Ryan Braun, Retired


Date of Birth: 11/17/1983
Birthplace: Mission Hills, California
College: University of Miami
Nickname: Hebrew Hammer

Ryan Braun, retired left fielder, was a star player in college before being drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2005. He played in the Brewers' minor league system from 2005 through part of 2007, ending with a .313 batting average.

In 2007, his rookie season in the major leagues, Braun batted .324 with 146 hits, 26 doubles, 34 home runs, 97 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases. Those impressive statistics earned him the National League Rookie of the Year award.

After his outstanding first season, the Brewers rewarded Braun with an eight-year, $45-51 million contract extension in March, 2008. That season, he won his first of five consecutive Silver Slugger awards, batting .285 with 174 hits in 151 games. The following two seasons were even better ones for Braun. In 2009, he batted .320 with career highs in hits with 203 and RBIs with 114. In 2010, he won his third Silver Slugger award, batting .304 with 188 hits and a career high 45 doubles.

Braun won his fourth Silver Slugger award in 2011. That year, he also won the National League MVP award for batting a career high .332 with 187 hits, 38 doubles, 33 home runs, 111 RBIs, and a career high 33 stolen bases in 150 games. Unfortunately, his records for that year are tainted by accusations of PED use, even though he was cleared at the time.

In 2012, Braun led the NL in home runs with 41. That year, he won his fifth Silver Slugger award and batted .319 with 191 hits in 154 games. In 2013, Braun missed 65 games due to a suspension based on his involvement with banned substances. He played in just 61 games in 2013.

Braun had a weaker than usual 2014 season. He finished the season with 141 hits, 30 doubles, 19 home runs, 81 RBIs, and a .266 batting average in 135 games.

On August 19, 2015, Braun became the Brewers' home run leader when he hit his 252nd home run. He had a good 2015 season, finishing with 144 hits, 27 doubles, 25 home runs, 24 stolen bases, 84 RBIs, and a .285 batting average in 140 games. Defensively, as a right fielder, he made 205 putouts and 2 errors in 130 games and he had a .991 fielding percentage.

Braun had another good season in 2016, finishing with a .305 batting average. He had 156 hits, 23 doubles, 30 home runs, 16 stolen bases, and 91 RBIs in 135 games. Defensively, as the Brewers' left fielder in 127 games, he made 208 putouts and 3 errors.

In 2017, Braun batted .268 in 104 games. He finished the season with 102 hits, 28 doubles, 17 home runs, 52 RBIs, and 76 strikeouts to 38 walks. Defensively, as the Brewers' left fielder in 95 games, he made 146 putouts and 2 errors.

Braun finished the 2018 season with 103 hits, 25 doubles, 20 home runs, 11 stolen bases, 64 RBIs, and a .254 batting average. Defensively, he played 18 games at first base, 93 games in left field, and 1 game in right field. In the postseason, he batted .286 with 12 hits and 4 RBIs. He struck out 13 times and walked twice.

Braun had a good season in 2019, finishing with 131 hits, 31 doubles, 22 home runs, 75 RBIs, 105 strikeouts to 34 walks, and a .285 batting average in 144 games. Defensively, as the Brewers' left fielder in 110 games, he made 153 putouts and 5 errors. In the postseason, he had 1 hit in 4 at-bats in 1 game.

Braun played in 39 games in 2020. He finished the season with 30 hits, 7 doubles, 8 home runs, 26 RBIs, 27 strikeouts to 7 walks, and a .233 batting average. Defensively, he played 20 games in right field. He was the DH in 16 games. In the postseason, he had no hits in 2 at-bats in 1 game.

Braun became a free agent on October 29, 2020. He didn’t play professional baseball in 2021.

Braun retired on September 14, 2021.

Statistics for Braun in fourteen seasons (2007-2020) in the major leagues include:

  • 6 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 203 in 2009
  • 7 seasons with 30 or more doubles, with a high of 45 in 2010
  • 10 seasons with 20 or more home runs, with a high of 41 in 2012
  • 5 seasons with over 100 RBIs, with a high of 114 in 2009
  • 4 seasons with 20 or more stolen bases, with a high of 33 in 2011
  • 6 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .332 in 2011

Career batting statistics for Braun through 2020 include:

  • 1,766 games played
  • 1,963 hits
  • 408 doubles
  • 352 home runs
  • 1,154 RBIs
  • 216 stolen bases
  • 1,363 strikeouts to 586 walks
  • .296 batting average

Career fielding statistics for Braun as a left fielder through 2020 include:

  • 1,242 games played
  • 2,151 putouts
  • 25 errors
  • .989 fielding percentage

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Ryan Braun
ESPN - Ryan Braun