Ryan Braun did not return to the Milwaukee Brewers this season after the team declined to exercise his player option, and the slugger has now decided to call it a career.
The Brewers shared a video on Tuesday of Braun officially announcing his retirement from Major League Baseball.
Today, more than 14 years after I first took the field as a Milwaukee Brewer, I’ve decided to retire. While it’s impossible to summarize my emotions, what I feel most is one, simple thing – gratitude.
I just wanted to take a moment to say ‘thank you’.
– Ryan Braun pic.twitter.com/pQxuW9qk1z
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) September 14, 2021
Braun, 37, spent his entire 14-year career with Milwaukee. He’s a six-time All-Star who was named MVP of the National League in 2011. His 352 career home runs are more than any other player in Brewers history.
There will now be a debate over whether Braun deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame, both because of his numbers and the controversy that surrounded him. Braun was once flagged for a positive urine test and had it overturned. He was then later suspended by MLB for his ties to PED supplier Biogenesis. That scandal was more than eight years ago, but fans never seemed to forget it.
