The Brewer Advent Calendar #4: Ryan Braun

Behind door #4 we find Ryan Braun!

The 26-year-old left fielder has had his hands full in the off-season for sure. Clearly, everyone is familiar with his clothing line, Remetee. More shirt designs have come out, along with jeans and hoodies (no word yet on what he thinks about our Rally Lobster shirts). Braun partnered with Sam Bat last summer to create RB8, his own line of maple bats (don't forget to visit the bottom of the page for ringtones!). Braun is also opening a restaurant in Lake Geneva this spring, though there is no set opening date as of yet. That's enough to make someone's head spin.

It's no secret though that what makes this Silver Slugger so valuable is his ability to hit. Many of his stats have continued to climb since he won the NL Rookie of the Year award in 2007. In 2009, with 635 ABs, Braun got 203 hits, 39 doubles, 6 triples, and 32 home runs. In his first two seasons, Braun hit more homers than the last (34 and 37 respectively), but has made up for the fall by hitting in 114 runs and earning the number seven spot on the RBI leader board for 2009 (Prince Fielder led in RBIs this past season). We also watched Braun get hit by 13 pitches. Hopefully that's one stat that will fall.

So what can we expect from the Hebrew Hammer in 2010? He's learned that he's not the deputy GM and seems to be choosing his words a little more carefully. Hopefully the only shakeups he causes this year have to do with his ability to play the game.