Robin Yount

Robin Yount was a versatile star shortstop-turned-outfielder who spent his entire 20-year career with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Robin R. Yount was born on September 16, 1955, in Danville, Illinois, to Phil, an aerospace engineer, and Marion Yount. The family relocated to Southern California's San Fernando Valley within a year of his birth after Phil took a job testing rocket engines for Rocketdyne. Robin grew up in Woodland Hills alongside older brothers Jim and Larry, immersed from an early age in football, basketball, golf, and baseball; his brother Larry, a pitcher, was drafted by the Houston Astros and briefly reached the majors in 1971, giving Robin an early, close-up window into professional baseball when he visited Larry in the minors. At William Howard Taft High School, Yount emerged as a standout shortstop, hitting over .400 and leading his team to a league title en route to being named Los Angeles City Player of the Year. The Milwaukee Brewers selected him third overall in the 1973 draft, and remarkably, Yount reached the major leagues just one year later, debuting as Milwaukee's starting shortstop on Opening Day 1974 at only 18 years old — one of the youngest everyday players in modern history. Yount spent his entire 20-year career with the Brewers, becoming the definitive symbol of the franchise. His finest individual season came in 1982, when he hit .331 with 29 home runs and led the American League with 210 hits, a .578 slugging percentage, and 367 total bases, winning a near-unanimous American League MVP award and leading Milwaukee to its first pennant and only World Series appearance, a seven-game loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in which Yount himself hit .414. A shoulder injury forced Yount to shift from shortstop to center field in 1985, and rather than decline, he reinvented himself defensively and won a second MVP award in 1989 — becoming just the fourth player in major league history to win the award at two different positions, a distinction he shares with Hank Greenberg, Stan Musial, and, since, Alex Rodriguez. Yount collected more hits than any player in baseball during the 1980s and finished his career with 3,142 hits, becoming the 17th member of the exclusive 3,000-hit club. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 in his first year of eligibility, and the Brewers retired his No. 19.

Complete player with excellent hitting, fielding versatility, and leadership

Hall of Fame shortstop/outfielder, spent entire 20-year career with Milwaukee Brewers

• 2x AL MVP (1982, 1989)
• Gold Glove (1982)
• 3x All-Star
• 3,000 hit club
• Hall of Fame 1999