...And The Youth Just Keeps Moving
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by user Coreyisarealboy
I just returned from a game where the oldest player of the starting nine was 30 years old, and the youngest player, the pitcher, was 21 and making his highly anticipated Major League debut.
It's no secret that the Milwaukee Brewers have some talented young players on their team, but one of the best sights that I was able to behold recently was one of four infielders, none of whom are over the age of 23, gather at the mound amidst 41,000 fans giving that 21-year-old a standing ovation for 6 strong innings and eventually his first major league win.
Ned Yost's comment following the game said it best: "We were all standing on the mound after [Gallardo] left and I was looking at those kids and Prince goes, 'Man, he's cool. He's just nice and calm and cool.' I said, 'Yeah, he's just like you guys. He's a stud.'"
Yovani Gallardo seemed as collected as a veteran on the mound and at the plate, as he also rocketed an RBI double into left field in his first major league at-bat.
The game itself could be listed as the official culmination of the Brewers' youth movement. Prince Fielder, 23, celebrated his recently announced lead on the NL first base race for the All-Star game by planting his 26th home run of the season in the Brewers' bullpen in the first inning, a blast that scored fellow 23-year-old Ryan Braun.
Gallardo's second inning double plated 24-year-old Rickie Weeks, who also added an RBI in the fourth, and 25-year-old Corey Hart banged a solo shot off the second deck facade in right field.
The only one out of the group of "young talent" who didn't get into the scoring action was 24-year-old J.J. Hardy, who has done plenty for run-support this season with 17 homers from the shortstop position.
The odd thing is, the "veterans" who started this game for the Brewers, Johnny Estrada, Bill Hall, and Kevin Mench, are all younger than all but two of the opposition's players. Granted, these were the Giants they were facing.
But it's not as if the Brewers have drained the well. With Weeks coming off the DL, the Brewers had to send a 24-year-old outfielder, the son of a recent Hall of Fame inductee, who was batting .301 in 68 at-bats back to the minors, where another 24-year-old was running his pitching record to 8-3.
So as you doubt the sustainability of good play from such a young team, remember June 18 as I will hopefully remember it: as the day the Milwaukee Brewers officially announced they are here to stay...for a very, very long time.
