This Milwaukee Breweries are having the kind of season many didn’t expect from them (but expected from themselves). After Craig Counsell left the franchise to become manager of the Chicago Cubs and Corbin Burnes was traded to the Baltimore Orioles, there wasn’t much hope outside of Milwaukee that the Brewers would be very competitive.
However, the Brewers have been the clear best team in the National League Central Division all season long. They currently sit at 51-35, six games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals for first place. Of course, there are many reasons for that.
The starting pitching, despite numerous injuries, was solid. The bullpen was incredible. The juvenile stars the Brewers have lauded over the past few years are also contributing. But their success has also been aided by a renaissance Christian Yelich.
Milwaukee Brewers slugger Christian Yelich has his best season since 2019
As Brewers fans well know, Yelich took Milwaukee by storm when he was acquired by the team prior to the 2018 season. In his first season with the Brewers, Yelich hit .326/.402/.598 with 36 home runs and 110 RBIs. He also won the National League MVP award and made his first career All-Star team.
Yelich was arguably better in 2019, hitting .329/.429/.671 with 44 home runs and 97 RBI that season. Unfortunately, he also fouled a ball, breaking it with his knee, and was sidelined for the final month of the season.
And when 2020 rolled around, Yelich looked like a shadow of his former self. Many tried to attribute his drop in production (.205/.356/.430) to the pandemic-shortened season. But from 2021-23, Yelich hit .261/.362/.404 while averaging 14 home runs and 61 RBI per season.
There’s nothing wrong with those numbers, let’s say. They’re just not the numbers that Brewers fans expected from Yelich, or what the team could have expected when they gave him a huge contract extension.
However, he has played better and better with each season and in 2024, many are wondering if the former NL MVP has finally returned.
Milwaukee Brewers player Christian Yelich named All-Star Starter
This season, Yelich is averaging .329/.403/.500 with eight home runs and 36 RBIs. While his power and RBI numbers aren’t what they were in 2018-19, they’re still respectable. And best of all, Yelich is just hitting again.
The rest of the baseball world took notice, and he was named one of three starting players in the National League for the upcoming All-Star Game:
Christian Yelich makes his first #AllStarGame since 2019, when he was voted as the NL’s No. 1 defenseman! photo: twitter.com/TGO3m4GJVy
— MLB (@MLB) July 3, 2024
This is Yelich’s third career All-Star appearance. William Conteras was also named a National League starter.
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