Brewers Legend Gets Expected Bad News on Hall of Fame Pursuit

Hall of Fame voting results dropped on Tuesday night, and there was one name on the ballot this year that mattered the most to Milwaukee Brewers fans.

Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones, two center fielders the Brewers faced often in the 2000s, both were elected this year after receiving the necessary 75% of the vote. Beyond the 75% mark, the most important threshold eligible players have to clear is 5%, because without it, the player falls off the ballot the following season.

That was the fate that ultimately befell Brewers great Ryan Braun, who won't return to the writers' ballot in 2027 after receiving just 15 total votes, or a 3.5% vote share in his first year of eligibility.

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Braun's career tarnished by steroid connection

Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun (8) walks back to the dugout after striking out in the first inning of the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Milwaukee Brewers at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020. The Reds gave up an early lead to lose 3-2. Milwaukee Brewers At Cincinnati Reds | Sam Greene/The Enquirer via Imagn Content Services, LLC

At the end of the 2012 season, Braun was on a great pace to make the Hall of Fame someday. He racked up All-Star appearances and Silver Slugger Awards in five straight seasons, peaking in 2011 with his Most Valuable Player campaign (which is still one of the most debated races in the history of the award).

But in 2013, Braun was suspended in the middle of the season after admitting to performance-enhancing drug use in the wake of the Biogenesis scandal. Not only did that completely tarnish his public image, but he never truly became the same player again.

Braun made one more All-Star team in 2015, but his best bWAR total in a single season after the suspension was 4.4, his sixth-best career total. After his age-32 season concluded, he played four more seasons, but only totaled 3.5 bWAR to bring his career number to 47.2.

Had there never been a steroid suspension, Braun's counting numbers falling just shy of 50 bWAR and 2,000 hits might have kept him out of the Hall, but there might have been room for debate. He also finished with 352 home runs and an .891 OPS (134 OPS+).

In Milwaukee, Braun typically receives a warm reception when he returns to American Family Field. But unless the sport's relationship to its steroid users changes dramatically by the time he's up for the contemporary baseball era or veterans committees, it's hard to imagine him ever being enshrined in Cooperstown.

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