Complete history of Milwaukee Brewers’ Silver Slugger Award winners

Throughout the years, several Milwaukee Brewers have been honored with the coveted Silver Slugger Award. From the legends of the 1980s to the budding starts of the early 2010s to two leaders of the ongoing Golden Age of Brewers baseball, there's no shortage of silver in the trophy cases of past and current Brewers.

This year, FanSided, the parent company of Reviewing the Brew, has made an exciting partnership with Louisville Slugger to exclusively announce the 2025 Silver Slugger Award finalists and winners. Both announcements will be made live on The Baseball Insiders podcast and YouTube show, as explained in the post below.

With this exciting announcement on the horizon, it felt only right to first take a look back at each player who has taken home a Silver Slugger Award while donning a Brewers jersey. Keep in mind that the award wasn't created until 1980, a year when the Brew Crew did especially well in regard to winning Silver Slugger Awards.

Complete history of Milwaukee Brewers’ Silver Slugger Award winners

Cecil Cooper (1980, 1981, 1982)

Originally drafted by the Boston Red Sox back in 1968, Cecil Cooper came over to the Milwaukee Brewers in a trade for Bernie Carbo and George Scott prior to the 1977 season. An intriguing young first baseman during his time in Boston, "Coop" didn't become a superstar until he donned a Brewers jersey. His best years were a five-season stretch from 1979 to 1983, during which he was named to four All-Star teams, won three Silver Slugger Awards, two Gold Glove Awards, and finished top-10 in MVP voting four times. In those five seasons, Cooper averaged nearly 25 HR, 37 doubles, 107 RBI, and just 53 strikeouts per season.

Robin Yount (1980, 1982, 1989)

Highly regarded as the greatest Brewer of all time, Robin Yount took home three Silver Slugger Awards during his 20-year career in Milwaukee. "The Kid" took a few seasons to adjust to major league pitching, but once he did, he quickly became one of the best players in MLB. In a four-year stretch from 1980 to 1983, Yount made three All-Star Game appearances, took home two Silver Slugger Awards, and won the American League MVP in 1982. Then, after a few seasons of being a good but not great player, Yount put together an incredible age-33 season, surging in the second half to the second MVP and third Silver Slugger Award of his career. Yount remains a legend in Milwaukee and continuously shows up to offer guidance and support to the current Brewers squad.

Ben Oglive (1980)

With Cooper and Yount both winning a Silver Slugger Award in 1980, Brewers fans must not forget that a third member of that squad also took home the coveted honor: left-fielder Ben Oglivie. Drafted by the Red Sox in the same year that they selected Cooper, Oglivie joined the Brewers in 1978, and while he was a strong bat throughout his nine years in Milwaukee, making three All-Star teams, his 1980 season stands out among the rest. Oglivie led the AL with 41 homers in 1980, while driving in 118 runs and slugging 26 doubles.

Paul Molitor (1987, 1988)

The Brewers selected Paul Molitor in the first round of the 1977 Draft, and by 1978 he was the runner-up in the AL Rookie of the Year race. Despite incredible seasons in '79, '80, '82, '83, and '85 -- basically every season that Molitor didn't miss time with an injury, he didn't take home his first Silver Slugger Award until the 1987 season. He then won two straight, averaging nearly 38 doubles, 15 HR, and a .330 batting average during those two seasons. "The ignitor" finished top-10 in MVP voting in each of those two seasons, and cemented himself as one of the all-time greats in Brewers history.

Dave Parker (1990)

Dave Parker, who sadly passed away earlier this year, spent just one season in Milwaukee, but it was a memorable one. After a long career filled with accolades and two World Series championships, Parker joined the Brewers in his age-39 season. However, the long-time Pittsburgh Pirate still had more left in the tank. He slugged 21 HR, 20 doubles, and collected 92 RBI en route to winning the third Silver Slugger Award of his career.

