Milwaukee Brewers 2011 - 25 in 25 - Casey McGehee (4 of 25)

3rd baseman Casey McGehee was the 2010 Brewers team MVP as voted by his teammates, the local media and the fans. I'm not sure who actually got the final say to make it official, but everyone here in Milwaukee could agree that he was the best offensive player last year. He did lead the team in RBIs with 104 but Braun (103) and Hart were right there behind him in that category. And although he was 5th in homeruns with 23 and trailed Braun in batting average (.285 versus .304) it was his consistency, hard working attitude, blue collar mentality and lineup position that elevated him to be crowned king of the offensive mountain. The national media focuses more on Braun because he is more flashy, which is easy to do when you're the team mouthpiece wearing sliver glitter dragon t-shirts. And although Braun makes more highlight real plays and hits game winning walkoff homeruns, he had too much of an up and down season to be reliable. In 2010 Casey McGehee was as steady as they came, and he certainly had to be because of the position that he was put in.

It's not easy batting 5th in the lineup when Prince Fielder is in front of you in the cleanup spot. Although Prince had a down year offensively, he still is one of the most feared hitters in all of the National League. Because he has the skill and power to dramatically change an inning by socking balls out of the park, it is very rare that he will get any good pitches to hit. And once Fielder stopped swinging at garbage pitches his walk total and on base percentage increased dramatically. In fact Fielder led the NL with 114 walks, 17 of which were intentional. So that means that they pitched around Fielder to get to McGehee, and more often than not he made them pay for doing so. In my years of watching the Prince Fielder Brewers, I've watched 3 managers struggle to find a good bat for the #5 spot in the lineup, and after watching 2 seasons of Casey McGehee I think it's pretty safe to say that we finally found one.

But things haven't always been so good for McGehee. He spent 5 years in the Cubs minor league system blocked at the major league level by Aramis Ramirez, and was no longer a young prospect at age 26 when the Cubs placed him on waivers. But Doug Melvin saw something he liked and picked him up. And the rest is history. You never heard McGehee complain about playing time in 2009 while he waited for a spot in the batting order and on the field. And at Brewers on Deck prior to the 2010 season when I told him that he should have been NL Rookie of the Year he humbly dismissed that idea, and said that there were other players that were more deserving of the award (he finished 6th). When I told him he was our Rookie of the Year he seemed embarrassed, almost not feeling worthy of the spotlight. Now this was just a small encounter that I had with Casey, but there is just something about the way he goes about his business on and off the field that I highly respect and appreciate. All the intangibles he brings plus his on the field contributions are what solidifies his status as team MVP. So it wouldn't surprise me if McGehee was in the conversation for team MVP again with stats like these:


.279 AVG, 21 HRs, 105 RBIs and perhaps a little more National attention, although Prince Fielder in a contract year and Ryan Braun's clothing line will distract them from seriously appreciating what he does.

Casey McGehee will continue to work hard and produce on the field, so it doesn't matter to me what he does off the field. One player who's off the field interests concern me is Ryan Braun. Between his clothing line, bat company, multiple restaurants, friendship with Aaron Rodgers and him being a normal 27 year old with millions of dollars, I'm worried that it might distract him from what he is really supposed to do - play baseball. But I really shouldn't be concerned considering that in his 4 year career he's averaged .308 at the plate, 32 homeruns, 105 RBIs and 177 hits. But even though he's probably our best all around player, no one is exempt from being made fun of. And that is why Kevin and I sit in the left field bleachers and heckle Ryan Braun. And in tomorrow's video, we give him a taste of what to expect from us in the 2011 season. But that my friends, is a topic that will be covered tomorrow. Roll out the Barrel! We'll have a Barrel of Fun!

- pookon -

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