Brewers' Braun mines first Silver Slugger Award

Had Ryan Braun not had to endure a ribcage injury during the final six weeks of the 2008 season, there's no telling what his final offensive numbers would have been.

As it was, the Milwaukee Brewers' leftfielder was productive enough to win his first Silver Slugger Award. Those awards, given annually to the top offensive performers at each position in both leagues, were announced Thursday.

Braun, who will be 25 on Monday, was named to the National League outfield with St. Louis' Ryan Ludwick and Colorado's Matt Holliday, who was traded to Oakland earlier in the week.

"It's certainly an honor to be included with those two guys because they had phenomenal years," said Braun, reached in Puerto Rico while on a sponsor trip with other major-leaguers.

"Whenever you get an award at the end of the year, it means you were consistent during the season and helped your team win. It means a lot to me."

The awards, sponsored by Louisville Slugger, were determined by a vote of major-league coaches and managers who selected players they thought were the best offensive producers at each position. Selections were based on a combination of statistics including batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, as well as general impressions of a player's overall offensive value.

In 151 games, Braun batted .285 with 37 home runs and 106 RBI, with 39 doubles, seven triples and a .553 slugging percentage. He ranked first in the NL with 83 extra-base hits, second with 338 total bases, tied for fourth in homers, was fifth in slugging percentage and tied for ninth in RBI.
Braun did all of that while playing since late August with an intercostal strain near his ribcage, which affected his swing and limited him to a .208 batting average in September with only three homers and 11 RBI.

Still, it was Braun's two-run, eighth-inning homer on the final day of the season that propelled the Brewers to a 3-1 victory over Chicago and the NL wild-card playoff berth.

"Injuries are a part of the game but it was definitely frustrating," said Braun, only the third Brewer to win a Silver Slugger Award since 1990. Outfielder Carlos Lee won in 2005 and first baseman Prince Fielder won in 2007.

"If I was 100%, my numbers probably would have been a little better. There's nothing I can do about that."

Braun said the intercostal strain has completely healed but he has pushed back his off-season program a month to early December to provide more rest and be stronger entering spring training.

"I talked to some other players on this trip, like Ken Griffey Jr., and they said they do their baseball stuff a little later," Braun said. "They said it helps you stay stronger through the end of (the next season)."

(jsonline.com)