Brewers: Top 5 Ryan Braun Home Runs In His Career

After 14 season Ryan Braun has decided to hang his cleats up and retire. Without a doubt he is one of the most important players in the history of the Brewers franchise. Throughout his prodigious career he has compiled several moments that fans will never forget.

Throughout the first half of his career, Braun appeared to be on the fast track to the Hall of Fame and received MVP votes each of his first six seasons. The second half of his career was plagued with nagging injuries, but he still possessed a flare for the dramatics.  At the end of games, he was not a player opposing batters wanted to face.

Braun will retire as the Brewers current franchise leader in home runs.  He hit an impressive 352 all together. Robin Yount trails by just over 100 home runs but is second on the list with 251. Prince Fielder is third with 230 home runs, Geoff Jenkins fourth with 212, and Gorman Thomas rounds out the top five with 208.  Cecil Cooper is the only other player in franchise history to hit more than 200 home runs with 201.

 Given his known clutch traits, it felt like a vast majority of his home runs came late in ball games and late in the season. In this article, we are going to highlight Ryan Braun’s top five home runs throughout his 14 year Brewers career.

5) Walk Off Home Run in 2011 Against The Rockies

This particular home run was not division clinching by any means, but it was another September home run for Ryan Braun.  With the game tied at one in the bottom of the 11th inning, Braun stepped up to bat to begin the inning.  He then ended the game on a long distance shot to dead center field. The home run came on the 10th pitch of the at bat.

Leading up to that at bat, Braun had been 0-4 at the plate and had a misplay in the outfield that lead to the Rockies scoring their only run of the game.  Thankfully he was able to erase his bad night and propel the Brewers to victory.

For a team looking to capture their first division crown since 1982 and just second in franchise history, this win certainly helped them gain momentum. In regards to Ryan Braun, the crazy part about this walk off home run in 2011 was that it was his 12th career walk off hit already. He entered the league in 2007.

A Pair Of Clinching Home Runs

Prior to Ryan Braun making his MLB debut in 2007, the Brewers had just two playoff appearances in franchise history. Those appearances came during back to back seasons dating all the way back to 1981 and 1982.

Fast forward to the 2021 season, in which Braun was not a member of the Brewers, that number is now up to eight postseason appearances. This means that Braun was involved in five postseason runs!

In Braun’s case, he was the driving force behind the Brewers making the playoffs in 2008 and 2011. He had exceptional seasons in both of those years and in fact won the MVP award in 2011.

When it came the 2008 playoff clinching game and 2011 Division clinching game, Braun came up big with clutch home runs in both games.

2) Go Ahead Two Run Home Run in 2008 Against The Cubs

By now you all know the story of the 2008 Brewers.  They acquired CC Sabathia at the trade deadline and they relied heavily upon his left throwing arm to secure the team’s first playoff berth in 26 years. However they struggled in September and manager Ned Yost was fired with just 12 games remaining. Dale Sveum was promoted as interim manager.

It would not be until the final game of the 2008 regular season when the Brewers clinched their playoff berth. Ryan Braun played hero with a two run home run in the eighth inning to give the Brewers the lead! The Brewers entered the playoffs as a wild card team that season but unfortunately played the eventual World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Division Series.

1) Go Ahead Three Run Home Run in 2011 Against The Marlins

After making the playoffs in 2008, the Brewers did not return until 2011 when they became division champs. Again, on the night they clinched the division Ryan Braun had a big game. This time it was a go ahead three run home run that got the fans at Miller Park rocking.

Braun would go on to be MVP that season and his ability to come up clutch late in games certainly played a big factor in winning the award.  Out of all of his home runs, this one stands out the most for it propelled the Brewers to clinch just their second division championship in franchise history.

While there are many other moments to chose from, these five home runs are a great representation of how clutch Ryan Braun was during his career. He had a knack for the big moment and in the words of Braun himself when asked about “This is what I do”.

Stay tuned to Reviewing the Brew as we celebrate the career of Ryan Braun.