Almost two weeks removed from back surgery, which brought his best season in recent memory to a premature end, Christian Yelich is feeling exponentially better. He is setting his sights on reporting to Spring Training next season stronger than ever.
Christian Yelich Has His Sights Set On 2025 After Season-Ending Surgery
The Milwaukee Brewers All-Star outfielder returned to American Family Field Tuesday afternoon as his teammates prepared to open a brief, three-game homestand against the San Francisco Giants. Though disappointed in being unable to help them inch closer to clinching the NL Central title, just being back in the clubhouse again marked a giant step forward.
“The worst part about the last two weeks was the boredom aspect of it,” Yelich said. “It wasn’t really a pain thing; it was just pretty boring because I couldn’t really do a whole lot. I watched these guys when I could, and they’ve done a great job, and they’ve continued to do a great job throughout the whole year.”
Yelich played a big role in the Brewers’ success. Though he missed nearly a month due to back issues earlier this season, he looked much more like the player who won the NL’s Most Valuable Player Award in 2018 — and might have won again a year later were it not for a season-ending knee injury.
In 73 games, Yelich slashed .315/.406/.504 with 11 home runs, 42 RBIs, and a .909 OPS. He also stole 21 bases (in 22 attempts). Producing an OPS+ of 151 to earn a starting spot on the NL All-Star roster.
Yelich’s Battle
It wasn’t easy, though. Yelich’s back issues continued to flare up and reached a breaking point after he started the second half 0-for-9 with a pair of strikeouts.
“I was trying to play as long as possible, make it through the season, and keep contributing,” Yelich said. “Once it got to the point where it felt like that wasn’t really possible anymore, and I wasn’t doing any good to anybody, that’s kind of when we got into a little more serious discussion about it.”
It was the team’s success, more than his own accomplishments, that led Yelich to put off surgery as long as possible in the hopes of getting back on the field before the season ended.
When the rest and rehab approach didn’t produce results, Yelich faced a number of potential risks. First and foremost, it aggravated the issue even further, leading to a more serious operation. Second, even if he was able to return for the stretch run and playoffs, he’d still need to undergo surgery. That has an approximate recovery time of three months. That could leave him unavailable when Spring Training gets underway next February.
“Depending on how deep the playoff run would have been, (I) could have been buttoned up against Spring Training pretty close,” Yelich said. “So if it took a little bit longer, who knows, it could have run into next year more, but that really shouldn’t be a problem now, which is nice. I’m kind of just focused on taking my time, making sure I feel good, and getting strong. I should be more than ready to go and have a fairly normal preparation in the offseason to get ready for Spring.”
Yelich, Brewers, And Beyond
In the end, Yelich knew the decision, though difficult, was the right one.
“It was to the point where daily living sucked. I was really uncomfortable. There was a lot of pain. It was something i just had to get taken care of and I’m glad I did it, honestly.”
The Brewers have taken a commanding lead of the NL Central despite suffering a season-long onslaught of injuries. Using 17 different starting pitchers. However, many figured their luck would finally run out when Yelich was lost for the season.
But the team just kept winning. Milwaukee went into its game Tuesday night with a 17-12 record since losing Yelich. It added four games to its lead over the rest of the division, including getting within 2 1/2 games of the Dodgers for the best record in the National League.
Yelich isn’t surprised by the Brewers’ continued success.
“I thought this season would significantly depend on our health, which we haven’t really had at all,” Yelich said. “The most surprising aspect has probably been how many guys that have stepped up and contributed that we probably didn’t count on contributing in a significant role and they’ve become pretty integral pieces of our team.
“That’s really cool.”
Main Photo Credits: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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