The Greatest Brewers Mustaches of All-Time: Robin Yount

When you look at the Milwaukee Brewers of the past, one thing jumps out.

Mustaches.

It's true the team has had a rather rich history when it comes to players donning the lip fur.  To celebrate that fact (and it is a fact), sometime contributor Lou Olsen and his band of misfits over at Reviewing the Brew are counting down the Five Greatest Brewers Mustaches of All-Time.

Number five on the list was, naturally, the team's mascot Bernie Brewer.

Number four...Robin Yount.

As the feature's resident "Stache Specialist"...here was my take:

When Robin Yount signed his first Major League Baseball contract in 1973, he was a fresh-faced kid. However, the strong influence of his teammates (most likely Gorman Thomas and Charlie Moore) and the cold breeze sweeping off of Lake Michigan soon taught the young (then) shortstop that he needed to harness the powers of the Gods and sprout some northern mouth fur.

And grow it did.

By the end of the 1982 campaign, Yount was the leader of a squad that rivals only the 1972-1974 Oakland Athletics when it comes to teams with labial superiority.

As you well know, the two-time American League MVP was a first ballot inductee into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Unbeknownst to most...Yount's plaque serves as a shrine not only to his personal achievement, but also to those of Thomas, Moore, Cecil Cooper, Roy Howell, Larry Hisle, Mike Caldwell and the rest of the "Harvey's Wallbangers" that showed the world that mustaches could co-exist both on the baseball field and on the leather pants wearing Club 54 dancers.

You can read the rest of the discussion over at Reviewing the Brew.  Also...feast your eyes on this calvalcade of facial fur from the 1982 World Series.

Mustache May 'stache of the Day: Robin Yount

I'm not sure when...not sure where, but somewhere along the way I heard the quote "it's not how you start, it's how you finish". Well, thanks to the continued support of the American Mustache Institute, it is with great pleasure that I continue our month long celebration of the 'stache and present to you...Robin Yount.

The dude started off his career clean shaven (look it up, gang), and ended up with a Hall of Fame career and 'stache.

AMI Style: It's safe to safe that by the end of his career, Yount had the epitome of the horseshoe. All the while, his lip warmer could only be compared to the lemonade that share's it's master's name...100% Rockin'.

Grade: A Yount earns major points for playing a pivotal role on one of baseball's finest mustached specimens...the 1982 Brewers.

On September 9, 1992...Yount became the 17th Major Leaguer to notch 3000 hits and something tells me that one of you here is upset that I mentioned it.

Happy Birthday, E!

A special thanks to checkoutmycards.com for the use of their images.

But does he SMELL like a Hall of Famer?

***Note: The following was submitted by E. Check him out HERE!***

Usually, these pages are reserved for discussing the Hall-worthiness of marginal players like Kent Tekulve and Ken Phelps...I myself still have hopes for Jack Clark and Jeff Leonard. But I thought I'd change it up a little, and talk about someone who actually WILL make the Hall sooner than later.

One of the previous entries discussed the Hall-worthiness of a couple of second basemen. I'd like to throw another hat in the ring: Craig Biggio, the newest (and, unless Bonds finds a new team next year, probably the last for a while) member of the 3000 Hit Club. Three thousand hits is one of the last hitting stats guaranteed to put you in the Hall, but I've been hearing a lot of buzz about Biggio NOT being good enough for the Hall. And I can understand this, because it's CRAIG BIGGIO.

When talking about the great players of this era, he's not a name that enters the discussion. He's not flashy, nor has he put up any super numbers; he's gotten where he is by being boringly consistent. He just doesn't pass the Hall of Famer "smell test."

However, I think he's a Haller...and a first ballot one, at that. And to make my case, I'll compare him to another converted middle infielder and 3000 hit Hall of Famer who played his entire career with one team: my arch-nemesis, Robin Yount.

These two are actually a pretty good comparison, as, by the time Biggio retires at the end of the year, they will have played the same number of years, and be close in games and plate appearances.

Yount is another case of a guy who kinda played in the shadows. Not flashy, not a great fielder, not particularly popular (playing in only three All-Star Games), playing on a not particularly-good, small-market team that would have 11 straight losing seasons after he retired...yet he somehow won two MVPs. Of the 3000 hitters...Yount's stats are some of the weakest. He was not a consistent power hitter, he didn't drive in a lot of runs, he didn't hit for average, he didn't steal bases. This guy didn't put up super numbers every year. He just went out there and put up the same stat line, year after year...not a great stat line, at that, but consistency DOES count for something.

And baseball writers realized the shallowness of his numbers, inducting him by a mere 12 votes. It didn't help that Nolan Ryan and George Brett, both 98% vote-getters, became eligible the same year.

But, he went in first ballot, nonetheless.

As far as stats go, Biggio is about as close to Yount as you can get. Their stat lines are remarkably similar, with a slight edge (I think) to Biggio. In fact, with the exception of hits, triples, and RBI, Biggio's numbers are better across the board in fewer games. I'm willing to give a pass on the RBI thing, because, while both players usually batted second in their respective lineups, Biggio batted behind a myriad of unremarkable squids (and pitchers). Yount batted behind Paul Molitor.

You tell me who's gonna have more RBI!

Biggio has some additional pluses in his column. He was a four-time Gold Glove winner, he played in all but three All-Star Games in the '90s, his 666 (and counting) doubles are good for fifth all-time, his 1840 and counting runs are good for 12th, and he will probably end his career as the all-time leading hit batsman.

Now, mind you, Biggio's great-but-not-awesome stats are somewhat skewed to the high side due to Biggio's high number of games and plate appearances. To get an understanding what I mean...look at Ken Griffey Jr's numbers, and consider the fact that The Kid has played nearly 500 FEWER games than Biggio.

But, playing in every game didn't stop Yaz or Hammerin' Hank from going into the Hall...and shouldn't be a problem here.

Biggio also ranks 10th in outs, but considering that everyone (excepting Ralph Palmeiro) in the top 20 is in the HOF, it's a good thing to get out. His company on the strikeout list, where he currently ranks 11th, is not as Hall-worthy.

All that being said, I'll conclude my case by paraphrasing a comment I made in the Sandberg/Alomar debate: If you put Yount in, you gotta put Biggio in.

Plain and simple.

We'll see how it pans out in 2013.