Braun has been energized by another playoff run
As Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell has monitored his players, on and off the field, during the team’s improbable surge to the National League Central crown and sweep of Colorado in the NL Division Series, one, in particular, stood out as having the time of his life.
“If you ask me, ‘Who is the player enjoying this the most,’ I’d say Ryan Braun is the guy,” Counsell said. “What I see, as much as any player we have, Ryan is enjoying this. And that makes me happy.
“There’s no question this has energized him and brought some joy to playing the game again. It’s good to see.”
Braun, who will be 35 next month, indeed has had more bounce in his step in recent weeks. After a season in which various ailments curtailed his play and production, including ongoing lower back issues, he has felt little or no pain during the Brewers’ remarkable 11-game winning streak entering the NL
Championship Series against Los Angeles, which begins Friday night at Miller Park.
“I feel like I’m going on 25, not 35, right now,” Braun proclaimed.
Braun is the only remaining player from the Brewers’ last playoff team in 2011, a season that ended with an NLCS loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. After a lateseason collapse three years later, followed by a collective pratfall at the outset of 2015, the decision was made to strip down the team and rebuild, with no way of knowing when the team might play October baseball again.
Because the Brewers exceeded expectations, both internally and externally, Braun feels as if he’s playing with house money. And he readily admits how much it has meant to him.
Asked where his excitement level stood entering the NLCS, Braun quickly responded, “It’s a 10. I can’t wait.
“I think all of us here feel the same way. We’re all just having so much fun right now. It’s such a special opportunity. I’ve played in this league a long time. I know this doesn’t come around every year. I’m just enjoying it and having so much fun.”
Though Braun survived the strip-down of the roster, there was a time a couple of years ago that he, too, thought he’d be packing his bags. The Brewers were involved in deep trade negotiations with Los Angeles, his hometown team, and thought a deal was in place, only to see the Dodgers back off at the last minute.
Braun, who has two years remaining on his contract for a total of $34 million and a mutual option for 2021 at $15 million, since has obtained full veto rights over any trade and likely will finish his career with the only team for which he has played.
“I said at the time that it would be more meaningful to win here than to go anywhere else and win multiple championships, and I meant it,” said Braun, whose Brewers career began with a rookie of the year season in 2007. “I’ve been here for so long, been through so much. I have a special connection to the city, to the fans, to the organization.
“I honestly didn’t think we’d be back in this position as quickly as we are. I don’t think anybody else did, either. That’s a tribute to everybody here that we made it as quickly as we have. I’m really embracing the opportunity.”
Braun’s last playoff experience, during his MVP season of 2011, was marred in a major way when it was revealed later he failed a Major League Baseball-mandated drug test, which was positive for synthetic testosterone. He appealed the result and won in arbitration, but later accepted a 65-game suspension at the end of the 2013 season after evidence against him was uncovered in the investigation of the scandal-plagued Biogenesis clinic in Florida.
By then, Braun had developed a chronic nerve issue in his right thumb that made it all but impossible to grip the bat. He has had periodic cryotherapy treatments since to address flare-ups, and also underwent surgery following the 2015 season to repair a herniated disc in his lower back.
In the three years since, remaining healthy enough to stay on the field has been the biggest challenge for Braun. He was limited to 135 games in 2016, 104 in 2017 and 125 this season. Counsell has been forced to give Braun scheduled off-days to recuperate from various ailments, with stints on the disabled list also curtailing his play.
Despite those medical challenges, Braun managed to produce at near-normal levels until this season, when hitting into hard luck became a major obstacle. Despite compiling hard-hit and line-drive rates as good or better as any season of his career, he compiled a .782 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) — lowest since 2014 — with 20 home runs and 64 runs batted in.
When the Brewers needed Braun most, however, he perked up considerably at the plate. Over the last 10 games of the season, he batted .344 with five home runs and 12 RBI, joining the insanely hot Christian Yelich to lead the team to the division crown, achieved with a 3-1 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field in an extra game No. 163.
“Ryan is now coming up on 35 and I think he’s still in the middle of everything,” Counsell said. “He is not the MVP candidate he was those (earlier) years but he’s still in the middle of everything. There’s no better way to say it than that and no bigger statement, because that’s seven years ago.
“To still be in the middle of it seven years later, that’s not easy to do. I have great respect for that.”
The Brewers’ 11-game winning streak began with a 13-6 victory in Pittsburgh on Sept. 22. The next day, at the outset of a huge series in St. Louis, Braun strutted into the visiting clubhouse at Busch Stadium and announced to teammates that he felt healthy again and ready to “dominate” the opposition. If you know Braun, you know he never lacks for confidence.
With Braun slugging three homers and driving in five runs, the Brewers swept that series to clinch a postseason berth for the first time in seven years, and there’s been no stopping them since.
“Really that last day in Pittsburgh, the first day in St. Louis, I woke up and felt really good,” Braun said. “I felt excited. I felt energized. I just really looked forward to playing baseball. When you have that added adrenaline because of the importance and intensity of the games, it helps the body feel better.
“I’d say, knock on wood, right now I feel better than I have all year. It’s the best batting practice I’ve taken all year. I feel really good and feel fortunate I’m in this position health-wise. I never take it for granted. I do think for everybody, when you have the adrenaline added this time of the year, it helps you feel better physically.
“We’ve gone on an 11-game winning streak. We approached every one of those games with the understanding it was a must win. We approached that third game in Colorado the same way. It was important for us to come out, put the pressure on them, bring the fight to them, score early.
“Everybody here has handled it so well, especially all of our relievers who have basically zero postseason experience. Those guys continue to throw the ball so well. There are a lot of guys contributing offensively. We’re really doing a lot of things well. It has been impressive and it’s encouraging moving forward.”
During the year, the Brewers added veterans with postseason experience, such as Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas and Curtis Granderson. But, as the sole survivor of the last Milwaukee playoff team, Braun has felt added responsibility to exercise his leadership skills and do everything he can to help younger teammates experiencing the October cauldron for the first time.
Taking his senior-service role seriously, Braun delivered clubhouse speeches at the outset of each of the team’s three clubhouse celebrations. His oratory skills reached a new height in Colorado after the Brewers swept the NLDS, telling teammates there were two more celebrations to go and exhorting them to “keep doing the same (stuff)!”
“That was just spur of the moment,” Braun said. “The first speech I gave after a big moment was after the St. Louis win. I think everybody’s waiting for me to talk when we have those celebrations. Obviously, it’s something I enjoy. It’s just cool to see everybody respond, to see all the boys fired up.
“I know I’m not going to play this game forever. Obviously, you want a chance to get back in this position. For all players, this is when baseball is most enjoyable. I love the emotion and intensity of these games.
“I didn’t know if we’d have the opportunity to get back here at all, frankly, during my tenure as a Brewer. So, it does make it that more meaningful and special for me, and I think for everybody else that’s been here for a while as well.”