Ryan Braun retires after 14 seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers

It’s the end of a career for one of the greatest players in Milwaukee Brewers history. After 14 seasons with the team, Ryan Braun has decided to retire.

Braun had been sitting out the 2021 season after the guaranteed years on his contract played out and his options were not picked up. At the start of the season, Braun was not sure if he would want to return to the field, whether it was with the Brewers or another team, so he decided to sit out at the time. With the season winding down, Braun has decided to officially retire and end his career, with it all spent in the Milwaukee Brewers organization.

Braun was originally drafted by the Brewers in 2005 as the 5th overall pick in that draft, coming out of the University of Miami. He quickly advanced through the Brewers farm system, and on May 25, 2007, he made his MLB debut on the road against the Padres. From there, his career blossomed. He won the NL Rookie of the Year award in 2007, then was third in the NL MVP vote in 2008. He continued to receive votes the next two seasons before finally winning the award in 2011, and finishing as a runner up in 2012. Between 2008 and 2012, he was also named an All-Star five times and won the Silver Slugger award in each season as well.

Unfortunately, the later years of his career were marred by injuries and a positive test for performance enhancing drugs. He ended up serving a suspension in 2013 as a result of MLB’s investigation into multiple players using PEDs. However, he returned in 2014 and saw success again on the field. He earned a sixth All-Star appearance in 2015 and received some votes in the 2016 MVP vote. Even when he was not at his best, he was still a key player on the Brewers as his career continued.

Braun will finish his career with several high marks on the Brewers career leaderboards. Here are some of those:

• Home Runs (352, 1st)
• RBI (1154, 2nd)
• Extra Base Hits (809, 2nd)
• Hits (1963, 3rd)
• Runs Scored (1080, 3rd)
• Stolen Bases (216, 3rd)
• Games Played (1766, 4th)
• Slugging Percentage (.532, 4th)
• Batting Average (.296, 6th)

Ryan Braun has been one of the best players in Brewers history, and this franchise would not be where it is without his contributions over the last fourteen years. He has helped rebuild this franchise and put it in a position to be successful for years to come.

Ryan Braun also had a video message for everyone with his retirement:

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.