• Ryan's mother, Diane, is a marathoner and once ran in the Miller Park sausage race. Diane also is a brewer . . . seriously. She makes beer for Anheuser-Busch in Van Nuys, California.

• Ryan's Dad, Joe Braun, coached both his sons every year they were able to play Little League together. Steve Braun, who was an infielder at the University of Maryland, retired prematurely in 2010 due to vision problems. The two boys also loved soccer, and Joe Braun believes his sons were better soccer players than baseball players by the time they get to high school.

• In 2002, Braun graduated from Granada Hills High School in California, where he broke the school's career home run record with 25. He was a two-time all-area selection by the Los Angeles Times and a three-time choice by the Los Angeles Daily News. As a senior, he hit .451-8-29 and also stole 18 bases.

  Braun wasn't drafted out of high school even though he was such a highly touted prospect. He told teams he was way out of their price range because he definitely wanted to go to college. He chose Miami for its social scene, its academics, its athletics and because, "I think the girls were the deal closer on the recruiting trip."

• Ryan was a star soccer player as a freshman in high school.

• Ryan went on to the University of Miami as a business major. He was on a partial academic scholarship, so he is an intelligent guy. In 2003, his freshman year, he hit .364 and broke Pat Burrell's school freshman RBI record (64). In 2004, as a sophomore, he missed 18 game with a strained rib cage that hindered his hitting, but still managed a .335 average with 10 home runs and 45 RBI in 45 games.

• Braun worked through the transition from shortstop to third base with A-Rod, the Miami resident and the New York Yankee who made the same move prior to the 2003 season. He had a number of conversations with the superstar, who uses the University of Miami facilities during the offseason.

  "He's been able to give me some helpful hints and pointers to help me out," said Braun, on everything to adjusting to new angles to fielding bunts.

  "He basically told me everything he went through, and it was a difficult transition for him, too," Braun said. "He understood what I was going through. That's been able to help me."

  JEWISH BACKGROUND

• Ryan is believed to be the highest-drafted Jewish player since Ron Blomberg was taken first overall in 1967.

• Braun has connections with two other Jewish baseball icons: Sandy Koufax was born Sanford Braun, but took his stepfather's name when his Mom remarried. And Braun's grandfather has lived for 40 years in a home once owned by Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg.

• Braun has a Jewish father and is the grandson of a Holocaust survivor.

• During the offseason before 2006 spring training, Baseball America rated Ryan as the third best prospect in the Brewers organization. And they moved him up to #2 in the Milwaukee farm system in the spring of 2007.

• Braun worked hard in the offseason before 2006 spring camp opened to improve his balance at the plate by taking yoga classes with Mike Lieberthal.

• Ryan is driven. On his way up, he wanted to be a star in the Majors yesterday. So he had to work at toning it down.

• In 2007 spring training, Braun's bat was impressive. In 11 exhibition games with the Brewers, he hit .353/.405/.912 with five homers and 15 RBIs in 34 at-bats. But Ryan also committed throwing errors in each of the two games before he was cut, running his camp total to four.

• In May 2007, when Ryan was promoted to the Majors, Brewers manager Ned Yost put him right into the #3 spot in the batting order. Yost had seen Braves manager Bobby Cox do the same with Chipper Jones for his big league debut. Yost affirmed that part of what makes Braun so good is his attitude.

  "Cockiness is all right," Yost said. "I would much rather tone down a player's confidence than try to build it up. It's really hard to build up a player's confidence and cockiness, his swagger. Braun has it."

• In 2007, Braun was named the NL Rookie of the Year in a very close vote, winning over Colorado SS Troy Tulowitzki by two points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

• The spotlight seems to work well for Braun. "For me, I grew up in Los Angeles, I went to college at Miami, I've always been really comfortable in the spotlight," he said. "It's something that I definitely enjoy. This right here, it doesn't get any better than this, it doesn't get any bigger than this, it's pretty cool."

  Braun is candid, witty, self-confident to the point of being brash but not obnoxious. These are traits that can work if the individual in question can play, which he obviously can.

  This All-Star experience for Braun, who is well-versed in baseball history, is unique and easily appreciated.

  "I appreciate the support that everybody has given me," Braun said. "It's unbelievable. The Milwaukee fans really got out there and voted. They're crazy for baseball right now."  (Mike Bauman/MLB.com)

• On June 12, 2009, Braun launched his new bat line "RB8" in conjunction with SAM BAT, the Original Maple Bat Corp., based out of Ontario, Canada. The "RB8" line will be affiliated with Good Sports and its "10,000 Swings" campaign, a non-profit organization that distributes sports equipment, footwear and apparel to disadvantaged youths. For every home run Braun hits this season, Sam Bats will donate 10 bats to that organization.

  "I love being a baseball player. I'm living my dream every day. But at the same time I don't ever want to be defined just by baseball. I have a lot of ambitions to succeed with all of my business ventures and other parts of my life," Braun said.

