On this day in 1989, Robin Yount became a free agent. Despite the fact that he had been with the Brewers since making his big league debut in 1974, this appears to have been the first time he was able to test the open market (according to his B-Ref page). Yount had just finished playing out a six year, $5.5 million deal and was the reigning AL MVP.
It's hard to imagine what Yount's Brewer legacy would have looked like if he'd decided to go elsewhere after 16 seasons in Milwaukee. Even if he had, though, he'd still be the Brewers' all time leader in hits (2602), runs (1335) and RBI (1124).
Instead of departing, though, Yount went on to make $12.3 million over his final four major league seasons. Prince Fielder, Zack Greinke and Francisco Rodriguez all made more than that in 2011 alone.
With help from the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to 1993-96 Brewer Mark Kiefer. He turns 43.