Brewers' Lucroy and Braun to join 2022 Wall of Honor, Fielder Walk of Fame
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Milwaukee Brewers announced Ryan Braun and Jonathan Lucroy will join the 2022 Wall of Honor and Walk of Fame classes.
The two will join the Brewers Wall of Honor and Prince Fielder will be enshrined into the Brewers Walk of Fame. Additionally, the Brewers and the Milwaukee Braves Historical Association will induct the late Wes Covington onto the Milwaukee Braves Wall of Honor.
Brewers legends cement their place in history!
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) December 23, 2021
Congrats to Ryan Braun and Jonathan Lucroy on being added to the Wall of Honor and to Prince Fielder for joining the Walk of Fame.#ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/DiBquoz8U7
The class will be honored in the 2022 season with details of the ceremonies announced at a later date.
According to a news release, the Brewers Walk of Fame commemorates some of the greatest names in Milwaukee baseball history with a granite-shaped home plate set in the ground outside of American Family Field. Fielder will be the 21st inductee since the Walk of Fame was established in 2001. Members of the Walk of Fame are elected by Wisconsin media members and Brewers executives.
Fielder, drafted seventh overall by Milwaukee in 2002, spent seven of his 12 Major League seasons with the Brewers (2005-11) and batted .282 with 230 HR and 656 RBI in 998 games. A three-time All-Star in Milwaukee (2007, 2009 and 2011), he is the all-time franchise leader in on-base percentage (.390), slugging percentage (.540) and OPS (.929) and is among the franchise leaders in HR (3rd), walks (4th, 566), extra-base hits (6th, 439), RBI (7th), total bases (8th, 1,904), runs (9th, 571) and batting average (10th).
The power-hitting first baseman is the only player in franchise history to produce five consecutive 30+ homer seasons (2007-11). In 2007 – his second full season in the majors – Fielder became the youngest player in Major League history to reach 50 homers in a season (23 years, 139 days), breaking the record set by Hall of Famer Willie Mays (24 years, 137 days). A fierce competitor, he missed just one game over his final three seasons in Milwaukee.
Ryan Braun and Jonathan Lucroy will be inducted into the Wall of Honor, a distinction awarded to players, coaches and executives who meet a set of criteria based on service to the organization and career accomplishments. Braun and Lucroy will join the permanent exhibit with a bronze plaque affixed to the exterior of the ballpark commemorating their contributions.
Braun, the all-time franchise home run leader, six-time All-Star and 2011 National League MVP, played his entire 14-year Major League career with the Milwaukee Brewers from 2007-20 and is among the franchise leaders in nearly every offensive category.
Braun finished his career as a .296 hitter with 352 HR, 1,154 RBI and 216 stolen bases in 1,766 games. In addition to his MVP and All-Star Game appearances, Braun was a five-time Silver Slugger Award winner and the 2007 National League Rookie of the Year.
Braun, who helped lead the Brewers to the postseason five times (2008, 2011 and 2018-20), retired as the all-time franchise leader in home runs. He also ranks among the franchise’s top three in RBI (2nd), slugging percentage (2nd, .532), OPS (2nd, .891), extra-base hits (2nd, 809), total bases (2nd, 3,525), doubles (2nd, 408), runs (3rd, 1,080), hits (3rd, 1,963), triples (3rd, 49), stolen bases (3rd, 216), at-bats (3rd, 6,622), and walks (3rd, 586). He ranks fourth in franchise history in games played and batting average.
From the date of his Major League debut – May 25, 2007 – through the 2020 season, Braun ranked among the top five in the majors in extra-base hits (T2nd), runs (3rd), RBI (3rd), total bases (4th), hits (5th), doubles (5th) and HR (5th).
Lucroy, drafted by Milwaukee in 2007, spent seven seasons with the Brewers from 2010-16, earning All-Star selections in 2014 and 2016. He led the majors in doubles in 2014 with 53, tied for the most in a single season in franchise history. He hit 46 doubles as a catcher in 2014, the most by a catcher in a single season in MLB history. Lucroy finished fourth in National League Most Valuable Player voting in 2014, becoming the first catcher in franchise history to finish in the top 10. He ranks first in franchise history as a catcher in hits (752), batting average (.288), doubles (143), HR (77), RBI (358), and runs (326). He is second in games caught (725).
Covington is the 19th member named to the Milwaukee Braves Wall of Honor. Covington spent his first five full seasons and part of his sixth with the Milwaukee Braves. He batted .284 with 64 HR and 235 RBI across 468 games in a Braves uniform. He started all 14 games for Milwaukee in the 1957 and 1958 World Series and was a key contributor to the Braves' 1957 World Series win over the New York Yankees, collecting the go-ahead hit in Game Two and robbing a home run in left field in a 1-0 win in Game Five. He recorded consecutive 20-HR campaigns in 1957 and 1958, combining for 45 HR and 139 RBI in 186 games, including a career year in 1958 in which he batted .330 with 24 HR and 74 RBI in 90 games. Covington passed away in 2001.