Milwaukee Brewers: Top Five Second Basemen in Franchise History

4. Fernando Viña

Years as a Brewer: 1995-1999

Viña arrived in Milwaukee when he was 26 years old as a player to be named later in a trade with the New York Mets. Prior to his time with the Brewers, he was a shaky fielder who was still figuring things out with the bat. Once he got to Milwaukee, things began to click.

Viña never hit for much power, but he did get on base at a .349 clip during his time with Milwaukee. He also stole 57 bases in five seasons and garnered the lone All-Star Game appearance of his career in 1998. Also in 1998, he knocked 39 doubles and finished with a .311 batting average, which ended up being a career best.

Plus, while he was somewhat inconsistent, his overall defensive metrics at the keystone are about average. All in all, Viña was a fine second baseman for Milwaukee and gave the team a serviceable five years there.

3. Paul Molitor

Years as a Brewer: 1978-1992

How is a Hall of Famer only number three on the list? Well, Molitor was only the Brewers’ primary second baseman for a few years at the beginning of his career. Injuries and new talent forced positional changes in his later years, so for the purpose of this list, we’re only considering his stats as a second baseman.

Although he was only a primary second baseman for his first three years, he put up some pretty good numbers. His .777 OPS was well above average, and he swiped 97 bases during that three-year span. A runner-up finish in the Rookie of the Year voting, a few MVP votes in his second season and an All-Star appearance in the third make him a sure-thing for this list.

In 1979, Molitor hit .322 and had 16 triples during the season. He struck out 48 times, and also walked 48 times.

Molitor is an All-Time Brewer. He’s one of the best to ever wear the uniform.

2. Rickie Weeks

Years as a Brewer: 2003-2014

Weeks was one of the top prospects in the Brewers’ system as soon as he was taken second overall in the 2003 MLB Draft. He pieced together a strong career as a lineup mainstay thanks to an intriguing power/speed combination.

The Florida native actually surfaced in the big leagues the year he was drafted, but he didn’t truly break out until 2010, when he hit 29 home runs, scored 112 runs and drove in 83 runs. He didn’t make his lone All-Star appearance until the following season, when he launched 20 home runs. This helped push his career batting line to .249/.347/.424 with 148 home runs and 126 stolen bases.

With this long of a career and a solid bat, what’s keeping him from the top spot? You guessed it: defense. Weeks was atrocious at second base, committing a whopping 141 errors during his tenure in Milwaukee. That’s simply not good enough for number one.

1. Jim Gantner

Years as a Brewer: 1976-1992

While he maybe wasn’t a superior hitter to Weeks, Gantner had an excellent career in his own right. He’s a career .274 hitter and played a more passable second base than Weeks (115 errors still isn’t good, but it’s certainly better than the number Weeks put up). He’s also the leading Milwaukee Brewers second baseman in WAR with 22.5.

Gantner never provided much power. The most home runs he ever had in a season was 11 back in 1983. His career .351 slugging percentage is a pretty good indicator that there wasn’t much pop in his bat. But Gantner had a pretty good .274 career average. He was good at getting singles and wasn’t much for extra base hits.

One of the more important things that really pushed him over the edge in my book was the fact that he was a Brewer for his entire career AND grew up in Wisconsin. His performance on the field was very commendable, but the fact that he was able to maintain that production consistently over the course of 17 years, all for one team, is impressive. Add on the fact that the Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, native played out his career in his home state just adds a cherry on top.

Do you agree with the picks? Disagree? Either way, let me know! This is meant to start debates, not end them. Regardless, the Brewers had some solid second basemen come through the system even if it seems like it’s consistently a position of weakness right now.