It was a mighty cut, like one of hundreds Milwaukee Brewers star outfielder Christian Yelich had taken before this season. But this one carried some powerful bad luck.
Yelich’s first-inning swing against his old team, the Miami Marlins, carried a foul ball that came back and went directly off his kneecap. He left the game, and the Brewers revealed the extent of the damage afterward: Yelich had broken his kneecap and will miss the rest of the regular season and any playoff action.
Christian Yelich left tonight’s game with a fractured right knee cap. He will miss the remainder of the season.
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) September 11, 2019
A heck of a run
Yelich, last year’s National League MVP, was the front-runner to win it again — or at least one of two, with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger — throughout the season.
He stormed out of the gate with 14 homers in the Brewers’ first 28 games before injuring his back April 28. He missed about a week with that injury but then picked up right where he left off.
By July 2, Yelich had 31 home runs to lead Major League Baseball. He slowed down a bit since then, but he’ll still finish his 2019 campaign with 44 home runs, 97 RBIs, 30 stolen bases, a .327 average and an 1.100 OPS. He’s just the third player in baseball history to finish a season with an OPS that high.
It might not win him another MVP, especially without the final three weeks of the season, but it’s a top-three finish and another data point that says Yelich is one of the very best players in baseball.
Christian Yelich left tonight’s game with a fractured right knee cap. He will miss the remainder of the season.
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) September 11, 2019
What’s next?
The immediate concern for the Brewers is the playoff race. They rallied to win Tuesday’s game in Miami, and when the Chicago Cubs lost later in the night, Milwaukee pulled to one game behind Chicago for the final NL wild card spot.
But now they’ll have to do it without Yelich.
As for the superstar, he faces a long offseason of recovery and has a chance to be back to 100 percent in time for 2020 spring training.
“We have to move forward,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said, according to ESPN.com. “We feel awful for Christian. That’s the thing kinda resonating with me right now is he’s a special player, and it’s a joy to watch him play every day. And he’s the best at what he does. So not being able to see that every day is definitely no good. But we gotta respond, and we have a great opportunity, and the guys battled to a great win tonight.”
Just saw @ChristianYelich walk in the hotel on crutches. Understandably crushed. Injuries are part of the game, he will recover. But, these players put a lot into performing at this level. To see a talent like that, at the top of his game, have a season end like that, is brutal.
— Brian Anderson (@BAndersonPxP) September 11, 2019
