Yelich, Brewers focus on clean slate after near-miss in 2018

PHOENIX (AP) — Christian Yelich has already had conversations with some of his Milwaukee Brewers teammates about their biggest message this spring after coming up one win short of the World Series.

“What you did last year means nothing basically. Whether it was good or bad for you as an individual or as a team, it means absolutely nothing. It doesn’t matter,” Yelich said. “We all start with a clean slate. It’s all what are you going to do in 2019 to help the Brewers win.”

Even for the young slugging outfielder who was the NL MVP after nearly winning the Triple Crown (.326, 36 homers, 110 RBIs) in his first season with the Brewers.

Christian Yelich fires back at former Marlins executive over free agency comments

Is it really that sporting to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent?

How Christian Yelich helped California heal during the fires | SI.com

Helping fire victims is a cause that’s near and dear to my heart. Despite the focus on negativity and divisiveness in the news every day, people can be very generous. I witness regular people stepping up to help their neighbors all the time. It’s nice to see major league players do the same.

As the fires burned, Yelich got on a group text with Braun and Moustakas. They weren’t sure how much damage there might ultimately be, but they knew that they wanted to do something. “When we knew that, structurally, our houses were O.K., the conversation immediately turned to, ‘How can we help?’” says Braun. “We recognized pretty quickly the magnitude and scope of how significant the damage was going to be.”

Says Yelich, “We’re in a position to do it. It’s our community, and we felt a responsibility to help and give back.” With Rams quarterback Jared Goff they began a campaign called California Strong. With an auction and a celebrity softball game they have already raised more than $1 million, and the quartet’s hope is to keep the charity work going, even as mainstream focus on the destruction begins to fade. “It gets so much publicity, then there’s something else and it gets forgotten,” Yelich says. “People’s lives still have to go on.”

NY Times: Christian Yelich on Life as an M.V.P. and Why He Never Guesses at the Plate

[Q:] Given the oversaturation of statistics and measurements in baseball, what do you look at to evaluate your own performance?

[A: ]I feel like probably the biggest one is O.P.S. It’s the biggest stat that people take value from in the game, from the people who evaluate it and the people who play it. Just because it’s slugging and on base — two of the things that make up a productive baseball player. We’ve gotten away from batting average a little bit. I still think batting average is important; other people will tell you it’s not anymore in the game, but you don’t want to make outs, basically. You still have to get on base and be productive. Somehow getting on base and getting a hit are really not that big of a deal. It’s still really hard to get a hit in the big leagues, whether it’s a single or homer. There’s still something that can be said for that. You’ve seen that, where the game has gotten away from it, where it’s become acceptable to hit .220 or .230 and hit 30 homers.

Triple Crown Winners End Up In Hall of Fame

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich entered the final week of the 2018 baseball season as a much-discussed MVP candidate. He left Saturday’s game as an MVP lock and a threat to win the National League Triple Crown.

That’s an achievement—leading the league in home runs, batting average, and RBI—that hasn’t happened in the NL since 1937, when Joe Medwick of St. Louis did it.

Here’s what Christian Yelich needs to do on Sunday to earn first NL Triple Crown in 81 years

Christian Yelich, arguably the frontrunner for the National League MVP award, had a big Saturday night as part of a Milwaukee Brewers win against the Detroit Tigers.

Yelich went 2 for 3 with a pair of home runs and a walk and three runs batted in. On the season, he’s now up to 36 home runs, a .324/.400/.599 slash line, and 109 RBI.

While most of the attention this season with regards to the Triple Crown had been focused on J.D. Martinez of the Boston Red Sox, it’s Yelich who will enter the regular season’s final day within striking distance of becoming the first NL player to pull off the feat in 81 years. Joe Medwick, of the St. Louis Cardinals, was the last to do it, back in 1937. Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera was the last AL player to earn a Triple Crown back in 2012.

Something to watch for during the last day of play, both with regards to Yelich and with his competition.

Milwaukee——LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Really interesting article as Yelich discusses Lorenzo Cain as a teammate, his experience being traded and his experience as a member of the Brewers. Just thought it was worth sharing

Christian Yelich makes baseball history with second cycle of season

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich on Monday night became the first player in major league history to hit for the cycle against the same team twice in one season.

Yelich, who hit for the cycle against the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 30, accomplished the rare feat again less than three weeks later. He’s just the fifth player ever to hit for multiple cycles in the same season.

“There’s been so many great players to play this game,’’ said Yelich, acquired in an offseason trade with Miami. “It just shows how freaky, I guess, that is. A lot of luck goes into that. It’s hard enough to get four hits in a Major League Baseball game, yet alone have them all be the right ones and the right sequence.’‘