Robin Yount
The last of a dying breed, the Brewers' Robin Yount spent his entire twenty year career with one team in the same city. He won Most Valuable Player Awards at two different positions, became the first player to have two four-hit games in a single World Series, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Yount accomplished all of this after nearly giving up the game at the age of 22 to become a professional golfer. |
Full bio ⇓
| Career Batting Stats |
| G |
AB |
H |
R |
HR |
RBI |
SB |
AVG |
SLG |
OBP |
OPS |
OPS+ |
| 2856 |
11008 |
3142 |
1632 |
251 |
1406 |
271 |
.285 |
.430 |
.342 |
.772 |
106.8 |
|
Where does Robin Yount rank among baseball greats?
Robin Yount ranks #5 among the Top 50 all-time at SS. Rankings ⇒
Best Season: 1982
Everything came together for the Brewers and Yount in '82. A mature hitter at age 26, Yount led the AL in hits (210), doubles (46), slugging (.578) and several other offensive categories. He finished one point behind Willie Wilson for the batting title (.331). Every evaluative method for offense pointed to Yount as the best player in all of baseball that year. He led in runs scored (139), batting runs (59), OPS (.962) and was second to Dwight Evans in Total Average (.969). Yount led the Brewers to their first AL pennant. He won the MVP, The Sporting News Player of the Year Award and a Gold Glove.
Full Bio
Originally a scrawny shortstop, Yount built himself into a line-drive hitter who helped set the trend later adopted by shortstops like Cal Ripken, Barry Larkin, Alex Rodriguez, and Nomar Garciaparra. The Brewers drafted him third in 1973 – the Rangers taking David Clyde and the Mets selecting John Stearns in front of him. In 1974, at the age of 18, he became the Brewers regular shortsop, thus becoming one of the youngest everyday players in history. In 1975 teammate Henry Aaron called him the best prospect in baseball.
That talent was not an accident. Yount’s older brother Larry was a longtime minor league pitcher who appeared in one game for the Astros in 1971. Robin had grown up with his two older brothers in California, where the family had moved when he was one year old. Yount had been born in Danville, Illinois. Prior to his selection by the Brewers in the draft, Robin declined a scholarship from Arizona State to play baseball.
An excellent athlete, in the spring of 1978 Yount quit baseball to attempt a professional golf career. Though he was a superb golfer, the experiment only lasted a few months before he was back in the lineup for the Brewers. Yount displayed his love for the vigorous life all through his career – racing motor bikes, go-carts and automobiles despite the concerns of Milwaukee management that he would break his neck – or worse. When he retired in 1993 he drove a motorcycle around the field after his last home game.
In 1982, Yount won the MVP award as he became the first shortstop to lead the AL in slugging and total bases. After a tight playoff race, he led Milwaukee into the World Series against the Cardinals, with whom the Brewers had made a blockbuster trade just a year earlier. In the Series Yount hit .414 and collected four hits in two games. He an Paul Molitor almost carried the team to the victory, but the Redbirds prevailed in seven games.
Molitor and Yount were teammates for 15 seasons beginning in 1978. They formed one of the most productive duos in baseball history. Though Molitor moved on and won a World Series title with Toronto, Yount never attained the pinnacle team reward.
In 1989, Yount won his second MVP, this time as a center fielder, a position he had assumed in 1985. Yount became the third man to win the award at two different positions, joining Hank Greenberg and Stan Musial. His 1,479 games at shortstop and 1,150 games in center field are the most by a player at two positions.
Yount was a model of consistency in the clubhouse and on the field in his two decades as a player. He was on the disabled list only three times in his career. He gave no quarter and he asked for none. He had no room for players who didn’t hustle or weren’t concerned with winning. A scout summed up his level of consistency when he mentioned late in Yount’s career that he had been clocking Robin from home to first since he was a rookie and he had never been faster than 4.1 or slower than 4.2 seconds.
Born
Robin R Yount was born on September 16, 1955, in Danville, IL.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Major League Debut
4 5,
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1974
Robin Yount
Gary Carter
Jim Rice
Keith Hernandez
Fred Lynn
Jim Sundberg
Kent Tekulve
Dennis Leonard
John Montefusco
Throughout his career Milwaukee fans called him “Rockin Robin” and his teammates knew him simply as “Kid.” Owner Bud Selig placed him alongside Aaron as his favorite player of all-time.
Similar Players
Alan Trammell, Cal Ripken Jr., Craig Biggio
Related Players
Paul Molitor, Jim Gantner, George Brett, Nolan Ryan
| Hall of Fame Voting |
| Year |
Election |
Votes |
Pct |
| 1999 |
BBWAA |
385 |
77.5% |
|
Post-Season Appearances
1981 American League Division Playoffs
1982 American League Championship Series
1982 World Series
Awards and Honors
1982 AL Gold Glove
1982 AL MVP
1989 AL MVP
Milestones
On September 9, 1992 Yount collected his 3,000th hit – a sharp single to right field off Cleveland’s Jose Mesa. A few weeks later Yount’s longtime rival and friend George Brett reached the same goal.
Milestones
- September 9, 1992: 3000th Hit... Yount's 3,000th hit was a single off of reliever Jose Mesa.
Batting Feats
Hitting Streaks
18 games (1980)
16 games (1976)
All-Star Selections
1980 AL
1982 AL
1983 AL
Other stories on the Web about Robin Yount
Yount set to return to Brewers ⇒
Learn More about Robin Yount
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