Who Should the Next Brewers' 'Wall of Honor' Inductees Be?

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Sara Stathas

Since it was established in 2014, the Brewers’ “Wall of Honor” outside Miller Park has been a busy place. No less than sixty-eight members have been inducted or qualified for induction over that time, including Corey Hart, whose plaque was added in 2017. Several more active players will be inducted following their retirement, including several that could happen soon: Prince Fielder recently retired and John Axford, Yovani Gallardo, J.J. Hardy and Rickie Weeks are all currently without teams.

Once the current crop of qualified players runs out, however, there could be an extended lull between inductions. For the most part players who qualify for the honor do so based on longevity: The primary qualification is having made 2000 plate appearances, pitched 1000 innings or pitched in 250 games. No Brewer has reached any of those career marks since Francisco Rodriguez made his 250th appearance in 2015.

It’s already been two-plus years since a new player qualified for the wall, and it could be a few more before anyone else joins them. Aside from the already-qualified Ryan Braun, the Brewers’ active leaders in plate appearances are Hernan Perez (1126), Jonathan Villar (1115) and Domingo Santana (1033), all at least two seasons away from reaching 2000. The Brewers’ active leader in innings pitched is Jimmy Nelson, who will pick back up at 611 1/3 when he’s ready to pitch again following shoulder surgery. The only player with an outside chance of qualifying in 2018 is Jeremy Jeffress, who needs 70 pitching appearances to reach 250. His single season career high in appearances is 72, set with the Brewers in 2015.

Assuming none of those players reach the qualifying threshold in 2018, however, the Brewers will go at least four years without a new player earning a place on the wall. That extended gap between induction ceremonies down the road could allow them to look back at some of the best former Brewers that aren’t enshrined yet. If they decide to take that opportunity, here are three current non-qualifiers they could consider:

Tommy Harper

Of all the players not qualified for induction Harper has easily the most plate appearances with 1984, although 639 of them came with the Seattle Pilots. Harper was the franchise’s first star, leading all of Major League Baseball with 73 stolen bases in 1969, and following it with the franchise’s first-ever 30/30 season in 1970. He was the Brewers’ first All Star and finished sixth in the MVP voting that season despite playing for a team that lost 97 games. Despite spending just three seasons with the Brewers franchise Harper still ranks sixth in steals with 136.

Following the 1971 season Harper was the best player in a package the Brewers dealt to Boston to acquire six MLB players, including longtime Brewers first baseman George Scott. In October he turned 77 years old, so the Brewers might be running out of time to honor him.

Larry Hisle

The Brewers made an exception to the Wall of Honor criteria in 2015 to honor longtime catcher and broadcaster Bill Schroeder, and could just as easily make another to honor a player whose tenure in Milwaukee was cut short by injury but has made a major impact in the community.

Hisle joined the Brewers as a free agent before the 1978 season and made an immediate impact, hitting 34 home runs, driving in 115 and representing the Brewers at the All Star Game. He was a key part of the Brewers’ first winning team, as they improved from 67-95 to 93-69 in the span of one year. He played in just 79 more games for the Brewers over the final four years of his career, unfortunately, and falls well short of the wall’s playing time threshold.

Since his retirement from baseball Hisle has returned to Milwaukee and worked to improve his home community. His work with troubled youth and efforts to revive baseball in the inner city have been well documented. The combination of his accomplishments on and off the field makes him a candidate whose impact could easily be commemorated.

Phil Garner

The only way for a manager to earn their way into the wall is by leading the Brewers to a pennant, something that has been done one time in franchise history. As such, Harvey Kuenn is on the wall despite being just the 12th longest tenured and eighth winningest manager in franchise history, and he and Craig Counsell (inducted as a player) are the only skippers represented.

There are several interesting candidates among those left out, but Garner is the most glaring omission. His tenure with the Brewers lasted nearly a full decade and ended with him as the franchise’s all-time leader in both wins (567) and games managed (1180) by a wide margin, establishing records that no manager may ever equal. He was at the helm for over 15% of the franchise’s 49-year history. The fact that the Brewers never reached the postseason during his tenure almost certainly wasn’t his fault.

For the Brewers, of course, the best case scenario is that the next few years bring a boatload of wins, perhaps a pennant and a collection of awards that build the legacies and qualifications of a new generation of Wall of Honor inductees. Even if that happens, however, they could still be well served by taking a moment to reconsider some of the historical figures they’ve overlooked.