Milwaukee Brewers star Ryan Braun hasn't played in 2021, and Tuesday morning he officially announced his retirement from Major League Baseball.
Braun made a video for the official announcement:
Today, more than 14 years after I first took the field as a Milwaukee Brewer, I’ve decided to retire. While it’s impossible to summarize my emotions, what I feel most is one, simple thing – gratitude.
I just wanted to take a moment to say ‘thank you’.
– Ryan Braun pic.twitter.com/pQxuW9qk1z
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) September 14, 2021
Ryan Braun spent his entire 14-year career with the Brewers and is one of the best hitters in franchise history. He was initially drafted by the club with the fifth overall pick of the 2005 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Miami.
Braun made it to the big leagues in 2007 and won Rookie of the Year. He quickly blossomed into one of the most dominant hitters in all of baseball, going to six straight All-Star Games from 2008-13. During this stretch, the outfielder won MVP once, finished second in MVP voting once and third once.
Ryan Braun did come under scrutiny for the usage of performance-enhancing drugs and was actually suspended for a good chunk of the 2013 MLB season because of it. His performance did dip after his return from the suspension, but he did make one more All-Star Game in 2015 and was still a solid player, even if he wasn't quite as fearsome as he used to be.
The slugger finishes his career with 352 home runs, 1,154 RBI and a slash line of .296/.358/.532. He's first on the Brewers‘ all-time list in career home runs, second in doubles, extra base hits and RBI, and third in runs scored, hits, triples, walks, stolen bases, slugging percentage and OPS.[