Milwaukee Brewers: Who Will Be The Next Brewers Hall Of Famer?

Prince Fielder

Eligible: 2022

It’ll be hard to find a player who was a more intimidating presence at first base and in the middle of a lineup from 2006-2013 than Prince Fielder.

Fielder spent the first seven years of his big league career with the Brewers and he was a huge part of the Crew’s core during their 2008 and 2011 postseason appearances.

It’ll be difficult for any Brewers fans to forget his 50 homer season in 2007, becoming the youngest player in the league to hit 50 long balls in a season. Fielder had so much power, and being a left-handed hitter at Miller Park made him so much more fun to watch. He had three Top-5 MVP finishes in his career.

Fielder had six seasons with at least 100 RBIs, including a league-high 141 RBIs in 2009.

For years, Fielder was as durable and reliable as they come, playing in more than 157 games in nine of his 12 seasons, including playing all 162 games four times.

Fielder left Milwaukee in free agency and signed a huge contract with the Tigers, where he lasted two seasons before being traded to the Texas Rangers. It was there that Fielder’s neck and back started acting up and forced him into an early retirement at the age of 32.

He had many years left in his career before it was cut short, and he was certainly on track for the Hall of Fame with the numbers he was putting up. Had he been able to play out his contract and stay healthy, Fielder likely would’ve been a first ballot Hall of Famer. But with his shortened career, his fate is up in the air.

His WAR numbers were brought down by his defense and his shortened career didn’t allow him to accumulate a higher total WAR.

Honestly, I don’t think Fielder will earn the 75% vote total from the BBWAA to earn enshrinement in the Hall of Fame based on his injuries causing him to fall short of the benchmark numbers to help his case. Had he stayed healthy, he likely would’ve hit 500 homers, minimum. He finished with 319.

Fielder was inducted into the Brewers Wall of Honor in 2018, and there could be a Walk of Fame plaque outside Miller Park in his future, but I don’t see him getting in the Hall of Fame and I don’t see his number going up in the rafters. The Brewers have already given Fielder’s number away to Gerardo Parra, Jorge Lopez, and Curtis Granderson since his departure.

Francisco Rodriguez

Eligible: 2023

K-Rod, as he was affectionately known, was one of the best relievers in the game in the 2000s. His 62 save season in 2008 with the Angels is still a league-record. Francisco Rodriguez spent parts of five seasons in a Brewers uniform and compiled 95 saves.

For his career, Rodriguez totaled 437 saves and a 2.86 ERA. Those are some pretty good numbers, but will it be enough to get in? Take a look at Billy Wagner, who had similar production with 422 career saves and a 2.31 career ERA. He’s on his 4th year on the ballot and is currently polling at 16.6%. That doesn’t look good for Wagner’s chances of induction.

Wagner and K-Rod have similar numbers, and unless closers are going to get a lot more respected by BBWAA voters in the next couple years, Rodriguez will likely follow the same path as Wagner, sticking around the ballot for a few years, but ultimately won’t get in.

Despite Mariano Rivera seemingly headed for a unanimous selection, he’s an extreme case, and had over 200 more saves than Rodriguez.

Even if Rodriguez were to get in, would he wear a Brewers hat or an Angels hat? Considering he spent 7 years with the Angels and had 208 saves with them and only 95 with the Milwaukee Brewers, he would likely wear an Angels hat.

Ryan Braun

Eligible: TBD

This is certainly going to be an interesting case to watch when Ryan Braun finally becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame.

Currently, Braun has 322 career homers, 1,802 hits, 1,053 RBIs, 204 stolen bases, and a .299 batting average. He’ll get 2,000 hits soon enough and could reach 400 home runs by the end of his career, depending on how much longer he plays after his contract ends in 2020.

Baseball-Reference’s Hall of Fame Monitor has a likely HOFer’s score as 100, and Braun’s score is currently 107. The average Hall of Fame left fielder has a 41.6 7-year peak WAR, and Braun’s 7 year peak had a 39.2 WAR.

If he has a strong finish to the end of his career, Braun is a borderline Hall of Famer, at best.

But what’s going to weigh heavily on the minds of the voters is the positive PED test in 2011, the dramatic denial, and then the Biogenesis reports and PED suspension in 2013. Braun’s numbers taking a downturn since his suspension also aren’t exactly helping get rid of the belief that his numbers were boosted by steroids.

A borderline case like Braun’s will see his chances of making the Hall torpedoed by his PED past. Even Barry Bonds, who was the most feared hitter of his generation and the home run “king” hasn’t gotten elected yet and this is his 7th year on the ballot, and it’s all because everyone knew he took steroids.

Even if voters decide to accept known PED users by the time Braun is eligible, they’re going to remember his vehement denial and how he handled the situation, and they’re not likely to vote for him.

What will be interesting to watch is how long he stays on the ballot. Will he immediately fall below the 5% threshold to stay on the ballot or will he stick around for a couple years? That much we don’t know, but he probably won’t be the next Brewers Hall of Famer.

Christian Yelich

Eligible: TBD

Is age-27 too early to know if someone will be a Hall of Famer? Yes. But Christian Yelich may be the best hope to be the Milwaukee Brewers next Hall of Famer.

His MVP season in 2018 certainly has many people’s hopes up and the expectations for him have been raised. With Yelich playing in his physical peak for the next few seasons, he can certainly boost his Hall of Fame resume.

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Playing in Miller Park clearly agrees with Yelich as his sweet left handed swing produced more power than anything he did in Miami. I don’t know if Yelich will continue to have 36 home run seasons, and it’s probably unfair to expect that from him, but anything is possible.

Bottom line, if Yelich keeps this up, and continues to hit near or above .300 with some power and plays his usual strong defense, he’ll be headed to Cooperstown someday. His swing itself is gorgeous enough to go into the Hall of Fame.

The Milwaukee Brewers have contractual control over Yelich for the next four seasons. With his peak years coming in Milwaukee, if he makes the Hall, he’d likely wear a Brewers cap on his plaque. *Hopefully* he signs an extension someday and can continue his Hall of Fame trajectory with the Brewers and spends most, if not all, of the rest of his career here.

He loves the city of Milwaukee and the city loves him back. Yelich is a down-to-earth guy that has become the face of this franchise. Even Brewers great Robin Yount admitted Yelich is more talented than he ever was. That should be reason enough to believe Yelich can make his way to Cooperstown someday.

It doesn’t look like the Milwaukee Brewers will be adding any more numbers to the rafters at Miller Park for a couple years, but there will certainly be more to add in the future.