The Milwaukee Brewers are having the kind of season that not many expected that they would (but that they expected of themselves). After Craig Counsell ditched the franchise to become the manager of the Chicago Cubs, and after Corbin Burnes was traded to the Baltimore Orioles, there was not much hope outside of Milwaukee that the Brewers would be very competitive.
However, the Brewers have been, by far and away, the best team in the National League Central Division all season long. They are currently 51-35, six games up on the St. Louis Cardinals for first place. There are many reasons for this, of course.
The starting pitching, despite its numerous injuries, has been solid. The bullpen has been amazing. The young stars that the Brewers have touted for the last couple years are also contributing in big ways. However, their success has also been helped by the renaissance of Christian Yelich.
Milwaukee Brewers Outfielder Christian Yelich Is Having His Best Season Since 2019
As Brewers fans are well-aware, Yelich took Milwaukee by storm when he was acquired by the team prior to the 2018 season. In his first season with the Brewers, Yelich hit .326/.402/.598 with 36 home runs and 110 RBI. He also won the National League MVP Award and made his first career All-Star team.
Yelich was arguably better in 2019, too. That season, he hit .329/.429/.671 with 44 home runs and 97 RBI. Unfortunately, he also fouled a ball off of his knee, breaking it, and was out for the final month of the season.
And when 2020 came around, Yelich looked like a shadow of his former self. Many tried to attribute his fall in production (.205/.356/.430) to the pandemic-shortened season. But between 2021-2023, Yelich hit .261/.362/.404 while averaging 14 home runs and 61 RBI a season.
There is nothing bad, per say, about those numbers. They just are not Yelich-like numbers that Brewers fans expected, nor what the team may have expected when they gave him a massive contract extension.
However, he got better and better each season, and 2024 has many wondering if the former NL MVP is finally back.
Milwaukee Brewers Outfielder Christian Yelich Was Voted an All-Star Starter
So far this season, Yelich is hitting .329/.403/.500 with eight home runs and 36 RBI. While the power and RBI numbers are not what they were in 2018-19, they are still respectable. Best of all, Yelich is just plain hitting again.
The rest of baseball has taken notice, and he was voted as one of the three starting outfielders for the National League in the upcoming All-Star Game:
Christian Yelich makes his first #AllStarGame since 2019 as he’s voted in as a starting outfielder for the NL! pic.twitter.com/TGO3m4GJVy
— MLB (@MLB) July 3, 2024
It is Yelich’s third career All-Star game. William Conteras was also voted a starter for the National League.
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