Part 2: Brewing up some ball smackers
Casey Olbrantz
Issue date: 10/15/09 Section: Sports
The dawn of the Brewers infamous "Return to Relevance" season April, 2007.
Anyone in baseball could clearly see the Brewers were about to embark on something special. As far as hitters went, the Brewers were stocked with young, promising, talent at almost every position.
The outfield was manned by veteran left fielder and Brett Favre look-alike Geoff Jenkins. Bill Hall in center field was coming off a 35-homerun season, and Corey Hart in right field was finally starting to realize his (at the time) great potential. In the infield, Ryan Braun was about to be called up at third base, where he would go on to win Rookie of the Year honors. J.J. Hardy was finally healthy and ended up becoming an All-Star at shortstop. Rickie Weeks was poised to live up to his potential and become one of the best pure hitters in the game at second base. To top it off, first baseman Prince Fielder was ready to show the world what he could do, and almost showed up his father by hitting 50 home runs.
The crazy thing was everyone, other than Jenkins and Hall, was younger than 25 years old and was nowhere near reaching their prime. The Brewers was about to establish themselves as a contender in the Central Division for years and years to come.
So what the hell happened?
Today, Fielder is a bonafide Most Valuable Player and left fielder Braun continues to perform at freakish levels, but the no longer young core of hitters that was touted to win Milwaukee a pennant is in shambles.
Hardy is a shell of the player and man he once was. The often-smiling, fun-loving Hardy seemed to die with his game, as his confidence and demeanor is now comparable to LL Cool J's before he started using Old Spice Swagger.
The increasingly inked and shriveled-looking Hart has continued his fall into obscurity, posting a disappointing .260 batting average, while nearing triple digits in strikeouts - all in fairly limited playing time. Hall had one of the worst and most miserable falls from glory you will ever see a professional athlete suffer. He was always a class act, on and off the field. Here's to wishing him nothing but the best in Seattle, or wherever baseball takes him. It looked like Weeks was finally starting to realize his limitless potential, until a batting practice injury ended what looked like a monster year. Whether Weeks can ever regain his pre-injury form is in doubt, and with his clock in Milwaukee almost done ticking, it's safe to say his best years will not be in a Brewers' uniform.
Anyone in baseball could clearly see the Brewers were about to embark on something special. As far as hitters went, the Brewers were stocked with young, promising, talent at almost every position.
The outfield was manned by veteran left fielder and Brett Favre look-alike Geoff Jenkins. Bill Hall in center field was coming off a 35-homerun season, and Corey Hart in right field was finally starting to realize his (at the time) great potential. In the infield, Ryan Braun was about to be called up at third base, where he would go on to win Rookie of the Year honors. J.J. Hardy was finally healthy and ended up becoming an All-Star at shortstop. Rickie Weeks was poised to live up to his potential and become one of the best pure hitters in the game at second base. To top it off, first baseman Prince Fielder was ready to show the world what he could do, and almost showed up his father by hitting 50 home runs.
The crazy thing was everyone, other than Jenkins and Hall, was younger than 25 years old and was nowhere near reaching their prime. The Brewers was about to establish themselves as a contender in the Central Division for years and years to come.
So what the hell happened?
Today, Fielder is a bonafide Most Valuable Player and left fielder Braun continues to perform at freakish levels, but the no longer young core of hitters that was touted to win Milwaukee a pennant is in shambles.
Hardy is a shell of the player and man he once was. The often-smiling, fun-loving Hardy seemed to die with his game, as his confidence and demeanor is now comparable to LL Cool J's before he started using Old Spice Swagger.
The increasingly inked and shriveled-looking Hart has continued his fall into obscurity, posting a disappointing .260 batting average, while nearing triple digits in strikeouts - all in fairly limited playing time. Hall had one of the worst and most miserable falls from glory you will ever see a professional athlete suffer. He was always a class act, on and off the field. Here's to wishing him nothing but the best in Seattle, or wherever baseball takes him. It looked like Weeks was finally starting to realize his limitless potential, until a batting practice injury ended what looked like a monster year. Whether Weeks can ever regain his pre-injury form is in doubt, and with his clock in Milwaukee almost done ticking, it's safe to say his best years will not be in a Brewers' uniform.
Be the first to comment on this story