Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun is doing his best to prove his skeptics wrong. Last December, ESPN’s Outside The Lines reported that Braun had failed a drug test that was given by Major League Baseball in October 2011. Braun tested positive for an elevated level of testosterone caused by a performance-enhancing drug. Braun disputed the test in which the results were ultimately overturned by an arbitrator after the collector of Braun’s sample did not ship it out immediately.
In the eyes of the general public, Braun was looked at as a man that got away on a technicality. Braun won The National League’s Most Valuable Player Award in 2011 controversially as he beat out Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp who had the better stats last season.
Kemp flirted with the Triple Crown as he led The NL in homeruns (39), and runs batted in (126). Kemp finished with a .324 batting average which was third in the league. Kemp also stole 40 bases as he was one home run shy of becoming the fifth Major League player with 40 steals and 40 homers in the same season. Braun’s 2011 season wasn’t shabby either as hit 33 long balls with 111 runs batted in to help The Brewers win their first division title since 1982. Braun lost the batting title on the last day of the season to New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes who finished the year batting .337.
Braun came into 2012 with a heavy burden on his shoulders and it hasn’t slowed him down. Braun currently leads The National League in home runs with 26 as he is on pace for the first 40 homer season of his career. If that is the case, Braun will finish 2012 with over 200 home runs for his career which would put him a little closer to catching Hall of Famer Robin Yount for The Brewers all-time franchise lead at 251. Braun is also leading The NL in runs batted in with 65.
Braun made his fifth consecutive National League All-Star team this month as well. More importantly is the fact that Braun was voted to start the game by the fans which has shown the public’s willingness to move on.
The Brewers are currently not on pace to win 96 games like they did last season, but Braun has kept them respectable. He no longer has his tag-team partner in the middle of The Brewers lineup in first baseman Prince Fielder who signed as a free-agent with The Detroit Tigers after last season. The Brewers pitching staff was seventh in The NL last season in team earned run average, but this year they are 13th in the category at 4.22. Braun has had to carry The Brewer mantra by himself and he has been up to the task.
I expected Braun to have a tough season in 2012 because I felt that the pressure that he would be under from the speculation around him would be too much for him to handle.
Braun is on a roll as he is trying to join Yount as the only two-time league MVP for The Brewers even though Yount did it when The Brewers were in The American League. Braun won The NL’s Rookie of The Year Award in 2007 which only leaves a World Series Title that is missing from his resume. If The Brewers can add some pieces around Braun that will be something else that Braun will be able to accomplish.
Source: baseball-reference.com
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