Ryan Braun

Ryan Braun is a hero because he took Milwaukee to its first playoff appearance in 26 years and won an MVP for the great city of Milwaukee. Braun has won many awards in his short career so far. Braun has brought many Brewer fans back to watching baseball. Braun has started his career out with a bang. Baseball is America's pastime and always will be (Johnson 3).

Ryan Braun was born on November 17, 1983 in Mission Hills a section of Los Angeles, California. Ryan Braun's family always didn't come from the US. Ryan's father was born in Israel and immigrated to the US when he was seven. His mother, Diane, is a brewer that brews beer for Anheuser-Busch. Braun also has a younger brother named Steve. Steve and Ryan grew up together loving baseball. They would do anything that involves baseball such as, watching games, playing catch, playing in leagues together, and talking to their dad about it. Ryan grew up admiring the great Ken Griffey Jr. Braun would pretend to be Griffey when he was a little kid. Braun's parents always told him that grades come first over anything. Ryan always got good grades in High School.

Ryan Braun's High School career was an amazing 4 year span that would be hard to beat his records. By the time Ryan was in High School, he was a big prospect at shortstop and a lot of colleges wanted him to play for them. He hit 400 throughout his whole High School career and never was below 300. His sophomore through his senior year, he was the team captain and the best player. Braun may have made a lot of parents mad by being team captain at a young age but the best will play. In his senior season he broke the school record for home runs in a season with 25 in a year. Coming out of his senior year in High School Braun wasn't sure if he wanted to play in the majors. He did know that he wanted to play in college though.

Braun was drafted in the MLB draft in 2005. Braun played one year of Minor League baseball with the Nashville Sounds. In 2007 Braun was placed on the Milwaukee Brewers roster. He played 113 games and led the National League with a .634 slugger percentage. Braun set an all time rookie record with that slugging percentage which was previously held by the great Mark McGuire. Braun broke the Brewers team record for Home Runs and RBI's by a rookie with, 34 and 92 ribbies. While accomplishing all of these achievements Braun never thought that he had a chance to win the National League rookie of the year. Braun ended up beating Troy Tulowitzki for the National Rookie of the Year which is awarded by Baseball Writers Association of America. Braun's rookie year was an amazing rookie year that is almost impossible to beat.

Braun knew his team was good but not good enough to be in a serious race for a world series. The Brewers started off slow in 2008 going 20 and 24 and tied for 4th in their division. Braun decided to make a major move and take control of the team and be the team captain. Braun started the month of May with a bang with 11 home runs and batting .322. After the big move by Braun the team started playing like a team and was winning a lot more games. The Brewers found themselves in a place that they had not been in a while. They were in a close NL Central race and were the wild card for the NL. Braun was elected to be in the Home Run Derby and was a first time all star. The Brewers were the wild card for the NL but ended up losing to the Phillies in the NL division series. Braun said that," We are the best team in the NL Playoffs." Braun brought the Franchise to their first playoff appearance in 26 years. All in all, Braun changed the Brewers franchise in just 1 year. After that the Brewers were a serious contender to win the World Series. Braun is a hero because he has brought a lot of hope to Milwaukee in there chance to win a world series. Braun will be remembered forever for what he did.