A great defensive play by Chicago Cubs shortstop Niko Hoerner in Sunday’s game (August 28) versus the Brewers may have kept Christian Yelich from again etching his name in the Brewers record book.

In the third inning of the game, Hoerner, who was playing in short right field on the Cubs shift for Yelich, snagged a line-drive one-hooper and fired to first to get Yelich and prevent him from getting a single. Yelich went on to collect three hits in the game.

The reason the play is significant is that the previous night, Yelich had four hits against the Cubs. Had Hoerner not made the defensive gem in the third inning, Yelich would have had consecutive games with four hits. In the Brewers history, there have been only six players who have collected four or more hits in consecutive games: Ben Oglivie (1979), Cecil Cooper (1982), Jim Gantner (1983), JJ Hardy (2008), Ryan Braun (2008) and Casey McGehee (2010). Yelich would have been the seventh Brewer player to accomplish that feat.

Yelich has three or more hits in two consecutive games and has a shot at a third consecutive game as the Brewers face the Pirates on Monday night (August 29). The Brewers record for most consecutive games with three or more hits is four games held by two players… Jim Gantner in 1983 and Tyler Houston in 2002. In addition, there are 17 other Brewers players who have collected three of more hits in three consecutive games, the last being Carlos Gomez in 2013.

Looking at the MLB record for most consecutive games with at least three hits and most consecutive games with four or more hits, there are two MLB players who had three or more hits in six straight games: George Brett in 1976 and Jimmy Johnson in 1923. The MLB record for most consecutive games with four or more hits is 4 games… that was accomplished back in 1925 by Milt Stock.. Eleven players have four or more hits in three straight games, the last being Colorado’s Charlie Blackmon in 2019.

• Brewers get ready for Craigtober. Some Brewers fans have affectionately called it Craigtober. It’s that time of the year when the calendar turns to September and the Brewers make a push for the playoffs. In Craig Counsell’s time in Milwaukee (2015-2021), the Brewers are 112-86, a .566 winning percentage in September/October regular season games. That ranks fifth in the MLB in that time period behind the Dodgers (.638), Guardians (.584), Astros (.579) and Cubs (.567). If we shorten the years and just look at 2018-2021, the last four years that the Brewers have made the playoffs in Counsell’s tenure, the Brew Crew is 67-42 (.615), tied for the third best winning percentage for teams in the last month of the regular season. The Dodgers top the list at 76-29 (.724) followed by Tampa Bay (67-40, .626) and Houston (67-42, .615). It’s interesting to note that the reason the Brewers have such a great winning percentage in the last month can be directly related to their pitching staff in September. From 2018-2021, the Brewers pitching staff in September/October regular season games are second in the majors with a 3.39 ERA (the Dodgers are number one at 3.16), tied for the third most saves, have the majors second-best WHIP (walks and hits per inning) 1.100 behind the Dodgers 1.066, and are tied with the Dodgers pitching staff with the lowest opposition batting average at .214. Brewers fans are hopeful Craigtober will be a reality again this year and will bring them their fifth straight playoff appearance under Counsell.

Keston Huira will probably never be mistaken for one of the premier power hitters in the majors. He has, however, put together some impressive home run numbers this season in his limited playing time.

With a home run against the Dodgers in the Brewers 4-0 win on August 22, Huira has slugged three HRs in his last two games. He has hit seven home runs in his last 49 at-bats going back to July 1. Better yet, he has five HRs in his last 27 at-bats.

For the 2022 season, Huira has 13 home runs in 150 at-bats. That’s 11.5 at-bats per home run. He doesn’t have enough at-bats to qualify for the Top 10 list in this stat, but his 11.5 at-bats per home run would place him second in the majors to Aaron Judge who has 9.45 at-bats per home run. With 41 games remaining in this season, if Huira can maintain his home run swing, he should see his name in the line-up much more in the last six weeks of the regular season.

Here are a few other interesting stats about Huira’s power surge this season:

• Huira’s career at-bats per home run is 17.4. Mark McGwire has the best career at-bats per home run stat at 10.61 followed by Babe Ruth at 11.76.
• Among active players who have enough at-bats to qualify for the list (3000 career at-bats), Giancarlo Stanton has the best career at-bats per home run at 13.82. He is followed by Kyle Schwarber (14.09), Mike Trout (14.83), Nelson Cruz (15.92), Albert Pujols (16.33), Adam Duvall (16.99), Bryce Harper (17.02), Joc Pederson (17.3), George Springer (17.47), Nolan Arenado (17.99). Again, Huira does not have enough at-bats to qualify for the Top 10 in this stat, but his 17.4 at-bats per home run puts him in very elite company.
• Best season at-bats per home run is 6.52 by Barry Bonds in 2001.
• The Major League career average at-bats per home run is 27.0. Again, Huira stands at 17.4
• The Brewers 2022 at-bats per home run is 23.9. Huira’s 11.5 tops the team. He is followed by Hunter Renfroe (14.7), Rowdy Tellez (15.2) and Willy Adames (16.5).
• Huira is one of seven players who this season have 10 or more home runs with less than 200 at-bats. His 13 HR’s ranks second on the list of players with most homers with less than 200 at-bats. Topping the list is Matt Carpenter with 15 HRs in 128 at-bats.
• The most home runs in a season with less than 200 at-bats is 24 by Matt Olson with Oakland in 2017.
• The Brewers record for most HRs in a season with less than 200 at-bats is held by Manny Pina who had 13 home runs last season in 180 at-bats.

