Christian Yelich just made MLB history. On Wednesday, the Milwaukee Brewers player hit for the cycle in the team’s 14-11 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. It was the third career cycle for Yelich and all three came against the Reds with the previous two happening in 2019. Yelich is now the sixth player in MLB history to hit for the cycle three times. The other five players are John Reilly, Bob Meusel, Babe Herman, Adrián Beltré, and Trea Turner.
Yelich started the game by hitting a ground-rule double in the first inning. He then homered in the third, singled in the fifth and hit a triple in the ninth to complete the cycle. It’s also the 10th cycle for the Brewers in their history. Wednesday was big for Yelich who is not off to the best start in his career. Additionally, last season was one to forget for Yelich as he hit just .248 with nine home runs and 51 RBIs.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“We have to do everything we can to help Christian get closer to where we were in 2018 and 2019,” Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns said in October, per the Associated Press. “I don’t think it is realistic to hold that level of production up. Those were two MVP-caliber years. But clearly, he wasn’t right this year, and he wasn’t right last year either. There may be different reasons in each of those two years why we couldn’t quite get it going, but it should be a priority for the organization.”
“I have to be better,” Yelich said after Game 4 of the playoff series against the Atlanta Braves. “I came up in a lot of big spots throughout the year and in the postseason as well and came up short. That’s how it goes. It’s part of the game. You just have to take it all in, pick yourself up afterward and keep moving.” Yelich was arguably the best player in baseball in 2018 and 2019. The 30-year-old hit .326 with 36 home runs and 110 RBIs and 22 stole bases in 2018, leading to him being named NL MVP. In 2019, Yelich hit .329 with 44 home runs and 97 RBIs and 30 stolen bases and finished second in MVP voting.
