Research on the website baseball-reference.com showed that there have been 23 left-handed batters who have played 400 or more career games with the Milwaukee Brewers. From John Briggs to Christian Yelich.
But here is the question you need to consider: Who is your pick for the greatest left-handed hitter in Brewers history?
Here are some of the candidates
There are a few candidates: How about Cecil Cooper, who played for the Brewers from 1978-87 and appeared in 1,490 games with 201 HRs and 944 RBIs with the Crew? Or, what about Prince Fielder? He had seven seasons in Milwaukee and hit 230 HRs with 656 RBI. Or, are you inclined to consider Christian Yelich, who won an MVP, finished second the following year, and had two Silver Slugger Awards and 80 HR in his first two seasons with the Brewers? Maybe Geoff Jenkins?
To help you with your answer, let me offer a handful of stats to ponder. Here are the Brewers left-handed hitting players (minimum of 400 games played with the Brewers) who reached these milestones.
Here’s what the stats show
200 or more Home Runs: 1. Prince Fielder, 230; 2. Geoff Jenkins, 212; 3. Cecil Cooper., 201.
600 or more RBI: 1. Cecil Cooper, 944; 2. Geoff Jenkins, 704; 3. Ben Oglivie, 685; 4. Prince Fielder, 656.
.280 or higher batting average: 1. Cecil Cooper, .302; 2. Darryl Hamilton, .290; Fernando Vina, ..286; 4. Dave Nilsson, .284; 5. Christian Yelich, .283; 6. Prince Fielder, .282.
.500 or higher slugging percentage: 1. Prince Fielder, .540; 2. Jeromy Burnitz, .508; 3. Christian Yelich, .503.
.360 or higher on-base percentage: 1. Prince Fielder, .390; 2. Christian Yelich, .385; 3. Lyle Overbay, .367; 4. Jeromy Burnitz, .362
1,000 or more hits: 1. Cecil Cooper, 1,815; 2. Jim Gantner, 1,696; 3. Geoff Jenkins, 1,221; 4. Ben Oglivie, 1,144; 5. B.J. Surhoff, 1,064.
Only four left-handed Brewers batters reached these numbers
If we tweak the stats just a bit, there are only four Brewers left-handed batters who during their time with the Brewers had a .260 bating, .320 one-base percentage, .450 slugging percentage, 800 hits, 150 home runs, and 500 RBI. The four: Cecil Cooper, Prince Fielder, Geoff Jenkins and Ben Oglivie.
So, who is your choice? Or, who do you pick as your Top 3?
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