Keep an eye on Huira during the last 41 games of the season. He could be an important offensive weapon as the Brewers try to make the post-season for the fifth consecutive year.

Green Bay Packers fans have been spoiled. Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t mean they are spoiled like spoiled brats (although I’m sure Bears fans would have their own opinion). What I mean is that the Packers faithful have been spoiled by having two Hall-of-Fame-caliber quarterbacks at the helm for the better part of three decades.

Consider this amazing stat: In the last 30 years (1992-2021)… a span of 481 regular season games… the starting QB for the Pack has been either Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers in 95.4% of those games! During those 30 years, Favre started 253 games for the Packers, while Rodgers has started 206. The other 22 regular season games were started by six other QBs. Those six (and the number of games they started for the Packers): Brett Hundley (9), Matt Flynn (6), Don Majkowski (3), Scott Tolzien (2), Jordan Love (1) and Seneca Wallace (1).

It will probably come as no surprise that when you look at the Top 2 QBs for each franchise based on career TD passes, that the Packers duo of Favre and Rodgers tops the list with a combined 891 TD passes (Rodgers 449, Favre 442).

Here’s a list of the most career TD passes by the Top 2 QBs for each franchise.

891-Packers (Favre, Rodgers)
723-Patriots (Brady, Grogan)
686-Colts (P. Manning, Unitas)
651-Chargers (Rivers, Fouts)
630-Steelers (Roethlisberger, Bradshaw)
612-Dolphins (Marino, Griese)
611-Saints (Brees, Brooks)
565-Biants (E. Manning, Simms)
521-Falcons (Ryan, Bartkowski)
487-Seahawks (Wilson, Krieg)
465-49ers (Montana, Young)
440-Broncos (Elway, P. Manning)
418-Bills (Kelly, Ferguson)
413-Cowboys (Romo, Aikman)
401-Bengals (Dalton, Anderson)
400-Lions (Stafford, Layne)
398-Vikings (Tarkenton, Kramer)
391-Eagles (McNabb, Jaworski)
388-Chiefs (Dawson, Mahomes)
366-Washington (Baugh, Jurgensen)
361-Titans (Moon, Blanda)
345-Cardinals (Hart. Lomax)
343-Raiders (Carr, Stabler)
328-Browns (Graham, Sipe)
306-Panthers (Newton, Delhomme)
296-Ravens (Flacco, Jackson)
296-Rams (Gabriel, Everett)
294-Jets (Namath, O’Brien)
291-Bears (Cutler, Luckman)
247-Jaguars (Brunell, Bortles)
228-Texans (Schaub, Watson)
204-Buccaneers (Winston, Brady)

You may have noticed that two QBs are in the Top 2 for two different franchises. Brady is number one with the Patriots and is already number two on Tampa Bay’s career TD pass list, while Peyton Manning tops the Colts list and is second on the Broncos list.

(Can you name the two Milwaukee Brewers players who stole 10 or more bases in a single season and did not get caught stealing in that season? Answer at the end of this blog.)

Imagine going a whole season and never getting caught stealing. Pretty impressive, huh? But it’s even more impressive if you swiped more than a handful of bases in a season without getting caught.

Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich started the 2022 season by swiping 16 bases without getting caught. On August 6, however, in a game versus the Cincinnati Reds, Yelich was caught stealing ending his streak at 16 steals.

Based on research from baseball-reference.com, there have been 10 players who had 15 or more stolen bases in a season without getting caught stealing. Topping the list is Chase Utley who in 2009 stole 23 bases for the Phillies without ever getting caught. Here’s a look at the 10 players who stole 15 of more bases in a season without having a caught stealing on their stat line for the year:

23-Chase Utley, 2009, Philadelphia
22-Alcides Escobar, 2013, Kansas City
21-Quintin Berry, 2012, Detroit
21-Kevin McReynolds, 1988, New York Mets
20-Paul Molitor, 1994, Toronto
18-Craig Gentry, 2011, Texas
17-Tim LoCastro, 2019, Arizona
16-Jimmy Sexton, 1982, Oakland
16-Gary Thurman, 1989, Kansas City
15-Davey Lopes. 1984, Cubs/Oakland

(If the name Quintin Berry looks familiar, he is currently the first base coach for the Brewers.)

