Christian Yelich

Lore & Background

The Marlins selected Yelich in the first round of the 2010 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut for the Marlins in 2013 and was traded to the Brewers in the 2017–18 offseason. Yelich is a three-time MLB All-Star, a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner, a two-time National League batting champion, a Gold Glove Award recipient in 2014, and the winner of the National League's Most Valuable Player Award in 2018. Yelich hit for the cycle twice in 2018 and once in 2022. He joined Bob Meusel, Babe Herman, Adrián Beltré, and Trea Turner as the only players in MLB history to hit for the cycle three times. He is also the only player with three cycles against the same team — the Cincinnati Reds. Yelich was the third player to record two in a single season, joining Herman (1931) and Aaron Hill (2012).

In Their Own Story

The Biscayne Bay wind was cutting through the upper deck of Marlins Park on a late-September evening in 2018. The scoreboard read 6-5, bottom of the ninth, two out. Yelich stepped into the box, chalk dust on his hands, the orange jersey stretched tight over his shoulders. He ripped a line drive into the gap in right-center, and for a half-second the whole stadium held its breath. The runner from first crossed the plate. The crowd detonated. Yelich didn't slow down until the warning track. He looked up at the camera, that quiet half-smile, and the Marlins' season—already a masterpiece—got one more chapter written in it under the Florida sky.

Reader's Guide

Yelich was born in Thousand Oaks, California, and attended Westlake High School. He accepted a scholarship to play college baseball for the Miami Hurricanes baseball team. The Miami Marlins selected Yelich in the first round, with the 23rd overall selection, in the 2010 MLB draft. He played for the Gulf Coast League Marlins and Greensboro Grasshoppers before being promoted to MLB from Double-A Jacksonville on July 23, 2013. In 2014, he won a Gold Glove Award in left field, becoming the franchise's youngest ever player and first outfielder to win the award. He signed a seven-year, $49.57 million contract extension on March 22, 2015. On January 25, 2018, the Marlins traded Yelich to the Milwaukee Brewers for Lewis Brinson, Isan Díaz, Monte Harrison, and Jordan Yamamoto. He won the NL MVP in 2018 and signed a nine-year, $215 million contract extension with the Brewers on March 6, 2020.

Did You Know?

• Yelich was the first player in MLB history to hit three cycles against the same team, the Cincinnati Reds.
• He won the National League batting title in both 2018 and 2019.
• Yelich was named the Marlins' Minor League Player of the Year in both 2011 and 2012.