MVP Profile: Robin Yount, 1989

Outfielder, Milwaukee Brewers

Age:  34 (Sept. 16)

16^th season with Brewers

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 165

Prior to 1989:

Born in Illinois, Yount grew up in Woodland Hills, California, where he excelled in playing shortstop at Taft High School and was the third overall pick by the Brewers in the 1973 amateur draft. Assigned to the Newark Co-Pilots of the Class A NewYork-Pennsylvania League, he batted .285 in 64 games and made the jump to the shortstop-deficient Brewers at age 18 in 1974. “The Kid” showed his potential while honing his craft at the major league level, hitting .250 in 107 games until he was sidelined by a foot injury. His range and throwing arm at short was also very satisfactory. Yount started off strong in 1975 until he was again hindered by a foot injury and tailed off in the field, where he committed 44 errors, as well as at the plate where he batted .267 with 28 doubles, 8 home runs, and 52 RBIs.  He stayed healthy in 1976, appearing in 161 games, and hit .252 while leading AL shortstops in total chances (831) and put outs (290), and dropped his errors to 31 for the last place Brewers. A 1977 season in which his batting average rose to .288 was followed by his walking out of spring training in 1978, indicating that he might prefer to become a professional golfer rather than continue with baseball. Returning to the Brewers, Yount missed the first month of the season but still hit .293 with 9 home runs and 71 RBIs. The Brewers rose to second place in the AL East in 1979 and Yount contributed a .267 average with 8 home runs and 51 RBIs along with steady play in the field. With the team desiring greater power production out of his bat, he engaged in a weight-training program in the offseason that paid off with 49 doubles, 10 triples, 23 home runs, and 87 RBIs, his first All-Star selection, and a Silver Slugger in 1980. The Brewers reached the postseason for the first time in the strike-interrupted 1981 season and “Rockin’ Robin” hit well down the stretch while batting .273 overall with 10 home runs and 49 RBIs. In the field he committed only 8 errors. Yount followed up with another strong season in 1983, even though he was hampered by a back injury while the Brewers dropped to fifth in the AL East. Bothered by a sore shoulder in 1984, he finished the season as a Designated Hitter and hit .298 with 27 doubles, 7 triples, 16 home runs and 80 RBIs. Yount was shifted to the outfield in 1985 and was limited to 122 games as his shoulder injury required surgery. Still, he batted .277 with 15 home runs and 68 RBIs. Installed in center field in 1986, the position he would play for the remainder of his career, Yount hit .312 with 9 home runs and 46 RBIs while scoring a team-leading 82 runs. He was better offensively in 1987, again batting .312 with 21 home runs and 103 RBIs. In 1988 Yount tied for the AL lead with 11 triples to go along with 38 doubles, 13 home runs, 91 RBIs, and a .306 average. He placed eleventh in league MVP voting.  

1989 Season Summary

Appeared in 160 games

CF – 144, DH – 16

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 690 [8]

At Bats – 614 [11]

Runs – 101 [3, tied with Ruben Sierra]

Hits – 195 [4]

Doubles – 38 [5]

Triples – 9 [4, tied with Ivan Calderon, Tony Fernandez & Harold Reynolds]

Home Runs – 21 [16, tied with Pete Incaviglia, Alvin Davis & Cal Ripken]

RBI – 103 [7]

Bases on Balls – 63

Int. BB – 9 [14, tied with four others]

Strikeouts – 71

Stolen Bases – 19

Caught Stealing – 3

Average - .318 [4]

OBP - .384 [10]

Slugging Pct. - .511 [3]

Total Bases – 314 [2]

GDP – 9

Hit by Pitches – 6 [9, tied with eleven others]

Sac Hits – 3

Sac Flies – 4

Midseason snapshot: HR - 10, RBI - 54, AVG - .299, SLG - .468

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 4 AB) at Cleveland 8/10

Longest hitting streak – 19 games

HR at home – 14

HR on road – 7

Most home runs, game – 2 (in 4 AB) vs. Seattle 5/26

Multi-HR games – 1

Most RBIs, game – 5 at NY Yankees 7/2

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding

Chances - 376

Put Outs – 361

Assists – 8

Errors – 7

DP – 2

Pct. - .981

Awards & Honors:

AL MVP: BBWAA

Silver Slugger

Top 5 in AL MVP Voting:

Robin Yount, Mil.: 256 pts. - 8 of 28 first place votes, 65% share

Ruben Sierra, Tex.: 228 pts. – 6 first place votes, 58% share

Cal Ripken, Balt.: 216 pts. – 6 first place votes, 55% share

George Bell, Tor.: 205 pts. – 4 first place votes, 52% share

Dennis Eckersley, Oak.: 116 pts. – 3 first place votes, 30% share

(1 first place vote for Carney Lansford, Oak., who ranked 17^th)

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Brewers went 81-81 to finish fourth in the AL Eastern Division, 8 games behind the division-winning Toronto Blue Jays while leading the league in stolen bases (165).

Aftermath of ‘89:

Yount followed up in 1990 by dropping to .247 with 17 home runs and 77 RBIs. He remained with the Brewers, his only major league team, until 1993, after which he retired at age 38. For his 20-year career he batted .285 with 3142 hits that included 583 doubles, 126 triples, and 251 home runs. He further accumulated 1406 RBIs and 271 stolen bases. The two-time AL MVP was also a three-time All-Star who won one Gold Glove at shortstop and was awarded three Silver Sluggers. The Brewers retired his #19 and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.

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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.