Favorite Brewers of All Time - Aaron Region Rd. 1
Voting continues in Round 1 of the NCAA Bracket Tournament designed to determine who are your Favorite Milwaukee Brewers of All Time. It's a field of 64, but some players aren't included per our guidelines.
1) Robin Yount and Paul Molitor are not included in the brackets to create a more even playing field.
2) Only players are involved in the competition (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.
If you'd like all the details of where this tournament is coming from, check out this article that includes the George Scott Region.
This has the details for voting in the Hank Aaron Region. Keep in mind, you're only voting for winners in the first round.
Once the results are in, we'll move to the 2nd round of voting, because not all of the guys you vote for will advance. We've had big upsets in the past.
Voting for the Hank Aaron Region, First Round will close on Monday, March 7 at 9pm (CT). The eventual winner of this region will face the winner of the Scott Region in the Final Four.
You can vote in a few different ways.
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 Hank Aaron Region of the bracket at the bottom of this article. Once all the regions are opened for voting, we'll release the full 64-player bracket. Check out the matchups and brief player bios below. Happy voting!
Nicknamed "The Icon," Cirillo hit .307 in his 8 years in Milwaukee, highest in club history. He had 97+ runs in 3 separate years, and 80+ RBI 3 times. From '96-'99 he averaged 40 doubles (back-to-back with 46) and an .849 OPS. A solid defender at 3B, he ranks 6th among Brewers in career WAR at 26.2 in Milwaukee.
A local kid from Green Bay, Wickman racked up 79 saves for the Brewers - tied for 5th in franchise history. He earned 37 saves in '99, the 7th-most by a Brewer. The next year he pitched a perfect inning in the All-Star game before getting dealt to Cleveland in the Richie Sexson trade.
Lezcano was a nice player his first few years, but broke out in '79 with 28 HR, 101 RBI and a .987 OPS - 6th-best for a Brewer. He won a Gold Glove that season and garnered MVP votes. He also hit a walk-off grand slam on Opening Day 1980, and was traded as a piece to get Rollie Fingers, Ted Simmons and Pete Vuckovich.
Jaha had trouble staying healthy, only playing 90+ games twice in 7 seasons. He hit 34 HR with 118 RBI, 108 runs and a .941 OPS in '96. In '95 he blasted 20 HR with a .968 OPS in just 88 games. Jaha is 7th in club history in OPS (.824) and 9th in SLG (.463).
Bosio had some strong seasons, but never went to the next level. He had a 2.95 ERA in 234.2 IP (8 complete games) in '89, with a career-high 3.6 K/BB rate. In '92, he was 16-6, going 11-2 with a 2.25 ERA in 13 of his last 14 starts. He is 3rd all time among Brewers' pitchers with an 18.6 WAR.
An All-Star in '98, Vina scored 101 runs with 39 doubles, a .386 OBP and an .813 OPS - all career highs. He's tied for the single-season club record for hit-by-pitches (25) and is the toughest guy to strikeout in franchise history. Vina may be best known for taking an Albert Belle forearm shiver.
He only pitched 1.5 seasons for the Brewers, but led Milwaukee to a franchise-record 96 wins in 2011 with an MLB-best 10.5 K/9 (Brewers' record). Greinke went 25-9 with Milwaukee, including a perfect 15-0 at Miller Park. His honest assessments ("a lot of guys don't like Chris Carpenter") further endeared him to the fan base.
Going 17-11 with a 3.33 ERA in '92, Navarro helped the Brewers to 92 wins and the doorstep of the playoffs. Many thought that year would push him to near ace status, tossing 246 innings and 3 shutouts with a career-best 8.2 H/9. He's tied for 9th in club history with 6 shutouts.
The big Australian played his entire 8-year career in Milwaukee, starting at catcher and moving around to avoid injury. He retired at 30 years old following his lone All-Star appearance in '99 when he had a .400 OBP, .554 SLG and a .954 OPS. He's top 10 all time among Brewers in AVG (.285), SLG (.461) and OPS (.817).
Slaton has the most shutouts in club history (19), ranks 2nd in complete games (69) and 4th in strikeouts (929) among Brewers' pitchers. He has also allowed the most walks, hits and earned runs while accumulating the most losses as he's thrown the most innings in team history (2,025.1), 400+ more than 2nd on the list.
The AL Cy Young in 1982, Vuckovich went 18-6 with a 3.34 ERA. One of the toughest pitchers you'll meet, he was no stranger to dust-ups and battled through shoulder injuries. He was 32-10 between '81-'82 with a 3.44 ERA, despite relatively few strikeouts. Vuckovich added to his lore by portraying the Yankees' Clu Haywood in "Major League."
Moose had a fairly average start to his career, though he won 16 games as a 24-year-old in 1980, posting a 3.10 ERA in 252.1 frames. He then went 13-3 with a 3.27 ERA in '83, giving fans hope he'd turned the corner for good. But his career plateaued and he battle injuries, retiring at age 31.
A valuable utility man, Loretta hit .316 with a .382 OBP and .806 OPS in '98 while playing 5 different positions. The next year he collected 34 doubles and scored 93 runs as he gained popularity. His .289 career average as a Brewer ranks 7th, and he pitched a scoreless inning in '01 with 2 K's.
As a 23-year-old, Sveum looked poise to be a top shortstop as he hit 25 HR and 27 doubles with 95 RBI and 86 runs in 1987. On Easter Sunday that year, he hit a walk-off 2-run HR to push Milwaukee to 12-0, giving him legend status already. Unfortunately, he severely broke his leg in '88, missed all of '89 and never was the same.
Lucroy's success and personality have made him popular. An All-Star in '14, he set the MLB record for doubles as a catcher (46), while leading the league with 53 overall (franchise record). From '12-'14 he hit .297 with an .831 OPS. He's also recognized as one of the best catchers at framing pitches and blocking balls.
The 1st overall pick in '85, Surhoff played 9 seasons in Milwaukee. Below average most of the time, he hit 38 doubles in '93, then combined to hit .306 with a .368 OBP and an .858 OPS in '94-'95...but in only 157 total games. His surly personality didn't help matters, either.