Today In Brewer History: Robin Yount Hangs It Up

by Kyle Lobner on Feb 11, 2012 6:00 AM CST in History

On this day in 1994, just a few days before Brewer pitchers and catchers were scheduled to report to spring training, Robin Yount announced his retirement.

He was only 38 years old but Yount had already played 20 major league seasons, debuting as an 18-year-old shortstop in 1974 and finishing up as an outfielder in 1993. Yount had hit .258/.326/.379 while playing primarily center field in his final season and recorded the final 117 of his franchise record 3142 hits.

Yount retired as a two-time American League MVP (1982 as a shortstop and 1989 as an outfielder), a three time Silver Slugger, a three time All Star and a one time Gold Glover. He led the league in doubles and triples twice each, and led the AL with 210 hits in 1982. He's still the Brewer all-time leader in nearly every category.

With help from the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to:

2006 Brewer Chris Mabeus, who turns 33.
1978-86 Brewer Ben Oglivie, who turns 63.
1972-73 Brewer Ollie Brown, who turns 68.

Tweet Comment 10 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Real hustle

Unlike Pete Rose who was all schtick, Yount was a true master of hustling. As proven by various studies, few ran the bases better than Yount. A joy to watch

by Big10freak on Feb 11, 2012 7:05 AM CST via mobile reply actions

He is the proto-Braun

The alpha model, if you will

Mark Attanasio is the best.

by nullacct on Feb 11, 2012 11:44 AM CST reply actions

The phrase "Two time MVP, three time Silver Slugger, three time All Star and one time Gold Glover" tells you all you need to know....

…. about the inequities in the All Star selection system during most of Yount’s career. First ballot hall of famers should make the all star game more than 3 times. The one Gold Glove was a joke too. I refuse to believe he was the best defender at his position a single time in his entire career.

"fortunate, but also lucky"

by Ted Simmons Speed Camp on Feb 11, 2012 12:46 PM CST reply actions

Completely agree

by Oakland Brewer Fan on Feb 11, 2012 3:59 PM CST via mobile up reply actions

He was a bad shortstop for a long time

It took a lot of work and a long time to overcome his reputation as a poor defender.

Mark Attanasio is the best.

by nullacct on Feb 11, 2012 9:44 PM CST up reply actions

He was a bad SS for about 2 years, playing in the majors at 18.

He had it fixed by the time he was 20. By 1980 he was one of the best defensive SS in the AL (at least in my opinion), and one of the better CF when he made the move there a few years later. I don’t think two bad years around 1975 accounts for the single gold glove…

"fortunate, but also lucky"

by Ted Simmons Speed Camp on Feb 12, 2012 8:33 AM CST up reply actions

Not that these numbers are perfect, of course

But B-Ref credits Yount with -5.3 career WAR defensively. They have him above average in eight seasons (almost all at SS), and below average in 12.

Now that's great tasting chicken!

by Kyle Lobner on Feb 12, 2012 10:32 AM CST up reply actions

Don't bother me with facts.

"fortunate, but also lucky"

by Ted Simmons Speed Camp on Feb 12, 2012 11:40 AM CST up reply actions

Most of that comes from his atrocious 1975 year at SS, and a couple of his late career years in CF, if I'm reading it right.

Some of this is probably ignorance on my part, but I don’t generally trust the defensive analytics for players that were or are playing after the analytics were created. I don’t trust them at all when they look back at players whose careers are long since over.

Regardless, I probably shouldn’t have said he was the best defender at his position more than once during his career, particularly since the standard for GG’s is essentially “fantastic hitter who’s above average in the field” more often than not. The more I think about it, the more wrong I think I am on the GG issue since he played 2 premier defensive positions where the GG awards tend to gravitate more towards the best defenders than they do at other, primarily offensive positions. And when I look back at the guys who actually won the GG when Yount was playing, there are several years where I can’t really argue with the choice that was made.

My bad.

"fortunate, but also lucky"

by Ted Simmons Speed Camp on Feb 12, 2012 11:58 AM CST up reply actions

Yeah, aside from the modern metrics

Yount’s 44 errors in ’75 are the most by a SS since WW2. He made a lot of progress though, and by 81-82 he was an above average defender at SS.

Mark Attanasio is the best.

by nullacct on Feb 13, 2012 9:34 AM CST up reply actions

Comments For This Post Are Closed

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recent FanPosts

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

NL Central Standings

	W	L	PCT	GB	STRK
Cincinnati Red Reporter	27	20	.574	0	Won 2
St. Louis Viva El Birdos	26	22	.541	1.5	Won 1
Pittsburgh Bucs Dugout	23	24	.489	4	Won 3
Houston The Crawfish Boxes	22	25	.468	5	Lost 2
Milwaukee Brew Crew Ball	19	28	.404	8	Lost 2
Chicago Bleed Cubbie Blue	15	32	.319	12	Lost 12