewers from 1984 on, I never felt impressed by Gantner. Weeks, far and away was the most impressive. You just KNEW something good could happen at the plate in any given AB. Vina was scrappy. Molitor... well, imagine if he'd never moved from second.

The rest... hard to really set anyone apart. Urias could be one contender. Turang another. Hiura had a shot after 2019... but slumped a lot in 2021 after showing power in 2020 (wonder if he'd not fallen for the launch-angle fad, if he'd have been better).

Gantner was a really good defensive second baseman.  Weeks was most talented but he never lived up to it.  He cost them a lot of runs by failing to complete double plays with errant throws.

Kinda one of those rankings that shouldn’t exist because no one is deserving of the honor.

I think Weeks is a bit harshly unloved because A) people love to rip on guys over defense and B) he got an extension that people didn’t feel he lived up to.

I think the injury issues unfortunately plagued him in his career. The way fans treated him towards the end was kind of sad, considering his contract was hardly that large. Sometimes I feel like we should be thankful any player wants to be in Milwaukee for over a decade. He was a great homegrown player player. He was an absolutely electric lead off hitter for years.

I feel like this comes down to nostalgia. If you grew up watching Ganter you probably pick him, if not, you go Weeks.

The tough thing about these lists is when you have someone who played multiple spots. Where do you put him? Heck, there are Brewer fans in their early 40s who don't remember Robin Yount as a shortstop.

If Molitor is considered a 2B IMO it's him & not particularly close. Weeks, despite not living up to his draft rep, did some solid work with the bat. He worked really hard to improve what was a weak glove. But 2B isn't a position where you can overlook defense. All considered I think you can put him, Gantner, and Vina in a dice cup & shake 'em out in whatever order.

11 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

The tough thing about these lists is when you have someone who played multiple spots. Where do you put him? Heck, there are Brewer fans in their early 40s who don't remember Robin Yount as a shortstop.

If Molitor is considered a 2B IMO it's him & not particularly close. Weeks, despite not living up to his draft rep, did some solid work with the bat. He worked really hard to improve what was a weak glove. But 2B isn't a position where you can overlook defense. All considered I think you can put him, Gantner, and Vina in a dice cup & shake 'em out in whatever order.

I think you have to pick a position for Molitor and that is what he is for these kinds of rankings. Either A) the one he played the most or B) the one he played at during his prime years. Which either way is Third Base.

You can't win both the AL and NL awards and you can't exactly win a gold glove at multiple positions in a single year. 

Yes, I know, I thought way over the top on that debacle. 

6 hours ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Yeah, there are a half dozen ways to compile these lists. They're a fun read but must always be taken with the caveat "these are my own self-imposed rules I am following, feel free to make your own rules on your own list". Does a player qualify for only one position or multiple? Is peak or career more important? How much does Brewer career vs overall career matter? Lots of different ways to look at these things, all are valid.

I've always liked to look at it from a "fill out a lineup card" perspective, which of course eliminates someone from winning two spots. I like TPlushs' idea of going by longevity at a position or where you spent your prime years. Of course that disqualifies Molitor at 2B which would conveniently open up 3B for Cirillo. As you said, all methods have validity. For the record, if Molitor isn't eligible at 2B then to put it in a "division standings" format Vina is my 1st place guy, with Gantner percentage points behind & Weeks about a game back.

Fernando Vina will always be known for stealing my friend's girlfriend.

My friend was on the baseball team at UWM and was driving a 1979 Ford Fairmont.  Vina was on the Brewers making six figures.  Early life lesson on how (most) women go for fame and money.