Corey Hart, Lew Burdette to be inducted into Milwaukee Brewers Wall of Honor

Each year, the Milwaukee Brewers announce a new class for the “Wall of Honor” located at Miller Park. Created in 2014, the ‘Brewers Hall of Fame’ of sorts that honors former Brewers and Milwaukee Braves players. To qualify for the Wall of Honor an individual needs to have met any of the following criteria during their time with Milwaukee:

• 2,000 or more plate appearances
• 1,000 or more innings pitched
• 250 appearances as a pitcher
• Winner of a major award (MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, or Fireman of the Year)
• Manager of a pennant-winning team
• Individuals memorialized with statues on the Miller Park Plaza
• Members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame who played for or managed the Brewers

Earlier today, the Brewers announced that two new members were being inducted to the Wall of Honor to join some 60 former Brewers greats:

The late Lew Burdette, who passed away in 2007 at the age of 80, spent 13 seasons with the Boston and later Milwaukee Braves from 1951 through 1963. He appeared in 468 games (330 starts) with the Braves, throwing 2,638.0 innings with a 3.53 ERA (102 ERA+), 923 strikeouts, and 557 walks. He tossed 146 complete games, including 30 shutouts, and also finished 88 games in relief while recording 24 career saves in a Braves uniform. Burdette lead the National League with a 2.70 ERA in 1956, won a league-high 21 games in 1959, and lead the NL with 272.1 inning pitched in 1961. He was named to the All-Star team twice and finished third in Cy Young voting in 1958. He is perhaps best remembered for his performance during the 1957 World Series, in which he tossed three complete-game victories for the Braves while allowing just one earned run. The Braves beat the Yankees in 7 games to win Milwaukee’s only World Series title to date while Burdette was named Series MVP. Burdette’s ceremony will take place on May 26th.

“We are very appreciative of this honor and would like to thank the Brewers and the Braves Historical Association,” said Mary Lou Burdette-Wieloszynski, daughter of Lew Burdette. “My father loved playing in Milwaukee and the encouragement from the fans meant the world to him. He often talked about the special camaraderie with his Milwaukee teammates, and he was very proud of helping bring a World Series championship to Milwaukee.”

Corey Hart, who appeared in Milwaukee Brewers spring training camp today and will be working with the minor leaguers, was drafted by Milwaukee in the 11th round back in 2000. The 34 year old appeared in parts of nine seasons for the Brewers from 2004-2012 and was an instrumental part of the turnaround the franchise experienced during the late 2000’s. Hart was twice named to the All-Star team (2008, 2010) and during a three year stretch from 2010-2012, he played in 424 games and batted .279/.343/.514 with 87 home runs. Hart missed all of 2013 with a knee injury and left as a free agent, and after another two middling and injury-filled seasons in 2014-15 with Seattle and Pittsburgh, his career came to an early end due to his knee issues. For his Brewers career, the outfielder and later first baseman batted .276/.334/.491 (116 OPS+) across 3,802 plate appearances with 154 home runs and 83 stolen bases. He was valued at 15.7 wins above replacement by Baseball-Reference during his time with the Brew Crew, and will be inducted during a ceremony on June 30th.

“My life has been a complete blessing because I was a Brewer,” said Hart. “My family and I will always be forever indebted because of the unbelievable experiences we had at Miller Park and the lifelong relationships we made at the park and in the community. Thank you from the bottom of my heart; I am truly honored to be inducted into the Brewers Wall of Honor.”

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference