Milwaukee’s Best, Part 2: The 50 Best To Play For Braves, Brewers: 40-31
By Phil Watson
J.J. Hardy shown on a 2009 poster.
39. J.J. Hardy, SS
Brewers 2005-09
J.J. Hardy was taken in the second round of the 2001 amateur draft by the Brewers out of Sabino High School in Tucson, Ariz., and reached the majors in April 2005.
He emerged as an All-Star with a breakout season in 2007, hitting 26 homers and hitting .277/.323/.463 with 89 runs, 30 doubles and 80 RBI.
Hardy followed that up with a solid .283/.343/.478 campaign with 24 homers in 2008 as the Brewers won the National League wild card and was 6-for-14 with two RBI in the four-game loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in the Division Series.
But he slumped badly in 2009, hitting .229/.302/.357 with 11 home runs and was traded in November 2009 to the Minnesota Twins for outfielder Carlos Gomez.
Hardy was on the move again in December 2010 when he was dealt to the Baltimore Orioles, with whom he was an All-Star again in 2013 and has won three straight Gold Gloves.
Hardy was a part of history on Sept. 9, 2007, when he was the second of three hitters to homer to start Milwaukee’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, following Rickie Weeks and preceding Ryan Braun in taking Phil Dumatrait deep. It was just the third time in Major League history to that point that had happened.
Here are Hardy’s statistics from his five seasons with the Brewers:
| Year | Age | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 22 | 124 | 427 | 372 | 46 | 92 | 22 | 1 | 9 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 48 | .247 | .327 | .384 | .711 | 86 |
| 2006 | 23 | 35 | 139 | 128 | 13 | 31 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 23 | .242 | .295 | .398 | .693 | 75 |
| 2007 ★ | 24 | 151 | 638 | 592 | 89 | 164 | 30 | 1 | 26 | 80 | 2 | 3 | 40 | 73 | .277 | .323 | .463 | .786 | 101 |
| 2008 | 25 | 146 | 629 | 569 | 78 | 161 | 31 | 4 | 24 | 74 | 2 | 1 | 52 | 98 | .283 | .343 | .478 | .821 | 115 |
| 2009 | 26 | 115 | 465 | 414 | 53 | 95 | 16 | 2 | 11 | 47 | 0 | 1 | 43 | 85 | .229 | .302 | .357 | .659 | 75 |
| TOTALS | 571 | 2298 | 2075 | 279 | 543 | 104 | 8 | 75 | 265 | 5 | 6 | 189 | 327 | .262 | .323 | .428 | .751 | 95 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/18/2015.
Next: 38. He Came From A Land Down Under