Our next entry in the MLB Radial Axis Series features the Brewers, including their 1969 introduction as the Seattle Pilots. In total, we’re talking about 57 seasons from 1969 through 2025. We’re going to walk through some highlights from the network, and then provide the link so you can explore it in detail. For some background on how the network graphs work, select this link – Anatomy of MLB radial axis graphs.
The Brewers Network
The Brewers radial axis network reflects the connections among all players who spent time with the franchise from 1969 to 2025. The 1969 season is found at the bottom center of the graph. Subsequent seasons are arranged clockwise, eventually returning to the bottom center with the 2025 season. Player nodes are sized by the number of seasons spent with the team, and the gray lines between nodes reflect connections to other players. The interactive version of the network is here – Brewers Network.
Top 10 by Seasons Played (Size)
Robin Yount stands alone on top of the Brewers tenure ranking after playing 20 seasons (1974-1993) with the team. A handful of other Brewers legends follow, led by Jim Gantner (1976-1992), Paul Molitor (1978-1992), Ryan Braun (2007-2020), and Charlie Moore (1973-1986). Yount, Gantner, Molitor, and Moore played many seasons as teammates in a period where the Brewers were often in contention in the AL East.
Top 10 by Degree (the number of connections)
Ryan Braun tops the Brewers’ list for having the most connections to other players, with 309. The Brewers were not regular contenders during his time with the team, leading to more roster turnover than in Yount’s years with the club. Brandon Woodruff had many teammates across eight seasons (2017-2023, 2025), as has Rickie Weeks (2003, 2005-2014). Freddy Peralta (2018-2025), Christian Yelich (2018-2025), and Geoff Jenkins (1998-2007) are next in line. Yelich’s number will continue to grow through at least the 2026 season, although it seems unlikely he will approach Braun’s number of connections.
Top 10 by Harmonic Closeness Centrality
With Harmonic Closeness Centrality, we measure how closely an individual player is related to all other players in the network. This number (scaled from 0 to 1) may indicate a player’s importance to the network, and can also be an indication that they played with influential teammates. Ryan Braun, Geoff Jenkins, and Rickie Weeks top this list, although there are many others with similar scores.
Top 10 by Betweenness Centrality
Betweenness Centrality measures which players rank highest in their ability to connect all other players. In simple terms, which player provides the most efficient path through the network (scaled from 0 to 1)? Ryan Braun at the top is unsurprising, but the next two may raise a few eyebrows. David Weathers played just five seasons with Milwaukee (1998-2001, 2009), but these separate years with the team connect him to two distinct groups of teammates. Doug Jones (1996-1998) played just three seasons for the Brewers but is apparently well-positioned as a network connector.
Summary
That’s it for our overview of the Brewers network. Be sure to visit the interactive graph to discover additional insights about the Brewers players over the last 57 seasons. We’ll be back shortly with our next franchise entry. Thanks for reading!