Favorite Brewers of All Time NCAA Bracket - Scott Region
For those of you who have read my articles/posts for the past couple of years, then you may know that we've twice run a "Most Despised Brewers of All Time" tournament bracket. It was fun - a bit intense at times - and it brought about some interesting findings.
The first bracket confirmed our suspicions as Gary Sheffield took the crown as the most despised Brewer ever. He was immediately enshrined in the Brewers' Hall of Shame.
Others made a strong push that first season (2013), including catcher Johnny Estrada. The portly backstop was a 7-seed who rode Cinderella's slipper past top-seed Jeff Suppan and into the Final Four.
The other pair of Final Four participants were goggled closer, Eric Gagne and much-maligned manager Ned Yost. Of course, Yost has gotten his revenge the last 2 seasons in Kansas City - but that doesn't change how he was as a skipper in Milwaukee.
So, Sheff was the inaugural Hall of Shame member, and the other 3 noted above went into the "Walk of Dishonor Wing" to separate them from the truly despised.
Last year, the 2nd installment of the Most Despised Brewers bracket, saw Wendy Selig-Prieb take down Suppan in the championship to join Sheffield. Suppan, along with Davey Lopes and Jeffrey Hammonds, went into the Walk of Dishonor as Final Four contestants.
If you'd like to see some details on the pair of Hall of Shame members and the 6 Walk of Dishonor recipients, you can check it out here (BrewersMix.com) where I used to write.
Now with all that said, despite the many compliments received for doing these brackets, there were numerous requests to discover the most beloved Brewers of all time. So...here we are.
For this project, we decided to lay out a few ground rules for eligibility.
1) Robin Yount and Paul Molitor are not included in the brackets to create a more even playing field.
2) Unlike the Most Despised tournament, we only have players involved (no managers, GMs, etc.).
3) To be in the bracket, the player must have been with the Brewers in 1980 or later. While there may be some favorites from the 70's alone, at some point it's just "too long ago."
So with that, the four regions are named for players not eligible for the tourney: Yount, Molitor, Hank Aaron and George Scott.
Forgive me if we failed to include your favorite player in the bracket, as everyone has their own reasons for loving a player. We tried our best to encapsulate the different guys who fans seemed to enjoy the most.
We also looked to incorporate a fair amount of Brewers from the different eras, understanding that the 80's have a special appeal, the 90's were tough on actual success, and the 2000's have a mixed bag. Still, there were favorites all over the place.
In terms of seeding, the process included attempting to create interesting matchups and potential upsets at times. Although, overall, the goal was still to put the perceived favorites as the higher seeds throughout. Again, there is plenty of subjectivity with it.
The winner of the tourney will be bronzed with a statue outside Miller Park to join Yount, Aaron, Bob Uecker and Bud Selig. Of course, one vital player still doesn't have a statue in Milwaukee - which is egregious.
Anyway, the other 3 Brewers who reach the Final Four will be enshrined in the Fan Favorite Hall of Fame, complete with bios and plaques.
So without further ado, you can find the George Scott Region below, including some short blurbs on their careers in Milwaukee.
You will vote for only the first round right now, and the player that gets the higher percentage among all voters will advance to Round 2. Again, only vote for the first round as you don't know who will advance. We've had some 15 over 2 and 14 over 3 upsets in the past.
Voting for the First Round of the George Scott Region will close on Saturday, March 5 at 10pm (CT). You can vote in a few different ways (sorry, I don't have access to polls).
Twitter: Tweet me your answers @Tim_Muma
Facebook: Send me a message via Facebook (www.facebook.com/Tim.J.Muma)
Email: Send your answers to tim.j.muma@gmail.com
You can find the full George Scott Region of the bracket at the bottom of this article. Enjoy the trip down memory lane and happy voting!
Fielder lived up to the hype in his 7 seasons in Milwaukee. He holds the Brewers' top 2 spots in single-season HRs with 50 and 46 HR. He also has the most RBI in franchise history in a season (141) when he led the league in '09, and he has the highest career OPS for the Brewers (.929).
Fans were drawn to Jones as he looked like a guy you'd find at the bar. His repertoire included throwing slow, slower and slowest. Still he managed to rack up 36 saves (in 38 chances) in 1997 at the age of 40, good for 9th in club history. Jones had 160 K and 34 BB in 4 seasons in Milwaukee.