  He started a clothing line for men and women: Remetee, a "California Couture." It is stylish T-shirts.

  "I only get involved in things I believe in, companies that I think have the same ambition, same drive that I have," Ryan said. "I wouldn't get myself in something and put my name and reputation on the line unless I really believed in it and unless I was involved."

  Braun endorses CytoSport nutritional beverages, including Muscle Milk, a legitimate means for athletes to get an edge. He also decided to try his hand at the restaurant business.  (Tom Haudricourt-Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-March 2010)

• In 2010, Braun opened two restaurants in Wisconsin, Ryan Braun's Waterfront in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward and Ryan Braun's Tavern & Grill in Lake Geneva. In late 2010, Braun's Milwaukee location closed for remodeling and re-opened in April 2011 as Ryan Braun's Graffito, an Italian restaurant.

  In July 2012, Braun teamed up with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers to open a restaurant, 8-Twelve, in Brookfield, Wisconsin.

  The restaurants dropped Braun when he was suspended for using steroids.

• In 2011, Braun won the N.L. MVP after helping lead the Brewers to the their first division title in nearly 30 years. He  received 20 of 32 first-place votes and 388 points in voting announced by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

  Los Angeles center fielder Matt Kemp,  who came close to winning the Triple Crown, received 10 first-place votes and finished with 332 points. Braun's teammate Prince Fielder was third with 229 points.

  STEROIDS

• February 23, 2012: Braun was cleared, winning his appeal of a positive drug test and 50-game suspension because "the truth is on my side."

  "Today is for everybody who has ever been wrongly accused," he said at a news conference at the Brewers' training facility in Maryvale, Arizona. "The simple truth is that I'm innocent," the outfielder said, with his teammates sitting in the stands in uniform behind him. "The truth is always relevant and the truth prevailed."

  Braun tested positive on October 3 for elevated testosterone, and ESPN's "Outside The Lines" revealed the positive test in December. His case marks the first time a baseball player has successfully challenged a drug-related penalty in a grievance.

  Ryan's test was over three times higher than any testosterone test, ever. That raised questions. He had been tested three other times in 2012.

• After declaring his innocence for a year and a half, Braun came clean July 22, 2013 and accepted a suspension through the remainder of 2013 for violations of Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

• March 2013: Braun played for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

• 2013: Braun and Canadian model Larisa Fraser, were engaged to be married.

• July 11, 2013: Ryan was placed on the bereavement list due to a family medical issue.

• December 7, 2013: Ryan was married to model Larisa Fraser.

• Ryan and his wife, Larisa, welcomed the couple's first child, a daughter, Celine Elysse, on September 3, 2014.  

• September 5, 2014: Braun returned to work after spending the previous two days with wife Larisa and their newborn daughter.  

  "When I get here, my full focus is on the team and doing everything I can to contribute and help us win as many games as possible," Braun said. "When I'm at home, I'm figuring out how to be a father. It's certainly new to me."   

  The baseball schedule allowed dad to arrive in plenty of time to see the birth of the couple's first child. The Brewers were in Chicago when he got word he was needed back in Milwaukee, so Braun hustled home and missed games against the Cubs at Wrigley Field and the Cardinals at Miller Park.  

  "I was hoping I would be able to make it back, but it just didn't work out. Timing," Braun said. "Everything is OK. It was just a long labor."   He was thankful to be present.  

  "It's special, you know?" Braun said. "It's indescribably beautiful, a life experience unlike anything I've experienced before. Really special. It's incredible. Everybody is healthy and happy, and that's all I can ask for." (Adam McCalvy - MLB.com - 9/6/2014)    

• In August 2014, Braun and his wife, Larisa, helped Brewers Community Foundation unveil a "Growing Power" mosaic mural which is on display on the loge level Miller Park for the rest of this season. The mural will travel to schools throughout Wisconsin during the 2015-2016 school year as part of a program that teaches kids about healthy eating.   

  Braun also has made $25,000 donations to ARCW in support of families affected by AIDS, and in 2014 gave $25,000 in partnership with Brewers Community Foundation to support Make-A-Wish's 30th anniversary. Continuing a tradition he has upheld since 2007, Braun funded 15 scholarships in 2014 worth $1,000 apiece for students from the Greater Milwaukee area whose families face financial barriers to affording college. (McCalvy - mlb.com - 9/16/2014)

• Ryan and wife Larisa had their second child, a son named Greyson Joseph.  (9/20/2016)

• March 10, 2017: Braun finished the day with a strikeout and a walk. Jim Gallagher had two skinned knees and a keepsake.

  Braun played his first Cactus League game and provided only one highlight courtesy of Gallagher, an Army veteran from nearby Goodyear, Ariz., who attended the game with his son. Wearing a Carl Yastrzemski Red Sox jersey—No. 8, just like Braun—Gallagher half-tumbled, half-dove over the railing along the third-base line to retrieve Braun's bat after it slipped away and sailed through the air. Gallagher quickly turned the bat over to Brewers third-base coach Ed Sedar, but Braun waved and signaled Sedar to give it back.

