The Least-Expected Contributor to Brewers' First World Series Championship

[Harold Hutchison]

J.J. Hardy was a good player during his time in Milwaukee. In fact, he was one of the best shortstops in the franchise’s history, behind only Robin Yount and Willy Adames. But his tenure with the team from 2005-2009 was not his only impact. Hardy’s Brewers legacy includes some of the key players for Milwaukee’s last 10 seasons of success, culminating in its first World Series title.

How is it possible that Milwaukee’s second-round pick from 2001 ended up being the team’s most consequential draft pick of the 21st century? Yes, I know that this puts him higher than Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Jacob Misiorowski, Brandon Woodruff, and other well-known Brewers players, but if you're willing to play with the definitions a bit, he has a case.

It might not have unfolded this way, but for an off year. Hardy struggled in 2009. The Brewers even demoted him to Triple-A briefly—long enough to get an extra year of team control. With the relationship soured (and with Alcides Escobar forcing the issue), Milwaukee swapped Hardy to the Twins for Carlos Gómez.

Just getting Gómez worked out nicely for Milwaukee, as the dynamo became one of the best center fielders in Brewers history. But then, the Brewers dealt Gómez and pitcher Mike Fiers to the Houston Astros for four players: outfielders Brett Phillips and Domingo Santana, along with pitchers Adrian Houser and Josh Hader.

In 2017, as the Brewers fell just short of the postseason, Santana proved to be a pretty good power hitter. In 2018, Hader and Houser stuck in Milwaukee for good as members of an excellent pitching staff, while Phillips was part of a package that landed the Brewers Mike Moustakas.

Fast-forward to 2022, and the controversial Hader trade. The Brewers secured Robert Gasser’s services, giving them a 2026 postseason hero after he returned from arm trouble, but they also landed Esteury Ruiz. Ruiz may have been the more consequential acquisition, in the sense we're talking about today: he was the piece Matt Arnold used to get involved in the Athletics-Braves trade that brought William Contreras to Milwaukee.

Gasser is likely to be a mainstay in the Milwaukee rotation for some time. Contreras is arguably the best catcher in Brewers history. The Hardy trade tree has borne remarkable fruit—and it's still in bloom.

Adrian Houser was dealt to the Mets for Coleman Crow, who’s already had some appearances for Milwaukee, and how he works out has yet to be determined. Gasser and Contreras have added 15.5% of a championship during their time in Milwaukee, according to Baseball Reference, and there's certainly an argument that Contreras's contributions to this title run were underestimated by the stats. Whether it's soon or far down the road, it's also reasonable to guess that one or both of those players will fetch something substantial in trade, too.

This way of looking at things is more for fun than for serious consumption, of course. Hardy didn't produce this value; the front office did. Still, it's part of Hardy's story as part of the team's history, and it threads him in with the bevy of other Brewers greats who have a tangible (if somewhat remote) connection to the championship the organization finally won this fall.

Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

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