There are currently 68 occasions in MLB history where a player has stolen ten or more bases in a season without a caught stealing on his stats. Of those 68, there are currently five players here in 2022 that are on the list: Tim Anderson of the White Sox, JT Realmuto of the Phillies and Josh Rojas of the D’Backs have each stolen 13 bases this year without getting caught. Michael Harris of the Braves has stolen 12 with a caught stealing this year, and Trevor Story of the Red Sox has 10 swipes and has not been caught this year.

It’s interesting to note that Yelich will not make the list this year because he was caught stealing in that August 6 contest, however, he did make the list in 2013 with the Marlins when he stole 10 bases that season without getting caught.

Did you make your guess on the two Brewers players who stole 10 or more bases in a season without getting caught that same year? You may find the answer very interesting. Both John Jaha in 1992 and Travis Shaw in 2017 stole 10 bases in a season without getting caught. Not two players you’d expect on the list, was it?

Green Bay Packers defensive back LeRoy Butler will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend. Butler played 12 seasons with the Packers and was named to four All-Pro teams and four Pro Bowls. Here are twelve stats you need to know about Butler’s career with the Pack:

1. Butler is one of 289 players drafted from Florida State University (FSU). He is one of nine FSU players who were named to four or more NFL Pro Bowls. He was also one of four FSU players who were named to four or more All-Pro teams. Deion Sanders tops this list with six All-Pro selections, followed by linebacker Derrick Brooks with five. Tackle Walter Jones is tied with Butler with four All-Pro selections.
2. LeRoy was the 48^th pick in the second round by the Packers in the 1990 NFL Draft. He was the sixth defensive back chosen (the other five are not in the Hall). He becomes the fifth member of that draft class to make the Hall of Fame: Cortez Kennedy (third pick), Junior Seau (fifth pick), Emmitt Smith (17^th pick) and Shannon Sharpe (192^nd pick). Of all the players chosen in the ’90 draft, Butler is tied with Eric Davis for most interceptions with 38.
3. Butler had 38 interceptions and 20.5 sacks in his career, one of only 11 players in league history to reach 30 interceptions and 20 sacks in a career. The other 10 members of this elite club: Ray Lewis, Charles Woodson, Ronde Barber, Jack Ham, Brian Dawkins, Nick Buoniconti, Larry Wilson, Rodney Harrison, Stan White, and Sam Huff. Butler becomes the eighth member of this group of 11 to make the Hall of Fame; not currently in the Hall… Barber, Harrison and White.
4. He played 181 games over 12 seasons with the Pack. That ranks ninth on the all-time games played list for Green Bay (Favre tops the list at 255). Butler started 165 games which is third on the team’s all-time list behind Favre (253) and Aaron Rodgers (206).
5. LeRoy had only one pick-six in his career: a 90-yard interception return on September 15, 1996, in the Pack’s 42-10 win over the San Diego Chargers (in Green Bay). He did have two fumble recoveries returned for TD.
6. Butler is one of 14 Green Bay players to be named to four or more NFL All-Pro teams. Don Hutson tops the list with eight, followed by Forrest Gregg (7) and Jim Ringo (6). There are five players tied with five selections each and six tied with four All-Pro selections each.
7. As mentioned above, Butler had 38 interceptions and 20.5 sacks. He is one of only three Packers players to have 20 or more interceptions and 20 or more sacks with the Green and Gold. The others: John Anderson and Dave Robinson.
8. Butler is one of 14 of the 331 players drafted in the 1990 Draft to play in 180 or more career regular season games in the league.
9. Butler is one of six players to attend Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville, FL to play in the NFL. One of those other five players was teammate Edgar Bennett.
10. LeRoy Butler played in 14 playoff games as a member of the Green Bay Packers. In his post-season career he had an interception, three sacks and two fumble recoveries. The Packers were 9-5 in the playoff games Butler played.
11. He was born on July 19, one of 67 NFL players ever born on that date. His 181 games played in the league are the most of any player born on July 19.
12. Butler is one of only seven players in NFL history to have eight or more consecutive seasons with at least one interception and one sack. Seth Joyner tops the list with 11 straight seasons with at least one interception and sack, followed by Rodney Harrison, Sam Huff and Stan White with nine consecutive seasons. Ronde Barber, Butler and Jamie Collins are next with eight consecutive seasons. (Note: Collins is still an active player; he played for Detroit and New England last season).

Stats researched and culled from Pro-Football-Reference.com