Robin Yount

Robin R. Yount
(The Kid, Rockin' Robin)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 165 lb.
• High School William Howard Taft High School (Woodland Hills)
• Debut April 5, 1974
• Final Game October 3, 1993
• Born September 16, 1955 in Danville, IL USA

Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1999

BR page

Biographical Information

Hall of Famer Robin Yount played 20 seasons in the majors, all with the Milwaukee Brewers, played in at least 100 games in all but the 1981 season, and surprised fans when he retired at the age of 37, still capable of playing decent baseball. He was the 3rd youngest player in major league history to reach 3,000 hits, reaching the mark at 36 years, 359 days old. It had been widely expected that Yount would try to reach 4,000 hits, but never one to seek the limelight, he preferred to hang up his cleats while still relatively young.

Despite retiring "early", through 2019 he ranks 16th on the all-time list in games played, 21st in doubles, 19th in hits, 9th in at-bats, 40th in runs scored, 36th in total bases, and tied for 77th in RBI (with Todd Helton). Additionally, he stole 271 bases and slugged 251 home runs, which was the highest total in the history of the Brewers until Ryan Braun passed him in 2015.

Yount played roughly half of his career as a shortstop and the other half of his career as a center fielder. He won one MVP Award at each position.

In the 1982 World Series he hit .414 and slugged .621, but the Brewers lost in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1988, he hit for the cycle against the Chicago White Sox.

Yount in 2006

He came up with the Brewers in 1974, at age 18, as the youngest player in the American League and was still the youngest player the following season, 1975, when he was a teammate of a 41-year-old Hank Aaron. He played only half a season in the minor leagues, 63 games for the Newark Co-Pilots of the New York-Penn League in 1973 before manager Del Crandall decided to make him his Opening Day shortstop in 1974; 23-year-old Tim Johnson had manned the position in 1973, and while he was a reliable fielder, he hit only .213 with no power and hardly any walks. Crandall determined (correctly) that even while learning on the job, Yount would be the better player. Robin moved to the outfield in 1985, with rookie Ernie Riles taking over at shortstop; the Brewers considered the toll of continuing to play shortstop every day would eventually hurt Yount's bat and force him to miss time. That decision turned out to be wise as well, even if Riles did not develop into a star despite a strong rookie season.

According to the similarity scores method, the most similar players to Yount are a truly impressive group of infielders, all of them but Damon Hall of Famers: teammate Paul Molitor, Craig Biggio, Johnny Damon, Brooks Robinson, and George Brett.

He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on January 5, 1999 by the Baseball Writers Association of America in his first year of eligibility. His #19 was retired by the Brew Crew in 1994 and he was inducted into the Milwaukee Brewers/Miller Park Walk of Fame with the inaugural class of 2001. The Yount Monument has been located outside of Miller Park since its opening in 2001.

Following his playing career, Yount was a coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2002 to 2004. He rejoined the Milwaukee Brewers as a bench coach during the 2006 season.

Yount's brother, Larry Yount, also appeared in the majors - but for only one game. Robin's son, Dustin Yount, was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2001 amateur draft. His nephew, Austin Yount, was drafted in the 2008 amateur draft, while another nephew, Cody Yount, was selected in the 2013 amateur draft. His niece, Mackenzie Vandergeest, has played for the US women's team.

Yount will be forever linked with George Brett. Among the coincidences in their careers:

• Both were raised in southern California.
• Both played their first full season in the major leagues in 1974.
• Both played their entire careers for teams in the midwest (the Kansas City Royals in Brett's case).
• Both had an older brother who pitched in the majors.
• Yount collected his 3,000th hit on September 9, 1992. Brett collected his on September 30th, just three weeks later.
• Both played in their last game on October 3, 1993.
• Brett finished with 3,154 career hits. Yount finished with 3,142 career hits.
• Both elected to the Hall of Fame in the Class of 1999.

Notable Achievements

• 3-time AL All-Star (1980, 1982 & 1983)
• 2-time AL MVP (1982 & 1989)
• AL Gold Glove Winner (1982/SS)
• 3-time AL Silver Slugger Award Winner (1980/SS, 1982/SS & 1989/OF)
• AL Slugging Percentage Leader (1982)
• AL OPS Leader (1982)
• AL Hits Leader (1982)
• AL Total Bases Leader (1982)
• 2-time AL Doubles Leader (1980 & 1982)
• 2-time AL Triples Leader (1983 & 1988)
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 4 (1980, 1982, 1987 & 1989)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 3 (1982, 1987 & 1989)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 5 (1980, 1982, 1983, 1984 & 1989)
• 200 Hits Seasons: 1 (1982)
• Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1999

AL MVP
1981	1982	1983
Rollie Fingers	Robin Yount	Cal Ripken, Jr
1988	1989	1990
Jose Canseco	Robin Yount	Rickey Henderson

Further Reading

• Thomas Boswell: "The Best of All Time", in Why Time Begins on Opening Day, Penguin Books, New York, NY, 1984, pp. 215-221.
• Daniel Okrent: Nine Innings, Viking Books, New York, NY, 1984.[1]
• Robin Yount (as told to George Vass): "The Game I'll Never Forget", Baseball Digest, July 1986, pp. 31-33. [2]
• Robin Yount (as told to Al Doyle): "The Game I'll Never Forget", Baseball Digest, September 2003, pp. 70-72. [3]

Related Sites

• Robin Yount at the SABR Bio Project