The Brewers entered this weekend with a three-game series against the American League’s Seattle Mariners in Seattle. That meant that the team would be utilizing the designated hitter in their line-up during these games. This series is also the last interleague play for the Brewers this season.

Ryan Braun was in the lineup on Friday as the team’s DH. He went one-for-five with a pair of RBIs on a ninth-inning single. It was Braun’s 12^th career game as the Brewers DH.

Over the long history of the Brewers, the DH has been an important part of the lineup, especially going back to when the team was in the American League (through 1997). Hall of Famer Paul Molitor played many games as the Brewers DH; in fact, his 1,904 plate appearances as the DH for the Brewers tops the team in that category. The only other Brewers player with 1,000 or more plate appearances as a DH is Ted Simmons with 1,175.

Molitor was the team’s most successful DH when the Brewers were an A.L. team. He leads the team with 519 hits as a DH, most HR with 37 and most RBI with 186.

Here’s a look at the Brewers players who lead various hitting categories as the team’s DH.

Hits
Paul Molitor, 519
Ted Simmons, 282
Cecil Cooper, 232
Greg Vaughn, 176
Dave Nilsson, 168
Dave Parker, 168
Hank Aaron, 167

Home Runs
Molitor, 37
Vaughn, 33

RBIs
Molitor, 186
Simmons, 161

Batting Average (minimum of 100 at-bats to qualify)
Kevin Seitzer, .325
Molitor, .309
B.J. Surhoff, .304

The DH position when the Brewers went over to the National League has certainly not been as productive as their A.L. brethren. Consider this: Of the nine Brewers players who have 20 or more plate appearances as a DH for the team since 1998, only one has a batting average above .250 as the DH (Rickie Weeks, .276).

The recently-retired and former Brewer Prince Fielder has the most DH plate appearances for the team since ’98 with 73. He is followed by Aramis Ramirez with 67 and Braun with 54.

Here’s a look at the Brewers players who lead various hitting categories as the team’s DH since 1998, the team’s time in the National League.

Hits
Fielder, 18
Ramirez, 14
Braun, 12

Home Runs
Braun, 4
Fielder, 3

RBIs
Braun, 13
Ramirez, 8

Batting Average (minimum of 20 at-bats as DH)
Weeks, .276
Fielder, .247
Braun, .245