  "That was an incredible effort," Braun said. "If ever somebody deserved a bat that almost went into the stands ... he earned that bat."

  Within minutes, another fan offered to buy the bat, but Gallagher declined before the man could mention a price. He gave it to his son, Joe, a straight-A student at Phoenix North High School and a White Sox fan. It was a rare occurrence. Braun's bats are slathered in pine tar, and he remembers only one or two other instances of one slipping from his hands and helicoptering into the stands.

  "I saw the bat coming at us and I thought, 'I'm going to reach for it and try to grab it,'" Gallagher said. "It was too far out, so I kind of dove. I acted like I was falling over the side. It was intentional, yeah. Look, my footprints are way out there." He added with a laugh: "My son was kind of embarrassed."

  They decided the bat will hang on Joe's bedroom wall.

  "Tell him thank you," Jim Gallagher said. "Tell him we are now going to follow the Milwaukee Brewers." (A McCalvy - MLB.com - March 10, 2017)

• It was Braun being Braun, at least when it comes to Spring Training. "My favorite Spring Training at-bat is a first-pitch lineout to center," Braun said. "Or even better, a first-pitch line-drive double-play. Because we're all in the business of saving time. We don't get paid by the hour.  I'm serious. I'm not kidding."  (McCalvy - mlb.com - 3/16/2017)

• Oct 19, 2017: If the Brewers try to move Braun to another team before the end of his contract, it's "in all likelihood" Dodgers or bust, he suggested in a radio interview. But if they someday decide to move him to a new position, the options are not as limited.

  "As long as they don't want to put me back at third, I'm in," Braun told Greg Matzek of WTMJ-AM, the flagship of the Brewers Radio Network. "I was never a big fan of third. I was really good at short, though. I always tell [manager Craig Counsell] that I can play shortstop, and I still actually really believe that.

  "If they want me to play first, if it's something that's going to help our team at any point, whether it's just for a few of games depending on what our personnel may be, I'm not opposed to it by any means. If they approach me with that, I'm open to it." For now, Braun is anchored in left field on a contract that guarantees $57 million through 2020.

  "Frankly, in Spring Training, there were some more discussions with the Dodgers, which is in all likelihood the only team I would approve a trade to at any point," Braun said, "and then once the season started, there were never any conversations about any of that stuff. For me, my goal is to focus on the season. Stay present, stay in the moment. As long as we're winning, I wouldn't imagine there would be a situation in which we would have those discussions again. So it was good to be in a position where we weren't having those discussions. We were having a good season and winning games."

  Braun, disappointed with his own limited contributions, did say he took pride in doing other things to help the Brewers surprise the baseball world by contending for a postseason spot until the penultimate day of the regular season.

  He said it was "very rewarding and fulfilling knowing how much I was able to help a lot of our young guys take a step forward, and figure out routines and processes that put them in a position to be successful. That allowed them to take steps forward in their career and be able to contribute to us having a better season than just about anyone anticipated us having. From a team perspective, that was very rewarding. But individually, I expect to be better and healthier next year." (A McCalvy - MLB.com - Oct 19, 2017)

• Nov 22, 2018: Braun had more than the usual reasons to give thanks as he helped the Brewers kick off the holiday season. Braun, visiting Milwaukee for what has become annual participation in the Brewers' Thanksgiving food drive, wore a shirt that read, "California Strong" and spoke of the wildfires that swept through his home state in recent weeks, including the Woolsey fire that forced his family to evacuate their Malibu residence. Two doors down, a house burned. Braun felt lucky that his home suffered only external damage from the flames and smoke damage inside.

  "We thought we had lost it at one point," Braun said. "We just feel incredibly grateful and fortunate that we will eventually have a house to go back to. There are things that happen that always put life in perspective. I'm thankful for the firemen, policemen, all the first responders. But at the same time, I just feel awful for so many friends and family members who lost their houses. A lot of friends from our kids' school lost their houses. The thought of having to completely start over is a really difficult thing, especially as you approach the holidays."

  Some friends impacted by the fire had just come to stay with the Brauns when the group, aware that winds were blowing the Woolsey fire toward Malibu, made the decision to evacuate. Ryan and his wife Larisa packed only a change of clothes or two and their wedding photos, since the rest of the car was full of necessities for the kids. His memorabilia, including items like the baseball from his first career hit and his 2011 MVP award, stayed behind.

  Only later did Braun return to retrieve the baseball and some other irreplaceable mementos. Their early decision proved wise, because Malibu eventually was subject to a mandatory evacuation, and the Pacific Coast Highway became jammed with traffic. For many residents, it was the only way to safety because of fires in the surrounding canyons.

  "The first time I got back to some of those areas and was able to drive through and see the devastation firsthand—it really does look like a scene out of a movie," Braun said. "It's apocalyptic."

