In the second half of 2018 MLB season, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich has basically been Barry Bonds. Well, not *peak* Bonds, but pretty dang close.
Highest second-half OPS by a National League hitter since 1950:
1.455 Barry Bonds, 2001 (MVP)
1.432 Barry Bonds, 2002 (MVP)
1.421 Barry Bonds, 2004 (MVP)
1.259 Ryan Howard, 2006 (MVP)
1.236 Mark McGwire, 1999
1.225 Sammy Sosa, 2001 (MVP runner-up)
1.208 CHRISTIAN YELICH, 2018— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) September 30, 2018
And his efforts on Saturday night put the Brewers in a tie with the Chicago Cubs atop the NL Central, heading into the final day of the regular season.
The Brewers trailed the Detroit Tigers 3-0 with two outs in the bottom of the second inning, when Yelich cranked a two-run dinger to left-center field.
For those of you wondering, "Can he do it again?" The answer is yes. #ThisIsMyMVP pic.twitter.com/ZKBnkoSi33
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) September 30, 2018
And with the game tied 5-5 in the bottom of the seventh, Yelich hit this go-ahead homer that would serve as the game-winner.
Speechless. #ThisIsMyMVP pic.twitter.com/kFaNBCFUwa
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) September 30, 2018
Yelich currently leads the NL in batting average (.324), OPS (.998), slugging percentage (.599), and wRC+ (166). He’s tied for the NL lead in home runs at 36, and he’s just two back of Javy Baez in RBI with 109.
Christian Yelich has his 2nd career multi-HR game, both of which have come this season. Right now, Yelich ranks…
– 1st in the NL in BA (.324)
– T-1st in the NL in HR (36, tied with Matt Carpenter)
– 2nd in the NL in RBI (109, 2 behind Javier Báez) pic.twitter.com/Iej2UtIcqJ— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 30, 2018
That means Yelich has a legitimate shot at the Triple Crown with one game left. So, the final day of the regular season for the Brewers features the team trying to win the division and Yelich going for the Triple Crown.
Saturday’s game should also make the MVP a lock for Yelich, if it wasn’t already. He currently has a 7.4 WAR according to FanGraphs, which 1.2 more than any other NL position player. He has the baseball card stats, the fancy stats, and he’s putting together huge games when the Brewers need them most.