Carlos Lee (2005)

Ending a 15-year drought of not having a Silver Slugger Award winner, Carlos Lee, who played just a season and a half in Milwaukee, gave Brewers fans something to cheer about in an otherwise dark time in franchise history. Playing all 162 games in 2005, Lee slugged 32 HR, 41 doubles, and drove in 118 runs in the first All-Star season of his career. Interestingly enough, despite putting together a ridiculous offensive season, Lee's defense limited him to just 1.0 Win Above Replacement (WAR) in 2005.

Prince Fielder (2007, 2011)

There is simply nothing like a Prince Fielder recoil after he just slugged a towering homer into the second deck. The 6x All-Star's Brewers tenure began back in 2005, but it wasn't until 2007 that Fielder became the player we all remember. In that season, during which Fielder finished third in NL MVP voting, he slugged an NL-leading 50 home runs and drove in 119 runs, earning his first Silver Slugger Award in the process. If not for Albert Pujols, Fielder would have taken home another Silver Slugger in 2009, when he crushed 46 homers and drove in a ridiculous 146 runs. However, two years later, Fielder got his revenge, beating out the St. Louis Cardinals legend for his second Silver Slugger Award after an impressive 38-homer, 120-RBI season. Not to be overlooked is the fact that Fielder drew an MLB-leading 32 intentional walks in 2011.

Ryan Braun (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012)

It's only a matter of time before Ryan Braun's number is among the retired ones hanging just beneath the roof of American Family Field. No Brewer in franchise history has won more Silver Slugger Awards than Brauny. Add to that a Rookie of the Year award, six All-Star Game appearances, and an MVP in 2011, and Braun has a real case for the best Brewer in franchise history title. Not only did he win five Silver Sluggers, but he did so in consecutive seasons, from 2008-2012. During that span, he averaged 34 homers, nearly 40 doubles, and more than 109 RBI per season, while also serving as a stolen base threat, averaging more than 22 per season. He was clutch, consistent, and exactly the type of player that the Brewers needed to end their 26-year playoff drought.

Yovani Gallardo (2010)

Don't forget about pitchers. Back in the day when pitchers hit in the National League, they were also eligible to win Silver Slugger Awards. Nowadays, with pitchers hitting being a distant memory, that is no longer possible, meaning, assuming MLB doesn't have some change of heart that eliminates the designated hitter, Yovani Gallardo will go down as the only Brewers' starting pitcher to win a Silver Slugger Award, and he certainly earned it. Back in 2010, Yo slashed .254/.329/.508 in 72 plate appearances, good for an .837 OPS that most position players would be ecstatic with at the end of a season. He slugged four homers and four doubles during the season, while also making 31 starts on the bump.

Christian Yelich (2018, 2019)

For two years in 2018 and 2019, there weren't many, if any, players in MLB better than Christian Yelich. Back-to-back 7 WAR seasons immediately after being traded to the Brewers from the Miami Marlins, made Milwaukee's front office look like psychics. In 2018-19, Yelich averaged 40 homers, 32 doubles, and 104 RBI, while maintaining an OPS north of 1.000 and winning the NL batting title in each season. Yelich should have won back-to-back MVP Awards as well, but a late-season knee injury forced him to miss the final month of the season, giving MLB a reason to hand the 2019 award to Cody Bellinger. Even still, what Yelich did in his two Silver Slugger seasons in Milwaukee remains one of the best two-year stretches in franchise history.

William Contreras (2023, 2024)

Similar to how Yelich broke out after being traded to Milwaukee in the 2017-18 offseason, William Contreras' first two seasons in a Brewers uniform after coming over from the Atlanta Braves were ones to remember. Averaging 20 HR, 38 doubles, and 85 RBI during the 2023-24 seasons, Contreras cemented himself as one of the best catchers in MLB with his two Silver Slugger seasons to begin his Brewers tenure. Not only did he add some silver to his trophy case, but Contreras finished top-11 in NL MVP voting in each of the two seasons, with his impressive 2024 campaign landing him the fifth most votes for the coveted award. Contreras has not only emerged as one of the great catchers in the game, but he's become the heart and soul of the Brewers' offense over the last three seasons.