Traded to the Brewers in 1996, Burnitz averaged 33 HR, 32 doubles, 92 runs and 102 RBI in his 5 full seasons in Milwaukee. An All-Star in '99, Burnitz owns the 4th-best slugging percentage (.508) and OPS (.870) all time for the Brewers.
A solid, reliable shortstop with pop, Hardy was part of the last big wave of prospects. He was an All-Star in '07 with 26 HR, 30 doubles and 82 RBI after missing most of 2006 with injury. In '08, he played an integral part in pushing the Brewers to the playoffs with an .821 OPS and 4.7 WAR (both career highs).
A battle of popular first basemen, Sexson had the edge in power with a pair of 45 HR seasons, which were tied for the most in Brewers' history until Fielder. In 4 seasons, Sexson owned a .536 slugging percentage and .902 OPS (both 3rd in team history) and was a back-to-back All-Star ('02, '03). Overbay didn't match Sexson's numbers, but he had a strong fan club ("Ohhhhhhhhhh"). He led the league in doubles in '04 with 53, tied with Jonathan Lucroy for the franchise record. His first stint in Milwaukee lasted 2 years when he owned an .840 OPS.
Playing with a youthful exuberance and flair, Gomez was one of MLB's best in '13-'14. Gomez won a Gold Glove (1st for Milwaukee since '82), was a 2-time All-Star, and was 9th in MVP in '13. He has the 2nd-best single-season WAR in club history (8.5) and was the top defensive CF in Brewers' history.
Deer was the ultimate slugger with tremendous power and whiffs. From '86-'88 Deer averaged 28 HR, 84 RBI and an .805 OPS. He led the AL in K's in '87 and '88, but also walked 333 times in 5 years. He's most remembered for his 3-run, game-tying HR in the 9th inning on Easter Sunday in '87.
In Oglivie's 9 seasons with the Brewers he was a 3-time All-Star, led the league in HR with 41 in 1980, and posted an .806 career OPS in Milwaukee (.925 in '80). He sits in the top 10 of many all-time Brewers' categories and hit 34 HR with 102 RBI in the Brewers' only World Series season.
Ramirez joined the Brewers after their latest playoff run and looked to fill the void left by Fielder. He had a league-best 50 doubles in '12, adding 27 HR, 92 runs, 102 RBI and a .905 OPS to earn MVP votes. An All-Star in '14, he's 7th in SLG and 10th in OPS all time in club history.
Perhaps seeded too high having played half of a season in Milwaukee, Sabathia took over in '08. He went 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA, 3 shutouts, 7 complete games, a 1.003 WHIP and a near no-hitter. He finished 6th in MVP voting and carried the Brewers to their first postseason in nearly 3 decades.
Hall was a valuable utility man for most of his Brewers' career, but broke out with 35 HR, 39 doubles, 101 runs and an .899 OPS starting at shortstop for the injured Hardy in '06. The belief was that Bill Hall wins games, though things went downhill quickly. May be best known for his pink bat walk-off HR.
Hart was solid in Milwaukee, surprisingly consistent in a handful of different roles in 9 years. Twice an All-Star, Hart had an .824 OPS - 7th-best in club history. Hart is in the Brewers' top 10 in OPS, SLG, doubles and triples. In his 7 full seasons, he averaged 24 HR, 33 doubles and 81 runs.
The Brewers twice signed Seitzer during the season after he was released by other teams. He hit exactly .300 (5th all-time for Brewers) with a .376 OBP in 5 seasons. He was a key piece of the '92 club, hitting 35 doubles with 74 runs and 71 RBI. He added an All-Star nod in 1995 as well.
It's not a stretch to call Coop the 3rd-best Brewer ever as he ranks 3rd in hits, runs, total bases and doubles, while ranking 2nd in RBI. He was a 5-time All-Star and 2-time Gold Glove winner to go with 7 seasons of a .300+ average. Cooper also had one of the biggest hits in team history in the '82 ALCS.
The speedy outfielder came out of nowhere to swipe 43 bags and score 100 runs in his first year in 2003. Pods hit .314 with a .379 OBP and an .822 OPS to finish 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting. The next season he led MLB with 70 steals, but his OBP fell to .313 and he was traded after the season.