  Where once there were lush, green lawns, Braun said, there was blackness. "It's heartbreaking," Braun said. Since evacuating, Braun, Larisa and their two young children have bounced around to his mother's, a friends' home and now a hotel. Meanwhile, Braun and some teammates have been working on ways to help. (A McCalvy - MLB.com - Nov 22, 2018)

• 2018: Braun had the highest current WAR (46.4) of any Brewers player.

• Parents play a huge role in a ballplayer's development, providing those special qualities that every kid needs as he's pursuing his dream.  Support. Encouragement. Advice. An ability to mash lefties.

  Wait, what?  "I do think that's something that's benefited me in my career," Ryan said.

  Ryan's dad, Joe, is a southpaw. He threw hours of batting practice to Ryan throughout Ryan's childhood, and all of those pitches from the left side had an effect—a positive one—on the Ryan.

  "I think it is one of the things that's helped me have success against left-handed pitchers in the Major Leagues," Braun said. "Every time we'd go out to the field, he'd be the one throwing me batting practice."

  Hard to argue with the theory, given Braun has a slash line of .318/.389/.600 vs. lefties. That .989 OPS against left-handers is fourth-best among active players, trailing only Giancarlo Stanton, Nolan Arenado, and Paul Goldschmidt.

  "I think he was a great coach—motivating and inspiring but tough when he needed to be," Braun said of his dad. "You learn so many life lessons through playing this game, and he instilled a lot of those things in me at a young age."  (Footer - mlb.com - 6/16/2019)

• Ryan got into business in downtown Milwaukee, investing along with teammate Christian Yelich in a Wisconsin Ave. real estate venture. Both players are investors in The Avenue, a project that includes a food hall, apartments, and office and retail space in the former Shops of Grand Avenue.

  “We started talking about it about two months ago,” Yelich said. “The more I become involved with things like this, it becomes more intriguing. You want it to do well. You want your city to do well. This was the type of thing that, once we started talking about it, it's something we became passionate about and wanted to see all the way through.” (McCalvy - mlb.com - 8/13/19)

• Entering the 2020 season, Braun is the WAR leader for the Brewers. 

• April 29, 2020: Best trash talker on the Brewers? Braun with out a doubt. 

  “He goes straight for the jugular,” said Gio Gonzalez when the topic of trash talking was raised last year. “And what are you going to say back to the guy? He’s got 18 years with the Brewers.”

  When Christian Yelich became MLB’s first player with 40 homers and 30 steals since Braun in 2012, Yelich was asked whether he was aware of the connection: “Um, he’s been telling us for a while now. Not just tonight or lately -- he’s been making that known for quite some time. I was probably younger than he was, right?”

  Braun happened to walk by at just that moment, and said of Yelich, “Most improved trash talker in the National League. When he came [to Milwaukee], he had a complete inability to talk trash. He’s improved on that more than anything.”

• Brewers biggest trash talker : “He goes straight for the jugular,” said Gio Gonzalez when the topic of trash talking was raised last year. “And what are you going to say back to the guy? He’s got 18 years with the Brewers.”

  When Christian Yelich became MLB’s first player with 40 homers and 30 steals since Braun in 2012, Yelich was asked whether he was aware of the connection: “Um, he’s been telling us for a while now. Not just tonight or lately -- he’s been making that known for quite some time. I was probably younger than he was, right?”

  Braun happened to walk by at just that moment, and said of Yelich, “Most improved trash talker in the National League. When he came [to Milwaukee], he had a complete inability to talk trash. He’s improved on that more than anything.” (MLB.com - Apr. 29, 2020)

• May 7, 2020: Braun’s competitiveness? It all comes from mom.

  If then-Brewers scouting director Jack Zduriencik wondered about the genetic basis for Ryan Braun’s competitive streak, he found out the night the Brewers introduced their 2005 first-round Draft pick to the Miller Park faithful. It was June 25 of that season, the night Prince Fielder and Rickie Weeks each hit their first Major League home runs in a win over the Twins at Miller Park. Braun signed his first pro contract earlier in the day, then watched the game from a suite with his mother, Diane, his father, Joe, and club officials. Zduriencik happened to learn that Diane Braun, besides literally being a brewer -- she had a long career at Anheuser-Busch -- was a marathoner, and Zduriencik mentioned offhand that had he known, he would have reserved a spot in the Sausage Race.

  “Not knowing anything about Milwaukee, I said, ‘The what?’” said Diane Braun, who has 12 marathons on her resume, including the prestigious Boston Marathon.

  The racing sausages were well-established as a staple of a day at the ballpark in the Brew City by then, beginning with their appearance on the County Stadium scoreboard in the mid-1990s and the occasional “live” appearance beginning in June 1993. In 2000, the live mascots raced on the field every day, and in 2005 there were four of them -- bratwurst, Polish sausage, Italian sausage and hot dog (the chorizo didn’t debut until 2006).

  “She grabs my arm,” he said, “and goes, ‘I want in!’”

