A great day for the Milwaukee Brewers has just turned painfully sour. Star outfielder Christian Yelich will miss the rest of the 2024 MLB season after deciding to undergo back surgery.
He broke the news on his X account (formerly Twitter) on Thursday evening, approximately two hours after the Brew Crew earned an exhilarating 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers to clinch the series. “An update I was hoping to avoid,” Yelich posted, along with a video f him detailing the unfortunate situation. “Be back stronger.”
The 2018 MVP is a major reason why Milwaukee (69-52) is cruising towards another National League Central title and has been a pleasant surprise this season. His absence is already being felt, as the club is only a couple games above .500 since he went on the injured list on July 24. He ends 2024 with a .315 batting average, 11 home runs, 21 stolen bases and a .909 OPS in 73 games.
Yelich initially opted to forego having a procedure and instead attempted to endure a rehab process, but as he explains, that option became infeasible. Surgery is set for Friday.
“It just got to the point where it wasn't getting better,” he said. “Tried everything I could, ran out of options and it came time to make a decision… It sucks. There's really no other way to put it. It's terrible, but it's part of sports. These things happen. You get hurt, you get fixed and you get back out there. {You} try to stay as positive as possible about it.”
The Brewers have weathered challenges before
The Brewers have overcome plenty of adversity since last offseason. They watched their longtime manager choose a divisional rival over them, traded ace Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles and were forced to infuse multiple wild cards into the lineup. And here they stand, nine games above the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals for first place in the NL Central.
Catcher William Contreras is on his way to another Silver Slugger award, 20-year-old outfielder Jackson Chourio is a Rookie of the Year candidate and right-handed pitcher Tobias Myers (also a rookie) has a 2.79 ERA through 17 starts. But Christian Yelich is Milwaukee's anchor.
Beyond posting robust numbers, the three-time All-Star and two-time batting champion offers a crucial veteran presence in a fairly young clubhouse. He is a respected leader who carries his share of postseason experience. The Brewers' cushion should be big enough to withstand this bad news, particularly because it is mid-August, but their offense is undeniably vulnerable without No. 22 in the lineup. The potential is clear, however.
It is time to dig even deeper
Pat Murphy's crew scored 34 runs in a three-game road series against the Atlanta Braves last week and got the job done in each of the least two games. Chourio and Contreras both homered on Thursday and spurred an eighth-inning rally that resulted in a comeback win versus the Dodgers.
Although the Yelich update is difficult to accept, it is somewhat fitting that this bombshell drops after one of Milwaukee's best victories of the year. The team's talent, chemistry and scrappy nature still makes it a formidable foe that the rest of the league cannot afford to underestimate. Yelich has faith that the Brewers will put the finishing touches on an eventful season.
“It's a great group of guys, they're playing extremely well and I'm happy to watch them and see what they're going to do,” he said. “And hopefully they can win the division, get into the playoffs, and once you're in the postseason who knows what's going to happen.”
The Brewers' road to the World Series just got much bumpier, but it is not closed. They must draw motivation from their injured star and continue to defy the odds.
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