The man who played more major league games as a teenager is the 81st inductee into the Baseball Hall of Immortals.
Robin Yount made his debut as the 18-year old shortstop for the Milwaukee Brewers on Opening Day 1974. 20 years later Yount retired still a Brewer, owning almost all team offensive records. His 2,856 games played in a Milwaukee uniform is exactly 1,000 more than the player in 2nd place (Paul Molitor).
Once established as the every-day shortstop, Yount continued to improve his offensive game. In 1980 he led the league in doubles (49), batting .293 with 23 homeruns and 20 stolen bases. This would kick off a 12-year period where he would reach double-digits in homeruns 11 times, stolen bases 10 times, and exceed a .300 batting average 6 times.
In 1982 Yount won his first MVP award with career highs in average (.331), hits (210), homeruns (29), and RBIs (114).
Yount switched to the outfield in 1985, but his offense was not impacted. In fact , in 1989 he became only the third player in history to win an MVP at two different positions.
When he retired at 37 years old, Yount had amassed 3,142 hits, 251 homeruns, more than 1,600 runs scored, and just over 1,400 RBIs.
The man who collected more hits than anyone else during the 1980’s is an Immortal.
For some background on what this is, check out the introduction post here.