  So, the Brewers made it happen. They found shorts and socks and running shoes that fit, and Zduriencik accompanied Diane down to the tunnel in the left-field corner, where the sausages warm up for the race, which now takes place after the sixth inning. Any number of other family members have run it over the years -- Braun’s wife, Larisa, is among them. Even some players have taken part, including Hideo Nomo and Geoff Jenkins. Diane Braun got her shot as the bratwurst that night. Racing against the college-aged veterans of the race who participate daily, she finished fourth.

  “She was pumped up about it,” Ryan Braun said. “It was the first time any of us had spent any amount in Milwaukee, and her running in the sausage race was one of the more memorable experiences of that day for me. If it was a longer distance, that’s her specialty.

  “Had it been two laps around the warning track, I’m very confident she would have won the race.”

  As it was, fans in the stands did not hold back in their criticism of the performance.

  ‘I brought up the rear so bad that the rest of them had finished and I was just rounding home plate,” Diane Braun said with a laugh. ‘My only goal was to stay upright.”

• Up in the suite, her son watched with a smile. Mom played a significant role in his baseball development, Ryan Braun said, including one notable construction project when Ryan was about 14 years old and younger brother Steve was 12. It was Diane Braun who built them a full-sized batting cage in the backyard of their Southern California home, a popular place for neighborhood kids and future high school teammates.

  And it was Diane Braun, according to Ryan, who kept the boys focused on school. Ryan Braun eventually turned down baseball scholarships to Stanford and Cal and instead went to the University of Miami on an academic scholarship.

  “I grew up with the most incredibly loving and supportive parents I could ever imagine having,” Ryan Braun said. “My mom set the bar almost impossibly high for what it is to be an incredible parent, and I strive to be half the parent to my children that she was to me.”

  Ryan and Larisa have two children of their own, with a third due May 24. But the memories of that first night at Miller Park remain clear.

  “I remember feeling enormous pride,” Diane Braun said. “It’s amazing to see everything your child has worked for come to fruition.” (A McCalvy - MLB.com - May 7, 2020)

            TRANSACTIONS

• June 2005: Braun signed with the Brewers for a $2.45 million signing bonus after they made him the first overall pick, out of the University of Miami. Larry Pardo is the scout who signed him.

• May 15, 2008: Braun agreed to the largest contract in Brewers' history—an eight-year, $45 million deal. The pact runs through 2015.

• April 21, 2011: Ryan and the Brewers agreed on a five-year, $105 million contract extension. He gets a $10 million signing bonus and will make salaries of $19 million in 2016-18, $18 million in 2019, $16 million in 2020. The mutual option for 2021 is worth up to $20 million with a $4 million buyout.

  It also includes at least $18 million in interest-free deferrals to be paid in equal installments each July 1 from the year 2022 through 2031. The deferrals were key to the deal—from both sides.

• Oct 29, 2020: Braun chose free agency. The Brewers had declined their half of 36-year-old Braun’s $15 million mutual option for 2021 and opted to pay him a $4 million buyout instead.

• Sept 14, 2021: Braun announced his retirement.

• Braun hits for both power to all parts of the park and a high batting average. He has a little uppercut in his powerful, smooth righthanded swing. It is not a textbook swing, but it works real well for Ryan. He is an aggressive hitter. The ball just jumps off his quick bat, thanks to quick hands.

• Ryan is a good bunter.

• His hands are so quick he can overcome the hitch in his swing, and a high, unconventional finish. He can really hit, exhibiting excellent bat speed. He stays on the ball as well as most anybody in the game.

  Watch his swing in slow motion. Look how it keeps going after he has made contact.

• Braun is patient at the plate and works the count, waiting for a pitch he can nail. He can stay in on breaking pitches. His strike zone knowledge is very good. He stays back on off-speed pitches.

  Ryan has an advanced approach at the plate. He looks to drive the ball to the opposite field, but is ready to nail a mistake pitch on the inner half. He turns on those inside pitches and has a knack for hitting to the opposite field.

• Braun is going to be a potent run producer for many years in the Major Leagues. He has all five tools.

• Ryan really knows how to hit a breaking ball. That is part of what makes him one of the game's best hitters.

• In 2007, Braun reached 20 home runs in 64 games—the fastest since Albert Pujols did it in 63 games in 2001. And Ryan was fastest to 25 and 30 home runs (82 and 94 games) since Mark McGwire (77 and 84) in 1986 and 1987.

• In 2007, Braun's .634 slugging percentage not only led the National League, it was the highest number for a rookie in Major League history.

  The .634 mark surpassed the .618 of the Oakland A's Mark McGwire in 1987. (In 1930, the St. Louis Cardinals' George Watkins slugged .621, but fell just short of the required 400 official at-bats with 391.)

  In what amounted to two-thirds of a season with Milwaukee, Braun hit 34 home runs with 97 RBI and 91 runs scored while hitting .324 in what some called a second coming of Albert Pujols, or even Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams as rookie sensations.

