Christian Yelich
Jan. 25, 2018, is the greatest offseason date Milwaukee Brewers fans have ever seen – and good luck beating it.
Within mere hours that afternoon and evening, the Brewers traded for Christian Yelich from the Miami Marlins and signed Lorenzo Cain to the largest free-agent deal in team history. While Cain set a high bar as he produced 13.6 wins above replacement for the Brewers across five seasons, the Yelich deal has gone above and beyond as he has become one of the best players the franchise has ever seen.
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The trade didn’t take long to look like a complete heist. The four prospects Milwaukee sent to Miami – Lewis Brinson, Monte’ Harrison, Isan Diaz and Jordan Yamamoto – produced negative 6.8 WAR. Yelich was worth 7.3 WAR in his first year with the Brewers, when he was named National League most valuable player and led the club to within one game of a World Series berth.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Ben Sheets of the Milwaukee Brewers watches during batting practice for the 2008 MLB All-Star game July 14, 2008, at Yankee Stadium.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Ben Sheets of the Milwaukee Brewers watches during batting practice for the 2008 MLB All-Star game July 14, 2008, at Yankee Stadium.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun (8) celebrates with third base coach Ed Sedar after hitting a home run against the Detroit Tigers on Sept. 28, 2018, at Miller Park.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Prince Fielder and the Milwaukee Brewers celebrate the game winner against the Giants at Miller Park on June 27, 2009.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Christian Yelich runs into the outfield after scoring the winning run in the Milwaukee Brewers’ 3-2 win over the Colorado Rockies in Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Colorado Rockies on Oct. 4, 2018, at Miller Park.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Ben Sheets leaves the game for the last time as a Brewer after giving up 4 runs in 2 1/3 innings against the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 27, 2008, at Miller Park.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Milwaukee Brewers Prince Fielder gives Ryan Braun a high-five after Braun’s two-run home off the Houston Astros’ Geoff Geary in their game at Miller Park in Milwaukee July 26, 2008
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Ben Sheets reacts after the final out of a five-hit shutout against the San Diego Padres on Sept. 6, 2008.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Prince Fielder celebrates his two-run homer run with a high fives agianst the St. Louis Cardinals on June 12, 2011, at Miller Park.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Milwaukee Brewers right fielder Christian Yelich hits a solo home run during the first inning of their National League Championship Series baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Oct. 20, 2018, at Miller Park.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Milwaukee Brewers right fielder Christian Yelich rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the first inning of their National League Championship Series game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Oct. 20, 2018, at Miller Park. Looking on is Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Milwaukee Brewers right fielder Christian Yelich celebrates his home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series on Oct. 20, 2018, at Miller Park.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Ben Sheets shouts after giving up a walk to the Pittsburgh Pirates as Brewer catcher Jason Kendall talks with him on July 4, 2008, at Miller Park.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Christian Yelich hits a double against the Chicago Cubs during their National League Division Series game Oct. 8, 2025, at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Milwaukee Brewers’ Ryan Braun flexes his muscles after hitting a walk-off grand slam home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 10th inning at Miller Park on Sept. 25, 2008.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
The Brewers’ Ryan Braun celebrates after hitting a walk-off grand slam home run in the 10th inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sept. 25, 2008, at Miller Park.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Milwaukee Brewers’ Ryan Braun jumps into the arms of teammates after a walk-off grand slam home run against the Pirates in the 10th inning Sept. 25, 2008, at Miller Park.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
The Milwaukee Brewers’ Prince Fielder hits a solo home run against the Colorado Rockies on Sept. 13, 2011, at Miller Park.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Milwaukee Brewer pitcher Ben Sheets applauds after the final out in the 10th inning of a Brewer 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs on opening day of the 2008 season March 31 at Wrigley Field.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun addresses the media during a news conference, Feb. 24, 2012, in Phoenix, a day after his 50-game suspension for a positive drug test was overturned by an arbitrator.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Milwaukee Brewers Ryan Braun, left, and Christian Yelich chat before the Milwaukee Brewers National League Divisional Series game against the Colorado Rockies on Oct. 4, 2018.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Milwaukee Brewers’ Ben Sheets pitches against the Houston Astros on Aug. 19, 2008, at Miller Park.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Christian Yelich is checked out by the medical staff after a ball deflected off his leg in a game Sept. 10, 2019, against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Milwaukee Brewers Christian Yelich leaves the interview room on crutches after he spoke during a news conference at Miller Park on Sept. 16, 2019. It was the first time Yelich spoke publicly about his injury that occurred on Sept. 10 when he fouled a pitch off his right knee that broke his kneecap during a game against the Miami Marlins, ending his 2019 season.
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Best photos of our Mount Rushmore of Brewers’ Miller Park AmFam era
Prince Fielder and the Milwaukee Brewers celebrate after he singled in the winning run against the Giants on June 27, 2009, at Miller Park.
A foul ball off his kneecap in early September likely robbed Yelich of winning consecutive MVPs in 2019, but his 1.100 on-base percentage plus slugging percentage (OPS) remains the best ever by a Brewers hitter by far. (The two closest belong to Prince Fielder, at 1.014 and 1.013).
Yelich then signed the largest contract in Brewers history the following spring, a nine-year $215 million extension. His production post-knee injury (while also dealing with recurring back troubles) sank compared to where it was in his first two years with Milwaukee, but he’s since returned to a high form.
Over the past three seasons, Yelich has hit .279 with an .826 OPS and 59 homers, earning an all-star nod in 2024 and finishing 12th in MVP voting a year ago.
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What those with the Brewers, especially manager Pat Murphy, will point to is the impact of Yelich’s leadership. Now 34, Yelich has taken his role as elder statesman seriously, offering complete buy-in to the philosophies of both his manager and the organization as a whole.
As the Brewers have made the playoffs seven of the past eight seasons, Yelich has served as the face of the franchise, a player who’s earned the right to be viewed as one of the best to ever don a Brewers jersey and the lynchpin of the greatest run of baseball the organization has ever seen.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Christian Yelich is on Brewers’ Mount Rushmore for the past 25 years