Oct 25, 2019

MVP Profile: Ryan Braun, 2011

Outfielder, Milwaukee Brewers


Age:  27
5th season with Brewers
Bats – Right, Throws – Right
Height: 6’2”    Weight: 205

Prior to 2011:
Braun, a native of Los Angeles, starred at shortstop in high school and was a Baseball America All-American in college at the Univ. of Miami in Florida where he was shifted to third base as a junior. Chosen by the Brewers in the 2005 amateur draft, he readily advanced through the minor league system, hitting .352 with teams at the Rookie and Class A levels in ’05 and .289 with 22 home runs playing for High A and AA-level clubs in 2006. Braun got off to a strong start with Class AAA Nashville in 2007 where he was batting .342 with a .701 slugging percentage in 34 games when he was called up by the Brewers to fill a need at third base. He set the tone for his career by batting .324 with 34 home runs and 97 RBIs and a .634 slugging percentage. He received NL Rookie of the Year honors. The Brewers shifted Braun to left field in 2008 and he went on to achieve his first All-Star selection on the way to batting .285 with 37 home runs and 106 RBIs, while dealing with a rib injury during the season’s final weeks and earning a Silver Slugger for his efforts. Milwaukee reached the postseason as a Wild Card entry and lost to the Phillies in the NLDS despite a good performance by Braun. He was an All-Star again in 2009 and went on to lead the NL with 203 hits and averaged .320 with 32 home runs and 114 RBI while the Brewers dropped to third in the NL Central Division. In 2010 he hit .304 with 25 home runs and 103 RBIs while the Brewers again finished in third.

2011 Season Summary
Appeared in 150 games
LF – 147, DH – 1, PH – 3

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting
Plate Appearances – 629
At Bats – 563
Runs – 109 [2]
Hits – 187 [5]
Doubles – 38 [4, tied with four others]
Triples – 6 [12, tied with eight others]
Home Runs – 33 [6, tied with Ryan Howard]
RBI – 111 [4]
Bases on Balls – 58
Int. BB – 2
Strikeouts – 93
Stolen Bases – 33 [7]
Caught Stealing – 6
Average - .332 [2]
OBP - .397 [5]
Slugging Pct. - .597 [1]
Total Bases – 336 [2]
GDP – 9
Hit by Pitches – 5
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 3

League-leading slugging percentage was +.011 ahead of runner-up Matt Kemp

Midseason snapshot: HR - 16, RBI - 62, AVG - .320, SLG PCT - .559

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Most hits, game – 3 on fifteen occasions
Longest hitting streak – 23 games
Most HR, game – 2 (in 4 AB) at Cincinnati 9/16
HR at home – 16
HR on road – 17
Multi-HR games – 1
Most RBIs, game – 4 vs. Pittsburgh 5/15, at Cincinnati 9/17
Pinch-hitting – 2 of 3 (.667) with 1 2B, 1 HR & 3 RBI

Fielding
Chances – 268
Put Outs – 259
Assists – 8
Errors – 1
DP - 2
Pct. - .996

Postseason Batting: 11 G (NLDS vs. Arizona – 5 G; NLCS vs. St. Louis – 6 G)
PA – 46, AB – 42, R – 7, H – 17, 2B – 7,3B – 0, HR – 2, RBI – 10, BB – 4, IBB – 0, SO – 9, SB – 1, CS – 0, AVG - .405, OBP - .468, SLG -.714, TB – 30, GDP – 0, HBP – 1, SH – 0, SF – 0

Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: BBWAA
Silver Slugger
All-Star

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:
Ryan Braun, Mil.: 388 pts. – 20 of 32 first place votes, 87% share
Matt Kemp, LAD: 332 pts. – 10 first place votes, 74% share
Prince Fielder, Mil.: 229 pts.  – 1 first place vote, 51% share
Justin Upton, Ariz.: 214 pts. – 1 first place vote, 48% share
Albert Pujols, StL.: 166 pts. – 37% share

Brewers went 96-66 to finish first in the NL Central Division by 6 games over the St. Louis Cardinals while leading the league in home runs (185). The Brewers took command in the division race with a 23-6 run from mid-July to mid-August and hung on in September for their first NL Central title. Won NLDS over the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3 games to 2. Lost NLCS to the St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 2.

Aftermath of 2011:
Braun topped the NL with 108 runs and 41 home runs in 2012. But in 2013 he was suspended 61 games into the season for violation of major league baseball’s policy against the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Returning to the Brewers in 2014, Braun was moved to right field and his batting average dropped to .266 and his home runs to 19. He had offseason hand surgery and returned to All-Star form in 2015 while hitting 25 home runs and knocking in 84 runs with a .285 batting average. Following another solid season in 2016, Braun was nagged by injuries in 2017 and finished with 17 home runs, 52 RBIs, and a .268 batting average. Through 2019, his major league career totals, all with Milwaukee, included 344 home runs, 1066 runs scored, 215 stolen bases, and 1128 RBIs. He has been a six-time All-Star and recipient of five Silver Slugger awards in addition to being a one-time league MVP. In 26 postseason games Braun has batted .337 with 2 home runs and 16 RBIs.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.

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