• In 2011, Ryan became a member of the 30/30 club (steals and home runs).

• Braun uses a high density, KB1 bat from the Ottawa-based Original Maple Bat Corporation, makers of the popular Sam Bat.

• In 2012, Braun became the only Major League player to score at least 100 runs and record at least 100 RBIs in each of the four seasons 2009 through 2012.

  And Ryan became just the ninth player to put together a 40/30 season (40 homers/30 stolen bases). Jeff Bagwell and Barry Bonds each did it twice. Braun was the first since Alfonso Soriano with the Nationals in 2006. 

• May 25, 2015: Braun's two-run homer left the bat at 113 mph and sailed 474 feet, over the bleachers and onto the concrete concourse that lines Miller Park. It was the most prodigious home run by a righthanded hitter in the 15-year history of Miller Park and the fourth-longest home run by any batter.

• August 19, 2015: Braun passed Robin Yount for sole possession of first place on the Brewers' all-time home run list with his 252nd career homer.

• September 3, 2015:  Braun became the 31st player in Major League history to post at least four seasons of 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases when he swiped second in a 5-3 win over the Pirates.

• April 19, 2016: Braun extended his own club record for Interleague RBIs and joined five other Major Leaguers at the century mark since 2007, the season Braun broke in with the Brewers. Miguel Cabrera leads the field with 117 RBIs since then, followed by Torii Hunter (108), Jose Bautista (107), Albert Pujols (104), with Braun and Alex Rodriguez at 100 RBIs apiece.

  April 19th marked Braun's 131st Interleague game, most in Brewers history over Geoff Jenkins' 119. Braun is the franchise leader in Interleague hits, extra-base hits, walks (Braun moved past Prince Fielder with a fourth-inning walk). Braun and Fielder are tied for the team record with 26 Interleague home runs.

• June 7, 2016:  Ryan became the fifth player to notch 1,500 hits for the Brewers with a six-inning infield single that almost wasn't. Braun's hotshot grounder caromed off Butler's glove, and official scorer Tim O'Driscoll was still reviewing the play to determine whether it was an error when the Brewers announced the milestone on the scoreboard. Braun doffed his batting helmet to the crowd.

• August 14, 2016:  Ryan became the third Brewer in history to record two games with at least 6 RBIs in a season— and did so within a nine-day span. He hit two homers and tied a career high by driving in seven on Aug. 7 and he blasted two more homers and drove in six on Aug. 14. The other two players accomplish the feat were Geoff Jenkins in 2001 and Jonathan Lucroy in 2012.

• Ryan's execution is manifested through routine—from the cage, to BP to the on-deck circle. The X-factor? His tee.

  Roughly 15 to 20 minutes before first pitch, for every game, Braun takes cuts from a tee, generating movement solely from his upper body, keeping everything below his waist motionless. The practice eliminates all external variables, such as pitch location, and allows him to consistently focus on his bat path and the trajectory of the ball.

  "He's developed this beautiful bat path that not many people have," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "It's a beautiful baseball swing, there's no question. It's known as a beautiful baseball swing. You'll see guys from other teams come to just watch him, watch him swing."

  It's the players within Braun's own clubhouse who are observing most intently. In 2017, with the Brewers seemingly far from contention, Braun has embraced his role as elder statesman. As Milwaukee marches toward the home stretch of a pennant race, with mostly youngsters but a few veterans sprinkled in, Braun says this has been one of his most fulfilling seasons.

  "Whenever he talks, everyone listens to him, because he has great advice," said Thames. "He's been around for 10 years. He's seen a lot of pitching. If you're around a veteran like that, he's been as good as he's been for a long time for a reason, so you want to pick his brain as much as you can."  (Kramer - mlb.com - 8/24/2017)

• September 8, 2017: Braun became the 145th player in Major League history to reach 300 home runs.

• April 19, 2018:  With a pinch-hit three-run homer in the Brewers' 12-3 win over the Marlins at Miller Park, Ryan reached 1,000 career RBI.

• Spring 2019 Improvements: Now 35, Ryan Braun is years past his dominant self. Yet the aging slugger is trying to set himself up to be a part of the Brewers' promising future. Specifically, Braun is doing something he's never done: changing his swing. And to do that, he's been using analytics.

  "Based on where my swing was at the beginning of the offseason, I've made some productive adjustments at least according to all of those (analytics)," Braun said at the Brewers' annual winter fan festival. (John Hand - Associated Press-Jan. 29, 2019)

• Aug 28, 2020:  Ryan Braun’s three-run home run in the Brewers’ power-packed 9-1 win over the Pirates was his 800th career extra-base hit, another milestone in a tangled but undoubtedly prolific career.

• Sept 16, 2020: Could this be the last of Ryan Braun's round numbers? Braun’s 350th home run was a three-run shot in the first inning of the Brewers’ 6-0 win over the Cardinals in Game 2 of a doubleheader, the big strike of a four-run frame that helped Milwaukee split the twin bill after a 4-2 loss in Game 1.

