The Milwaukee Brewers announced their 2023 team award winners as selected by the Milwaukee Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) on Monday morning.
William Contreras unanimously voted team MVP and Top Newcomer.
William Contreras was acquired by the Brewers from the Atlanta Braves in a three-team trade back in December of 2022 and played in a career-high 141 games, 137 of those being starts. It’s not shocking to find out that Contreras was voted the team MVP and Top Newcomer. The last team MVP was Willy Adames, who had a good 2023 campaign, but not one as good as Contreras.
Contreras led the team with a .291 batting average, .828 OPS, 156 hits, 38 doubles, 56 XBH, and 247 total bases. He finished second with RBIs at 78 and finished third with 17 home runs. Additionally, he ended his season on a career-high 18-game hitting streak and was able to reach base safely in 38 of his last 39 games.
Corbin Burnes voted Brewers Pitcher of the Year
For the third consecutive season, Corbin Burnes has been voted the Brewers’ pitcher of the year. He now joins Teddy Higuera as the only Brewers pitchers to win the award three consecutive times.
Burnes held a 10-8 record with an ERA of 3.39, 3.81 FIP, and 100 strikeouts across 193 innings of work. It wasn’t his best season, and his singular postseason appearance didn’t help that either. In Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series, Burnes gave up three home runs to allow the Arizona Diamondbacks to win the game and eventually go on to win the series.
Bryse Wilson is the Unsung Hero
This name kind of came as a surprise when reading the list of award recipients; But when you think about it, Bryse Wilson truly was an unsung hero for the Brewers. Wilson was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates back in January in exchange for cash and ended the season with a 6-0 record, 2.58 ERA, with 61 strikeouts in 76 innings across 53 appearances with Milwaukee this season.
Christian Yelich wins the Good Guy Award
This award is typically given out to the guy in the clubhouse who has the most outgoing presence and interacts exceptionally well with media daily. When you look at a guy like Christian Yelich, you wouldn’t think he’d fit that category. However, Yeli’s a veteran on this team, he knows how to keep the clubhouse positive, and he’s gotten better in interviews with the media this season, being more open when asked questions pre- and postgame.
Yelich also had a sense of resurgence this season as he finished slashing .278/.370/.447 with 19 homers, 76 RBI and 28 stolen bags.
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