Not the best of possible farewells
Weekend could be last for Braun at Miller Park
If this weekend does prove to be the last time Ryan Braun plays for the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park, it is safe to say this is not the way he imagined going out.
No fans in the stands to cheer him on and salute him. An offensively challenged team hanging by its collective fingernails in the National League playoff race. Coronavirus protocols making everything about the game, on and off the field, feel totally foreign. An interleague series against Kansas City instead of one of the Brewers' division rivals.
On top of all of that, Braun's ailing back continues to make his availability a day-to-day proposition. After collecting singles in his first two at-bats Friday night in the Brewers' 9-5 victory over the Royals, an obviously hobbled Braun was forced to leave the game.
"It was getting progressively worse, so we got him out of there," said manager Craig Counsell, who put Braun back in the lineup Saturday night as the designated hitter. "But he helped us win the game, I feel like.
"He wants to play. This is an issue where if he's able to go, he's going to go. We just have to judge it like that. The other stuff, I don't want to be non-sentimental about it, but I think if you can play and help us, then he wants to play."
Not exactly the warm and fuzzy, curtain call-filled ride off into the sunset that players seek when hanging up their spikes at home at the end of a long, productive career. Especially when doing it all with one team, which has become increasingly rare in the modern game.
Perhaps that's why Braun said he hadn't spent much time contemplating what could be his home farewell.
“If the team was in a different position, I would probably take more time to reflect on that personally,” Braun said when asked if he expected to spend much time on the team's Thursday off day contemplating the possibility.
“I've always enjoyed playing in bigger games and bigger moments. It's something I've always taken a lot of pride in. There's a different level of focus and adrenaline that comes with that. The challenge, obviously, is continuing it. It's more about moving forward and continuing to put together quality atbats and help put our team in a position to win games.”
Despite the lingering lower back issue, Braun had been up to his old tricks of late, delivering in the clutch as he did in the final games of 2008, 2011, 2018 and 2019 as the Brewers nailed down playoff berths. There's a reason many of the team's fans refer to the 36-year-old veteran as “Mr. September.”
Braun's late-season push began last Saturday with a walk-off sacrifice fly that beat the Cubs, 1-0. The next night, his two-run homer in the fourth inning gave the Brewers their only runs in a game they eventually lost in the ninth, 4-2, when Chicago rallied for four runs off closer Josh Hader.
Braun didn't play the next day when the Brewers were no-hit by the nondescript Alec Mills in an error-filled 12-0 embarrassment. On Monday, his RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning of the first game of a doubleheader against St. Louis was the key blow in the winning two-run rally. He went hitless in the nightcap and exited after seven innings in a game the Brewers lost, 3-2, in nine.
Braun went back-to-back with Christian Yelich with home runs against St. Louis's Jack Flaherty in the first inning Tuesday night as the Brewers exploded an 18-3 rout. He did not play in Game 1 of another doubleheader Wednesday against the Cardinals as Adam Wainwright pitched a complete-game fourhitter in a 4-2 victory. Braun returned in Game 2 and lined a three-run homer in the first inning to spark a badly needed 6-0 triumph.
All told, Braun played in 11 of the Brewers' first 16 games in September, batting .406 with a .444 on-base percentage and remarkable .906 slugging percentage, with four homers and 13 RBI. Compare that to his production in 15 games in August: .170 batting average, .228 OBP, .358 slugging, two homers and seven RBI.
Playing in only 30 of the team's 50 games – he was on the injured list early in the season with a finger infection – Braun has batted .255 overall with a .839
OPS, six home runs and 22 RBI.
Asked how Braun seemingly is able to flip the “on” switch every September when games become more meaningful, even in this crazy COVID campaign, Counsell said, “I think when you're at the place he's at in his career, these are the games you're dying to be in. These are the games you want to be in.
“It's a credit to his skill set that he's able to deliver in the biggest games still. And that he's a force and a presence in these games. It's a real credit to him.”
Whether these are the final days for Braun in a Brewers uniform remains to be seen. He is in the final guaranteed year of a five-year, $105-million contract extension signed in 2011. There is a mutual option for 2021 for $15 million with a $4 million buyout, with no chance the club would exercise its part for several reasons, including budgetary planning as well as Braun's age and ongoing health issues.
The Brewers' outfield is set for next year with Yelich in left, Lorenzo Cain returning from his 2020 opt-out in center and Avisaíl García in right, so there are no real at-bats there for Braun. The Brewers will need a first baseman and Braun has dabbled at that position but it's unlikely the club would commit to him there on a regular basis, especially considering his health concerns.
The one thing that could prompt the club to seek a less-expensive deal for Braun's return would be if the designated hitter is put in effect in the NL again next season. It was adopted this year to take pressure off pitchers after a COVID-shortened summer camp and might become permanent in the new CBA after next season but as of now it is not in effect for 2021.
Braun said earlier in the year the pandemic-shortened season could prompt him to play a 15th season with the Brewers to allow a retirement under normal circumstances. But he also has talked about the lure of staying home in Malibu, California, with his wife and three young children, including a son born earlier this year.
Braun, who turns 37 in November, also could decide it's not worth it physically to try to play another season. Beyond the chronic lower back problem, he has dealt with an inflamed nerve in his right thumb, requiring periodic cryotherapy treatments, as well as leg, shoulder and oblique problems. He has been able to navigate recent seasons thanks to planned days off by Counsell and the work of the team's training staff but it has been a struggle and at some point, enough is enough.
Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio has an affinity for Braun despite the player's PED betrayal in 2011 and subsequent deceit and blame game leading to his suspension by MLB in '13. Things eventually were patched up and Braun has been a model citizen since, with many charitable endeavors for the club and community.
If the Brewers show no interest in bringing Braun back or are unable to reach an agreement, it is unlikely he would go elsewhere to finish his career, even at home with the Dodgers or Angels. He is not beloved elsewhere as in Milwaukee, nor would he be as comfortable. In that regard, it would seem to be Brewers or bust.
Even with health issues curbing Braun's play, it won't be easy for the Brewers to replace him, in particular his production during their late-season playoff runs. Neither side wants it to end during a pandemic, with a possible exit before the postseason, but how many players, even great ones, get to end their careers completely on their own terms?
“Certainly, I'm aware of the fact that it's a possibility but it's not something that I'll spend much time thinking about or reflecting on,” said Braun, who prefers to focus on the Brewers' competition with St. Louis and Cincinnati for a playoff berth in the NL Central.
“Let's see what our world looks like at that time. There's so much going on in the world right now, and our sport, specifically, is drastically different. Let's see what that looks like.
“I'll take my time in making a decision. I'll sit down with my family and see where we're at in a couple of months. It's not a decision that I anticipate making right away. I'll take some time to see where I'm at physically, see where things stand baseball-specifically and in the world at large before I make a decision about that.”