Brewers' Christian Yelich had bad habits to break in resurgence. 'It's adapt or die'

There was a time, just a few years ago when the pandemic hit, when Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich was one of the greatest players in baseball.

Yelich was coming off two consecutive batting titles, an MVP award in 2018, a runner-up in 2019, two All-Star Game selections, two Silver Slugger awards, back-to-back 1.000 OPS seasons, 80 homers and 207 RBI. And he was the recipient of the largest contract in Brewers franchise history.

Life was good.

Really, really good.

“I remember when we were sitting in New York when he won the MVP,’’ said Joe Longo, Yelich’s agent. “He looked at me and said, “Can you believe all of this? How do I deserve all of this? He was like a king.’’

Well, along came a fractured knee cap, back injuries, loss of power, bad habits, pedestrian numbers, leaving everyone to wonder whether we’d see Yelich’s greatness ever again.

Well, just in case there was any doubt, take a look at what he’s doing these days for the streaking Brewers, warranting strong consideration as an injury replacement in the All-Star Game next week in Seattle.

Ever since May rolled around, he has looked awfully similar to the player who thoroughly dominated the National League, hitting .317 with a .921 OPS, including .361 with a 1.049 OPS since June 6. He leads the team in virtually every offensive category, and most important, is leading the Brewers back into the race atop the NL Central.

“In the big leagues, you always have to adapt, always have to make adjustments to improve,’’ Yelich told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s adapt or die in this league. If you don’t adapt, you don’t last long.

“I got into a lot of bad habits and I knew I had to make some changes. I had to do something.

“You can’t fool anyone in this league.’’

'He never ran from expectations'

Yelich dramatically changed his approach at the plate, eliminated his big leg kick in May, adapted a toe-tap, and voila! He hit .223 with a .656 OPS and only six extra-base hits in April, batted .284 with a .842 OPS and eight extra-base hits in May, then .311 with a .894 OPS and 13 extra-base hits in June. He is now hitting .391 with a surreal 1.213 OPS the past week.

No wonder the Brewers have caught fire, winning 12 of their last 17 games, including recovering from a 6-0 deficit Monday to beat the Chicago Cubs, 8-6, with Yelich reaching base four times with three hits and a triple.

“For the guys that have been to the top of the mountain, and when you’re no longer on the top of the mountain,’’ Brewers manager Craig Counsell said, “nothing feels good enough. The expectations around you change. It’s hard to feel like you’re doing your job. And then there’s this pressure to get back. When you’ve gone through what he did the last three years, it’s challenging. You’re searching for a feeling, trying a lot of different things to get locked in.

“He never ran from the expectations. He lived it. He never stopped trying to get back there.

“That part of the fire is not extinguished yet.’’

The Brewers gave Yelich a nine-year, $215 million contract extension in March 2020, believing not only in the talent, but the person. They see the way he interacts with young players. They recognize his desire to be in the lineup every game, no matter how he’s feeling.

There were plenty of times he probably shouldn’t have played, not feeling 100%, but not once did he ask out of the lineup.

“He never make excuses,’’ Brewers GM Matt Arnold said, “always wants to be put in the lineup. Always posts. It’s a credit to his work ethic and what he means to our team. He was the best hitter on the planet for awhile, and when he was injured and going through a lot of challenges, he still came in every day with a smile on his face, great energy, and set the tone for us. A great, great leader.

“He deserves all of the credit in the world for what he’s done, and what he’s overcome, to show he’s still one of the best hitters in the game.’’

Eliminating the leg kick: A turning point in May

Yelich, 31, has become a veteran leader, loving the energy and enthusiasm of his young teammates. He was a guy mentored by Jeff Mathis, Casey McGehee and Reid Johnson coming up in the Miami Marlins organization, and now he’s the mentee. He helped orchestrate a performance from the Goo Goo Dolls for teammates and their wives on an off-day in May, and is a sounding board for all young players.

“Even though I don’t feel old, I guess I am in this clubhouse,’’ Yelich said. “It’s just fun having young players and helping them their first time in the big leagues. You have to deal with the ups and downs of young players, help them navigate through those though tough stretches.’’

“Adversity is a part of sports, especially baseball.’’

Yelich, of course, is a testament to perseverance. One minute he was sitting atop the baseball world, and the next just being an average player from 2020-2022, hitting .243 with a .388 slugging percentage and .745 OPS, averaging 12 homers and 43 RBI a season.

“It was a tough stretch,’’ Yelich said. “I just battled through it and stayed as positive as possible, knowing it was going to turn at some point. I had injuries, but I don’t want to make any excuses for it. I was still out there playing.

“And once I got healthy, I just got into a lot of bad habits, the way I loaded at the plate. And those habits are tough to break. It was really frustrating.’’

It was May 4, an afternoon game at Coors Field in Denver, when everything suddenly changed for Yelich. It was the day he decided to experiment, eliminate the leg kick and see what transpired. He tried everything else. Why not?

It took just one at-bat for Yelich to believe this had a chance to work. Batting leadoff, Yelich hit a 424-foot home run straightaway center field off Rockies starter Connor Seabold, coming off his bat at 107.9 mph. He singled in his next at-bat. He wound up with a three-hit game in the Brewers’ loss. He since has had 17 more multiple-hit games, raising his batting average to .284 with an .831 OPS, the highest it has been since 2019.

“I had to experiment, because what I was doing wasn’t working,’’ Yelich said. "I had to make an adjustment, and when I homered in Colorado, that kind of helped buy into it a little bit. It was foreign to me. I knew I had to give it some time. It wasn’t going to work overnight.

“But I also knew I could still be a really good player in this league and produce at a really high level.’’

Here he is now, dominating the game again, showing confidence, aggressiveness at the plate, punishing mistakes over the plate and proving he’s still one of the game’s elite outfielders.

It has been four years since his last All-Star Game appearance, and considering what he has endured, and the determination he has shown, it would be fitting for his efforts to be recognized in front of the baseball world in Seattle.

“This would be more special, just because of everything I went through,’’ Yelich said. “It would be cool.’’

A sweet coronation for perseverance.

Follow Nightengale on Twitter: @Bnightengale

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Milwaukee Brewers' Christian Yelich worthy of All-Star Game spot