This weekend many of us will be celebrating Memorial Day and the contributions of the countless men and women who served our country and fought for our freedom.
Brewers fans also have something else to celebrate this weekend. Today, May 26, 2012, is the fifth anniversary of Ryan Braun‘s first career home run. On May 26, 2007, Braun hit a solo HR off Padres pitcher Justin Germano in the third inning in San Diego.
In honor of the fifth anniversary of Braun’s first round-tripper, here are a few stats regarding the 174 homers Braun has hit up to this point in what many Brewers fans hope will be a long career with the club.
* Braun was hitting second in the order when he hit his first career home run. It is the only time that he has hit a HR while batting second in the order. He has hit 163 from the third spot, nine from the clean-up spot and one from the eighth spot in the order.
* Braun has hit most of his home runs in the first three innings (72). He has 62 four-baggers in innings four through six, and 40 HRs from the seventh inning on.
* Braun has hit 101 home runs when he has seen three or fewer pitches. He has 73 home runs when he has seen four or more pitches in an at-bat.
* Braun has hit the most home runs (64) when the Brewers are behind in the game. He has hit 62 when the Brewers are ahead and has hit 48 when the game is tied.
* He has 92 HRs at Miller Park and 82 in away games.
* When it comes to strikes in the count, Braun’s home run stroke has been most successful with one strike. He has 68 homers with one strike in the count, 57 home runs with two strikes in the count and 49 four-baggers when there are no strikes in the count. When it comes to balls in the count, Braun has hit more HRs when there are no balls in the count (59). He has 48 home runs with one ball in the count, 47 home runs with two balls in the count and 20 long balls with three balls in the count.
* Braun has 64 home runs with no outs in the inning, 56 home runs with one out in the inning and 54 home runs with two outs in the inning.
* Braun has hit the most home runs in July (35). Other monthly HR counts: March (1), April (29), May (27), June (26), August (26), September (28), October (2).
* Braun’s 173rd home run was on May 21 when he hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning against the Giants to tie the score at 3-3. It was the 12th time in his career that he has hit a home run in the seventh inning or later to tie the score or put the Brewers ahead in the game.
* Of the 15 National League teams, Braun has hit the fewest home runs against the New York Mets (2). He has hit the most HRs against the Houston Astros (24).
Research source: baseball-reference.com
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