Project Baseball 1976: 1976 Topps #316

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Robin Yount was a first round (3rd overall) draft pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 1973. The two players taken before Yount were David Clyde and John Stearns. Dave Winfield was drafted immediately after Robin. Yount spent the last part of the 1973 season playing A ball for Newark and batted .285 in 64 games as a 17-year-old.

Robin was brought up to the Brewers in 1974. He played in 107 games (102 of them starts) and batted .250 in 344 at bats. Robin's defensive stats weren't very impressive in his first few seasons. From 1974-1980 his fielding percentage was at or below league average every year except one. Over time he became an average to above-average fielding shortstop and in 1982 won a Gold Glove at the position.

In 1975 Yount batted .267 in 147 games. He became the Brewers' regular shortstop that year and would remain so until he was moved to center field in 1985. Robin led the AL in games played (161) in 1976 and batted .252. Yount had his first good offensive season in 1977. He batted .288 with 34 doubles in 605 at bats. He batted .293 with 9 homers and 71 RBI in 1978 and was starting to develop some power. Yount stirred up some controversy in the spring of '78 when he said that he would retire and play professional golf rather than be underpaid by the Brewers. The Brewers met his salary demands and he remained with them for his entire 20-year career. In 1979 Robin took a step back, batting .267 with 26 doubles in 149 games.

The 1980s were Robin Yount's decade. He was MVP twice (1982 and 1988) and was an All Star three times (1980, 1982, 1983). The weight training Robin was doing finally paid off as he became a power hitter.

In 1980 Robin led the AL with 49 doubles and batted .293 with 23 HR and 87 RBI. Yount had his weakest season of the 80s in 1981 when he batted .273 with 15 doubles and 10 homers in 96 games. He batted .316 in five games in the ALDS.

Yount's best year was 1982. He led the AL with 210 hits, 46 doubles, and a .578 slugging percentage. Robin batted .331 and had 12 triples, 29 homers, 114 RBI, and 129 runs scored. He batted .250 in the ALCS and batted .414 in the World Series.

Robin led the AL with 10 triples in 1983 and batted .308 with 17 HR and 80 RBI. He was selected to his third and final All Star Game. Oddly, he wasn't an All Star in 1989, his second MVP season.

Yount continued to have consistenly good seasons throughout the rest of the 1980s. Except for a .277 season in 1985, he batted .298 or better every year from 1984-1989. He was generally in the teens in home runs (except for 1986 when he hit nine). In 1988 Robin led the AL with 11 triples and 162 games played. Yount narrowly beat out Ruben Sierra to win his second MVP award in 1989. He batted .318 with 21 HR and 103 RBI that year. Due to a shoulder injury Robin was moved from shortstop to center field in 1985.

Robin continued to play as the regular center fielder through the 1993 season. He got his 3000th hit on September 9, 1992. Robin retired after the 1993 season holding many Milwaukee team records. He was the last Brewer to have been a teammate of Hank Aaron, who played for the Brewers in 1975 and 1976.

Yount was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1999. He did some coaching after his playing career, serving as first base coach and bench coach for Bob Brenly of the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2002-2004. Yount was Ned Yost's bench coach in Milwaukee in 2006 and helped Dale Sveum in 2008 by being his bench coach at the end of the season.

Liked to face: Dave Lemanczyk (.526 in 38 AB); Mike Flanagan (.443 in 79 AB); Danny Darwin (.439 in 41 AB)
Hated to face: Don Hood (.111 in 27 AB); Roger Erickson (.121 in 33 AB); Greg Swindell (.138 in 29 AB)

Project Baseball 1976