  The Brewers won three of five games against the Cardinals in this extended series to keep things close in the race for second place -- and a postseason berth -- in the National League Central. The Cardinals (22-23), Reds (25-26) and Brewers (23-26) are all within a game of each other as the most unique of Braun’s 14 Major League seasons hits the home stretch.

  “We've been in worse places with less games to play,” Braun said. 

• At 36 years old, there may be plenty of baseball left for Braun. But he turns 37 in November, has continued to battle the back and core issues that have dogged him in recent years and is in the final guaranteed year of the contract he signed with the Brewers way back in 2011. Braun has been open throughout '20, both pre-pandemic and since play resumed, that this could be his final season.

  Active MLB home run leaders1) Albert Pujols (LAA): 6602) Miguel Cabrera (DET): 4833) Edwin Encarnación (CWS): 4224) Nelson Cruz (MIN): 4175) Ryan Braun (MIL): 350

• While his legacy is debated, the numbers are the numbers. Five years after he surpassed Robin Yount as the Brewers’ franchise leader in home runs, Braun tied Chili Davis for 95th on MLB’s all-time home run leaderboard with his homer off Cardinals rookie Johan Oviedo on Wednesday.

  Depending how long Braun keeps hitting home runs and climbing up the board, some big names are just ahead:

  351: Dick Allen352: Ellis Burks353: Torii Hunter354: Luis Gonzalez and Lee May355: Greg Vaughn358: Yogi Berra and Carlos Lee359: Johnny Mize360: Gary Gaetti361: Joe DiMaggio

• The Brewers begin what could be Braun’s final series at Miller Park.

  “If the team was in a different position, I would probably take more time to reflect on that, personally,” said Braun, who is 11-for-30 with seven extra-base hits and four home runs so far this September. “But you just try to stay present at all times as you get late into a season like this because every game is of the utmost importance and significance.”

  No matter how 2020 turns out, does he have any better sense of whether he aims to play in ‘21?

  “Let's see what our world looks like at that time,” Braun said. “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.”

  The home run was the start of a productive night for Braun -- who also doubled in the third inning and was hit by a pitch in the fifth, a curious development given the contretemps of the previous night -- and for the Brewers, who have been inconsistent in their run-scoring, to say the least. Braun, for the record, didn’t think Oviedo hit him on purpose, and he said he didn’t quite understand St. Louis manager Mike Shildt’s comments the night before, hinting that Braun may have purposely hit Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina’s forearm with a swing.

  “I couldn't do that, literally, even if I tried, and I don't know any hitter that would or could do that intentionally,” Braun said. “Certainly, I would never want to see Yadi get hurt. He's always been one of my favorite players to compete against.”(A McCalvy - MLB.com - Sept 16, 2020)

• As of the start of the 2021 season, Braun had a career batting average of .296 with 352 home runs and 1,154 RBI in 6,622 at-bats.

• Ryan was becoming a pretty good defensive player at third base, but his hands, footwork, and reactions fall just a little short. He works hard at it, so expect improvement throughout his career. He is so athletic that he has adjusted real well.
• In 2008, his second year, Braun moved from third base to left field. He was a little stiff at third base, needing better footwork and range. But an opening in left field with the Brewers allowed Bill Hall to move to third base from center field . . . and make room for new arrival Mike Cameron.

• Research done by Jayson Stark of ESPN.com showed that only a handful of Rookie of the Year players moved to a new position the following year. And NONE of them moved completely to a new position.

  According to Stark's research, Braun is the only Rookie of the Year in Major League history to play just one position as a rookie and switch to a completely new position the next year.

• Randy showed good hands at third base and plenty of arm. He improved his footwork, putting himself in better position to throw. He also keeps his elbow up, giving him a better arm slot.

  But most of Braun's errors came on throws, because he tends to lead with his elbow.

• Braun credits Yankees third baseman and fellow University of Miami alumnus Alex Rodriguez for helping him make the switch from shortstop to the hot corner. A-Rod worked with Ryan when he was at Miami.

  "I went to the University of Miami and he lives really close to the campus, so during the offseason he was there working out with us, so he kind of took me under his wing and mentored me a little bit when I made the transition from shortstop to third base," said Braun. "Obviously, he had gone through the same thing," Braun said. 

• In the outfield, Braun plays close to the warning track and doesn't move much.

• Ryan has good speed and steals more than his share of bases. He is a plus runner.
• At one time, Ryan ran the 60-yard-dash in 6.6 seconds.
• Over his long career, Braun has always stolen more than his share of bases. (2019)

• 2004: A rib cage injury kept Braun out of 18 games for the University of Miami Hurricanes.

• August 22, 2005: Ryan was sidelined by a sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

• March 2007: A sore elbow sidelined Braun for part of spring training.

• April 30-May 18, 2007: Braun was on the D.L. with the Nashville Sounds because of tendinitis in his left wrist.

