This top five is a hard one. It is harder than you think. Putting together a list of your favorite Milwaukee Brewers batters of the last two decades and a half is very tough. There are so many players that you can put on this list. Also, you need to separate batters and pitchers. There are way too many options to consolidate it down that far. I started to remember Brewers’ baseball in 1996. I have faint memories of going to County Stadium with my dad. My parents also gave me media guides as a youngster, so, I familiarized myself with the team at a young age. You will not see Paul Molitor or Robin Yount because I’m 31 and didn’t see either play for the Brewers.

HONORABLE MENTION: Jeff Cirillo, Mike Cameron, Russell Branyan, Bill Hall, Matt Mieske, Mark Loretta, Rickie Weeks, George Kottaras, Eric Thames, Geoff Jenkins, Prince Fielder -> All had some sort of special place in my heart for a brief minute as a Brewers’ fan, but they did not crack the top five. Jenkins is the first Brewers I truly liked as a kid. He was on my list originally.

5. Nyjer Morgan – TONY PLUSH! I loved the year of Nyjer Morgan. If you didn’t love it, you had a dump in your pants. To me, Nyjer Morgan defines the 2011 season. More so than Ryan Braun because he came to the team at the start of the year and was a lightning rod all year hitting ahead of Braun and Fielder. There were so many iconic quotes and moments from Morgan. If I was better at blogging in 2011, he would have been content gold. He also had the walk-off to send the Brewers to the NLCS. Yes, I am the owner of a Plush #2 t-shirt jersey.

4. Christian Yelich – For some, I bet he is way higher on the list. Yelich is my guy and loves him as I have with other guys on the list. But maybe due to my age, Yelich isn’t as much of a favorite as others. Yelich will be beloved in this city when it’s all said and done. Watching him in the last two years has been a delight. Every time he stepped up, there was a chance for something special.

3. Ryan Braun – RYAN BRAUN FOREVER. Years ago, I told my podcast partner Mitch that we would have a bar crawl for Ryan Braun when he leaves the Brewers. I still standby that motion and look forward to getting invited to this maybe in December. I still remember listening to Doug and Wickett after a morning workout in 2007 and wishing everyone a ‘Happy Ryan Braun Day’ for the day he got called up. I’ve been a Braun guy throughout the years more so than a Fielder guy and happy I never wavered even with all the bullshit.

2. Corey Hart – Something about Corey Hart made me a fan of him. I wanted a Brewers jersey in college. I told my mom that either I wanted Hart or Yovani Gallardo. I didn’t want to have a Braun or Fielder jersey like everyone else. That is why I landed on Hart. He was my guy. If you know how I cheer, I usually try to go against the grain with rooting interests. Hart was exactly that. Never the most popular guy with the fans, but I always thought he could deliver even if the low and away slider always fooled him.

1. Carlos Gomez – My dude. Carlos Gomez became my guy post-2011. I started to notice that Gomez had some real potential to be a great player. It is a bummer that he couldn’t be a part of any of the Brewers playoff runs when Gomez had his few good years with the team. I adored watching him play the game of baseball both on defense and at the plate. For my money, he is the most fun baseball player in my lifetime and glad he was a Brewer for most of his career.

Charlie.