Christian Yelich’s Return to Stardom

Five years between All-Star selections, the Milwaukee Brewers outfielder heads to Texas on the heels of an offensive resurgence

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich will be starting his first All-Star Game since 2019 on Tuesday night in Cleveland and his journey back has been one he and fans have been eagerly awaiting for.

In 2019, Yelich was the ascending face of a Brewers franchise and slashed an National League-best .329 batting average, a .429 on-base percentage and a staggering, MLB-leading 1.100 on-base plus slugging percentage. Despite those numbers, along with 44 home runs and 97 RBI, Yelich came in second in MVP voting that year, losing to then-Los Angeles Dodgers star Cody Bellinger — almost certainly because Yelich missed the last 18 games of the season after fouling a ball off of his kneecap, ending his season and missing the playoffs. 

Following his second strong year in Milwaukee, Yeli lost his mojo, even after signing a lavish nine-year, $215 million extension. His recovery from his knee injury first slowed him down and then a recurring back issue kept him from comfortably hacking at the plate and utilizing his elite speed on the base paths for the last few seasons.

From 2020 through 2023, Yelich slashed .254/.362/.768. Those aren’t bad numbers by any means for a big league ballplayer, but it’s a far cry from the standard he set for himself in 2018 and 2019. Brewers fans, baseball fans and even the beat writers were left wondering if he would ever be MVP-level Yeli again — myself included. 

But now, Yelich has shown us he still has what it takes to be an absolute menace at the plate.