Braun believes Yelich can be next Brewer in HOF: 'Obviously, I'm not'
Ryan Braun thinks his future likely won't involve enshrinement in Cooperstown despite a career that once seemed worthy of it. However, he does believe Christian Yelich could be the next to don a Milwaukee Brewers hat on a Hall of Fame plaque.
"He's one of the best players in the game," Braun said Sunday, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "Obviously, I'm not going to the Hall of Fame. He has a real chance to be the next Brewer to be a Hall of Famer."
Braun's remarks come days after the team announced a seven-year contract extension with Yelich that will keep the 2019 National League MVP with the Brewers through 2029. The new nine-year deal will pay Yelich at least $215 million and up to $228.5 million if the sides exercise the mutual option for the final year.
Braun was one of the best players in baseball through his age-28 campaign. The outfielder posted a .943 OPS over his first six seasons, averaging 34 home runs and 21 stolen bases per year while making five All-Star appearances and winning NL Rookie of the Year in 2007 and MVP in 2011. Braun tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs following the 2011 campaign and was suspended 50 games. Braun initially won an appeal, proving the urine sample could have been tampered with, but he was later implicated in Biogenesis and suspended an additional 15 games. He admitted to using PEDs during his MVP season.
The 36-year-old career Brewer has accrued 43.7 WAR, according to FanGraphs. Braun ranks 23rd in JAWS - Jay Jaffe's WAR Score system - among left fielders at 43.7, well behind the 53.7 average maintained by Hall of Famers.
Yelich, meanwhile, has become one of the league's premier players since joining the Brewers in 2018. The 28-year-old has hit .327/.415/.631 with 80 homers and 52 steals since being traded to Milwaukee, winning NL MVP in 2018 and finishing runner-up last year. He ranks 48th by left-field JAWS despite having only seven seasons under his belt.