• March 13, 2008: Ryan Braun's right Achilles tendon kept him from joining his teammates on the two-hour bus trip from Phoenix to Tucson Electric Park.

• June 27, 2008: Braun was getting treatment for soreness in the meaty part of his right hand between his thumb and forefinger for about a week. Braun cannot trace the source of the injury, but believes he irritated a ligament on a swing during the Brewers' previous homestand.

• August 9, 2008: Ryan left a game with a strained intercostal (in his side). He even had trouble sleeping, even with the help of a muscle relaxer.

  "Every time I laugh or sneeze or cough or roll over, it’s pretty painful,” Braun said. “They said it could be something like if I irritated one of my vertebrae. Everything around it tightens up to compensate."

• March 15, 2009: Braun strained his right intercostal in Team USA's game in the World Baseball Classic. It is the same injury that kept him out of six games in the second half of the 2008 season and caused a dramatic drop in offensive production. But an MRI showed there was no structural damage.

• July 2, 2011: Ryan strained his left calf running to first base on an RBI groundout and was out of the lineup for quite a few games. An MRI revealed inflammation of a tendon behind the left knee, which is why Braun felt the injury both in his calf and his hamstring. It would be faster to heal, he said, if one of the larger muscles were the source of the discomfort.

• June 10-July 8, 2013: Braun was on the D.L. with sharp pain in his right hand caused by an inflamed nerve between his right thumb and index finger. It was Braun's first trip to the D.L. in his career.

• April 27-May 13, 2014: Ryan was suffering from an oblique strain, not an intercostal strain as originally believed, an MRI revealed.

  October 1, 2014: Braun had surgery to fix a nagging nerve problem near his right thumb. The injury contributed to Braun having one of the least productive full seasons of his career.

  Braun underwent a cryotherapy procedure on his right hand at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles. A specialist, Dr. Vernon Williams, inserted a needle at the base of Braun's right thumb to essentially freeze a troublesome nerve that forced Braun to alter his mechanics, rendering him to swing, as Braun put it, "one-handed."

• June 3, 2015: Braun had a procedure on his right thumb—a cryotherapy procedure involves an injection of subzero temperatures into a damaged nerve on the base of Braun's thumb. He had the same procedure done in October. He was only expected to be sidelined for five days or so.

• October 2015: Braun underwent arthroscopic back surgery in the off-season. The successful surgery relieved a herniated disk in his lower back.

• May 12-21, 2017: Braun was on the DL with left calf strain.

• May 26-June 27, 2017: The Brewers placed Braun on the 10-day disabled list with a calf injury. 

• May 14-24, 2018: The Brewers placed Braun on the 10-day disabled list with middle back tightness.

• June 20, 2018: Braun underwent cryotherapy on his troublesome right thumb in Los Angeles, a procedure he's occasionally undergone since 2014 to relieve nerve pain.

• July 8-21, 2018: Braun was on the DL with back strain.

• Sept 27, 2019: Ryan Braun said he expects to undergo an MRI to determine the severity of a strained left calf suffered in the opening game of the Brewers’ final regular-season series. Braun was hurt running to first base on a broken-bat RBI single in the first inning of the 11-7 loss at Colorado.

• July 20, 2020:  Brewers manager Craig Counsell expressed “concern” for the first time about Ryan Braun’s availability for Friday’s Opening Day, before Braun missed a sixth straight day of intrasquad action. 

  Braun told MLB.com via text message, “Just working through a slight oblique issue before I can play in games.”

  Braun further clarified that the issue is primarily his left side, and he tamped down speculation that his absence was somehow related to deliberation about whether to play this season.

  “I understand the speculation, but I have no plans to opt out. I’m 100% planning to play,” Braun said.

  July 30-Aug 11, 2020: Braun was on the IL with infected right index finger.

• Sept 30, 2020: Ryan Braun was removed in the first postseason game, with a recurrence of the back stiffness that bothered him down the stretch.

  The flareup occurred in the Brewers’ regular-season finale at St. Louis, manager Craig Counsell said.

  “We tried to give it a shot today and at some point it was a no-go,” Counsell said. “It happened in the field on a play that he made [on Sunday]. Kind of a different mechanism than the stuff that’s been bugging him.

  “I don’t know what [Thursday] will bring. You could call it day to day. I think everybody is at this point.”

• Oct 2, 2020: Braun exited the Brewers’ Game 1 loss after two at-bats with what was described on the broadcast as mid-back discomfort core injury. A day later, Braun elaborated, saying it was actually a left oblique strain suffered on a pair of defensive plays in St. Louis, starting with a Dexter Fowler fly ball that forced Braun to reach and twist in such a way that it disturbed that area.
  
  

  Three days later, he started Game 1 against the Dodgers in right field despite being “significantly compromised” and playing in what Braun described as “extreme pain.” He was tested again in the second inning, when Braun made a running catch of Will Smith’s fly ball and crashed into the wall. After exiting the game, Braun was examined by a Dodgers team doctor.