An ode to the other three random Brewers to hit for the cycle this century
Christian Yelich was spectacular on Wednesday for the Brewers, helping his squad record a dramatic 13-12 win over the Cincinnati Reds in 10 innings. Yelich threw out a potential go-ahead run at the plate, collected six hits and hit for the cycle, becoming the fourth Brewer to ever collect six hits in a game and the fourth to hit for the cycle since Paul Molitor turned the feat in 1991.
Yelich, whose torrid stretch over the past month has put him in the MVP conversation, is by far the biggest star to hit for the cycle in a Brewers uniform this century. But we’ll never forget these three random others who managed the trick.
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Chad Moeller
On April 27, 2004, Moeller – a light-hitting catcher who also wasn’t the fleetest of foot – turned the trick against the Reds, finishing 4 for 5 in the game. This game was almost as crazy as the next game in which a Brewers player hit a cycle against the Reds, and actually, Moeller recorded his lone “out” when he reached on an error that allowed a run to score in the ninth with two outs and the Brewers facing their final out.
Bill Hall followed with a two-run walk-off home run that gave the Brewers a 9-8 victory.
Moeller was one of six players traded to the Brewers in a deal with the Diamondbacks that sent Richie Sexson the other way. Moeller actually spent parts of 11 seasons in the big leagues – three with Milwaukee – and finished with a career .226 average and .640 OPS. He also happened to be one of the nicest dudes to ever wear the Brewers uniform, for the record.
Believe it or not, it’s the only cycle in Brewers history completed at home.
Jody Gerut
Speaking of the Diamondbacks, Gerut’s May 8, 2010 cycle came at Chase Field in Arizona. Gerut doubled off the wall in the top of the ninth to complete the feat, and he only got a chance to swing because Joe Inglett singled one batter earlier.
Gerut joined the Brewers from the Padres in a midseason trade in 2009 (for Tony Gwynn, Jr.), then stuck around for the first part of the 2010 season before the team released him later that summer. He never returned to the big leagues, but he did play for parts of six seasons and batted a respectable .262 with a .758 OPS.
This game was far less interesting than Moeller’s, a 17-3 Brewers win. And you know what? After Gerut got that double, he scored when the next batter also doubled. That guy was George Kottaras.
George Kottaras
In the waning moments of a memorable 2011 season, yet another backup catcher delivered the memorable performance.
Kottaras, who came to the Brewers from Boston, played 2010, 2011 and part of 2012 in Milwaukee, and he ultimately finished a career with parts of seven seasons in Major League Baseball holding a .215 batting average and .737 OPS.
On Sept. 3 in an 8-2 win over Houston, Kottaras doubled in the ninth inning, dropping a ground-rule ball off Tal’s Hill in center field at Minute Maid Park in Houston for the clincher.
That was the last of the cycles, which have been produced by far more notable Brewers luminaries in previous years (Robin Yount, Molitor, Charlie Moore, Mike Hegan), until Wednesday night.
Six-hit games in Brewers history
- Christian Yelich, 8/29/19 -- at Cincinnati
- Jean Segura, 5/28/13 -- vs. Minnesota
- Kevin Reimer, 8/24/93 -- vs. Oakland
- John Briggs, 8/04/73 -- at Cleveland
Cycles in Brewers history
- Christian Yelich, 8/29/18 – at Cincinnati
- George Kottaras, 9/3/11 – at Houston
- Jody Gerut, 5/8/10 – at Arizona
- Chad Moeller, 4/27/04 – vs. Cincinnati
- Paul Molitor, 5/15/91 – at Minnesota
- Robin Yount, 6/12/88 – at Chicago White Sox
- Charlie Moore, 10/01/80 – at California Angels
- Mike Hegan, 9/3/76 – at Detroit