Ryan Braun is arguably one of the greatest players the Major League baseball has ever seen and his numbers as well as, the accolades he has swopped over the years serve a clear proof. Braun began impressing from his rookie year in 2007 when he won the coveted National League Rookie of the Year award. He has been a recipient of five Silver Slugger awards from 2008 to 2012.
He has been named to 6 All-Star games, five of which were consecutive. In 2011, he was the National League’s Most Valuable Player. Sporting News in 2012 ranked him as 7th on their list of 50 greatest current players in baseball. A failed drug test in 2011 almost robbed him of his career but he managed to get back in the saddle by 2015.
Ryan Braun Biography
On the 17th of November 1983, in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California Ryan Joseph Braun was born. He is the son of Joe and Diane Braun. Braun has a younger brother named Steve. Athletics seem to run in his family. His father Joe was an athlete in his own right and coached a tee-ball team where Braun played in.
As a kid, Braun’s athletic side was immediately apparent. He played basketball and soccer but by high school, he chose to focus on baseball. His performance on the varsity baseball team attracted him recognition from the LA Times.
Braun got two baseball scholarships to Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley. However, he ignored both and chose to go for the academic scholarship offered to him by the University of Miami. Braun performed exceptionally well in college enough to make him a finalist of one of the most prestigious collegiate awards, the Golden Spikes Award.
Ryan Braun’s MLB career was going spectacularly well until 2011 when it came to light that he had failed a urine test and tested positive for high levels of testosterone caused by using performance enhancement drugs. Braun successfully appealed the positive drug test becoming the first player to do so in MLB history.
However, by June 2013, Braun alongside a number of other athletes was linked with Biogenesis of America, a rejuvenation clinic that was found guilty of issuing PEDs to a number of athletes. Braun would later apologize for using PEDs. As a penalty for his actions, Braun was suspended for the remaining games of the 2013 season (65) including the postseason games.
Braun struggled when he returned in the 2014 season but rapidly picked up by the 2015 season.
Salary
Playing in the MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers have made Ryan Braun a millionaire. His first contract signed with the side after he was drafted was worth $2.45 million. In 2008, he renewed his contract in an 8-year deal estimated to be worth between $45–$51 million. The contract at the time was the biggest one ever for a player who had just served a team for just a year.
In April 2011, with four years left on his contract, the Brewers signed a 5-year, $105 million contract extension which would keep him at the side till 2020. The deal came with a $10 million signing bonus and sees him earn a salary o $19 million for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018, $18 million in 2019 and $16 million in 2020. This puts his annual average salary at $21 million.
The contract came with a mutual option worth $20 million as well as a $4 million buyout. Braun’s contract also came with a no-trade protection which means that he defers part of his salary.
Wife
Ryan Braun is married to lingerie model, Larisa Fraser. After a long period of dating, they got engaged in November 2012. About a year later in December 2013, Ryan and Larisa tied the knot in an intimate family ceremony held in Malibu, California.
Braun’s wife was born on February 1, 1989, in Toronto, Canada. In 1996 when she was 7 years old, her family relocated to Alpine, Utah. She attended Lone Peak High School from where she graduated in 2007 after which she enrolled in the University of Utah. She had begun modeling in college and in her freshman year, she was discovered by Pulse Management. By 2008, she signed with Elite Models. Her body measurements are 32-23-35 inches.
Larisa has worked for a number of brands including Kohl’s, Nordstrom’s, Michael Kors, Kodak and Canon Cameras and more. She has also been featured in magazines like Women’s Health, GQ, and Glamour.
In addition to modeling, Larisa is a food and beauty enthusiast. She runs a blog where she writes about what she describes as bikini healthy meals. The almost 6-foot tall model has shown her skills as an actress. She played the guest role of Shelby Buress in a 2012 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
Braun and his wife Larisa share two kids together including daughter Celine Elysse Braun born in September 2014 and a son Greyson Braun, born in September 2017.
Stats
From his college years down to his minor league years and in his pro career, Ryan Braun has set many records. His versatility to play as a left fielder, a first baseman and third baseman is something to admire. As of June 2018, Ryan Braun’s career stats are;
Batting average: .300
Hits: 1,737
Home runs: 310
Runs batted in: 1,018
Stolen bases: 199
Other Facts You Need To Know
1. A lot of his father’s family members were murdered during the Holocaust.
2. His father is Jewish while his mother is Catholic. Braun himself has publicly proclaimed that he is Jewish.
3. His nickname The Hebrew Hammer is in reference to his Jewish heritage.
4. Braun was the only Jewish baseball player invited by President George W. Bush to the annual Hanukkah Dinner in December 2007.
5. In January 2010, he was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
6. The clip of Braun’s 10th inning walk-off grand slam against the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 25, 2008, has been used for commercials by both Apple and Gatorade.
7. Ryan Braun has developed his own signature tees for the California-based clothing manufacturer, Affliction Clothing.
8. Braun earns from a number of non-baseball sources including a number of restaurants, two of which are present in Wisconsin.
9. He has endorsed a number of brands including; CytoSport, Nike, AirTran Airways, Muscle Milk, Kwik Trip.
10. After admitting to using drugs in 2013, Braun lost most of his endorsement and licensing deals.
11. Braun never let his athletic side ruin his academics as he excelled greatly in both. His worse grade ever in high school was a B in Advanced Placement Chemistry.
