Ryan Braun is still deciding whether or not he’ll return to the MLB next season. Signs are showing that he might retire, but he’s also left the door open for possibly staying. As Braun told ESPN, “I’m strongly leaning in the direction of being done as an active player.”
He originally entered the league in 2007, debuting for the Milwaukee Brewers. He quickly established himself as one of the greater hitters in the league, and went on to stay with the Brewers throughout the entirety of his career.
At 37 years old, Braun declined the $15 million option that he has on his contract. However, he sees a possibility that he might change his mind.
“I think you can always push that decision back. I’m still young enough, still working out, still in shape,” the 2011 NL MVP explained. “If something were to change, I might as well leave that door open as long as possible.”
Throughout his career, Braun played 1766 games with Milwaukee. Over that time, he put up a franchise-record 352 home runs to go with 1154 RBIs, on a solid .296 batting average. He’s been an All-Star six times, an MVP once, and a Silver Slugger five times.
However, his 2020 season was less than his usual standard, having dealt with a back injury that sidelined him for up to 21 games. His hitting also wasn’t great, only putting up a .233 batting average.
