Milwaukee Brewers: The Top 5 Third Basemen In Franchise History

The Milwaukee Brewers have a history dating back almost 50 years now. Let’s take a look at the top players ever to play the hot corner for the Crew.

Finding a third baseman that could lock down the position for several years hasn’t been an easy thing to do for the Milwaukee Brewers. They’ve run through several in franchise history, with few lasting more than a couple years. And the ones that did stay, were pretty good in their time in Milwaukee.

This is a list of the best of the best that the Crew has ever played for them at third base. For this list, only the player’s statistics with the team will count. What they did with other teams in their career will not be considered when ranking the players.

Only five players can make the list. But there were some that were close to making it, but they just missed out on the top five. Here are the Honorable Mentions.

Honorable Mentions

Casey McGehee

Years as a Brewer: 2009-2011

Casey McGehee had two really good years on some really forgettable teams in 2009 and 2010. He hit .301 with 16 homers and a 126 OPS+ in 2009 and really broke onto the scene in Milwaukee. He finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting.

In 2010, McGehee hit .285 with 23 homers and 104 RBIs and had an OPS+ of 114. It was the best year of his career.

McGehee was really good in the Ken Macha years, but when the Brewers needed him in 2011, he wasn’t able to contribute much and limped to a .626 OPS. He was traded to the Pirates the following offseason.

He had quickly become a fan favorite in Milwaukee and was a very likable guy. McGehee was very vocal about his son’s plight with cerebral palsy and he helped raise a lot of awareness and support for those with the disease in his short time with the Crew.

Russell Branyan

Years as a Brewer: 2004-2005, 2008

Who could ever forget Russell “The Muscle” Branyan. This dude had ridiculous power. He once hit a ball clean out of Miller Park, on the fly.

In three years in Milwaukee, Branyan hit .248 with 35 homers and a .526 SLG. He never played a ton, but his home runs were absolute moonshots.

What really prevented him from being a better player in his career was his high strike out rate. But back in early 2000s you could get away with a low average and a ton of strikeouts as long as you hit homers. I don’t think Branyan would’ve been able to succeed in today’s game. But he gave us some home runs to remember when he was here.

Travis Shaw

Years as a Brewer: 2017-Present

Travis Shaw has the potential to still climb up this list as he’s still an active member of the Brew Crew. But he’s only on his second season with the Brewers. While his first season was very good and his second season could be on that way as well, it’s not quite enough to put him in the Top 5.

If Shaw can repeat his 31 homer performance from last year and continue to hit 30+ homers for the next several years, he’ll work his way up this list. But for right now, he only receives an honorable mention.

Without further ado, here are the top 5 third basemen in Milwaukee Brewers franchise history.

5. Aramis Ramirez

Years as a Brewer: 2012-2015

As a longtime member of the Chicago Cubs, Aramis was a Brewers killer back in his prime. Towards the end of his career, Ramirez signed a three year, $36 million contract with the Crew with an option for a fourth year that ended up being picked up.

With Milwaukee, Ramirez hit .284 with an .815 OPS and 65 homers over his three and a half seasons in a Brewers uniform.

In 2012, Aramis pounded 50 doubles, which led the league that year. He paired those doubles with a .300 average, 27 homers and 105 RBIs. Ramirez ended up finishing ninth in the NL MVP voting that season because of that performance, which was his best as a Brewer.

He missed some time in 2013, but bounced back strong in 2014 when he went to his only All Star Game with Milwaukee. Then everything collapsed around the team in 2014, and Aramis was traded in 2015 as one of the first dominos to fall in the rebuild.

Even though Ramirez never made it to the postseason with the Crew, he put up some good numbers. He was past his prime but he got the job done for a few years.

The Milwaukee Brewers signed Ramirez after the 2011 season which saw the Crew head to the NLCS. Prince Fielder left that winter and Ramirez was charged with filling the power void that Prince left behind. That’s no easy task but he did it well that first year. While the rest of the team couldn’t recover, Ramirez was at the very least a strong veteran presence who could still produce with the bat.

3. Jeff Cirillo

Years as a Brewer: 1994-1999, 2005-2006

Jeff Cirillo was also stuck on some mediocre Brewers teams, but he was the lone bright spot on those ’90s teams.

During eight seasons in a Milwaukee uniform, Cirillo had a .307/.383/.449 slash line. He was never much for power, hitting only 73 homers, but he had a special talent for getting on base. Cirillo had an OPS+ over 120 in three seasons in Milwaukee, with those coming in 1996, 1998, and 1999.

An All-Star in 1997, Cirillo was a player who didn’t strike out much and drew a lot of walks. He was always on base.

He was also a strong defender, and could play anywhere on the field, but he mostly stuck at third base for his career.

Cirillo returned to the Milwaukee Brewers in 2005 as a free agent and put up pretty good numbers as a 35 year old. He slashed .281/.373/.427 that year and signed with the Crew one more time for 2006. That year, Cirillo hit .319 and played his final game as a Brewer before retiring in 2007 with Arizona.

In eight seasons with the Crew, Cirillo finished with an above-average OPS+ in every year except his rookie year in 1994. His offensive numbers are good enough for third on this list of best third basemen in Brewers history.

2. Don Money

Years as a Brewer: 1973-1983

For about six years in the 1970s, Don Money was one of the most consistent hitters in the Brewers lineup. He could put up around 15 homers a season and hit between .275 and .295 every single year.

Money was also a great defender at the hot corner, but he never won a Gold Glove at the position. That can be attributed to Brooks Robinson, who won that award 15 seasons in a row.

Don Money went to four All-Star Games, and he earned MVP votes twice, in 1974 and 1978.

In 11 seasons in a Milwaukee Brewers uniform, Money had a .270/.338/.421 slash line with a 114 OPS+. Money totaled 215 doubles, 134 homers, and 529 RBIs as a Brewer. He also stole 66 bases as a member of the Crew, 22 of them were in 1973, his first season in Milwaukee. Money then stole 19 bags in 1974, but those were the only two times he swiped double digit bases.

Money finished his career as a Brewer, playing his last game in 1983 at the age of 36. He spent 11 years in Milwaukee. The last real year of his prime was in 1978. After that year, he never played in more than 100 games in a season the rest of his career. Part of that can be attributed to the future Hall of Famer that joined the team after that

That future Hall of Famer’s name was Paul Molitor.

1. Paul Molitor

Years as a Brewer: 1978-1992

The man who’s name hangs high above Miller Park is the best third baseman in Milwaukee Brewers franchise history. And this really isn’t any surprise.

In 15 seasons as a Brewer, Molitor totaled 2,281 hits, 405 doubles, 160 home runs, 790 RBIs, and 412 stolen bases. He had an aggregate .303 average with Milwaukee with a 125 OPS+. He was an incredible complement to Robin Yount in that lineup that saw two postseason berths, and one World Series appearance.

Molitor hit over .300 in eight of his 15 seasons in Milwaukee. He made the All-Star team five times as a member of the Brewers. He won the Silver Slugger award twice, and finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1978.

Also, Molitor had three top-10 MVP finishes with the Crew, although he never won the award. The best finish he had was fifth in 1987 when he hit .353 with a 1.003 OPS with 41 doubles and 114 runs scored. Those numbers led the league despite the fact he played in only 118 games that year.

He could do it all. Molitor was one of the best players in Milwaukee Brewers history, generally speaking. But at his position, there was no one better. Paul Molitor was the best third baseman the Brewers have ever had.

Next: Top 5 Shortstops in Franchise History

Stay tuned for the next edition of our series covering the top players at every position in Brewers franchise history.