He won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 2007, after leading the National League (NL) in slugging percentage, beating out Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies by a narrow margin. He also won the Sporting News NL Rookie of the Year, the Baseball America Rookie of the Year, the Baseball Prospectus Internet Baseball NL Rookie of the Year, and the Players Choice NL Most Outstanding Rookie Awards. Over the prior decade, the only other NL hitter to win all five awards was Albert Pujols, in 2001.
Braun was a starting NL All Star outfielder in 2008 through 2010, won the 2008–10 NL Outfielder Silver Slugger Awards, and was the starting left fielder for the USA team in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He also led the NL in hits for the 2009 season. Braun was named to the Sporting News' list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball, ranking No. 32 on the list in 2009, No. 22 in 2010, and No. 16 in 2011.
High school
Braun was a four-year letterman on the Granada Hills High School baseball team, and three-year team captain and MVP. He played shortstop, and until his junior year he also pitched. As a sophomore in 2000, he recorded the highest batting average of his prep career (.456), while posting a .654 on base percentage.
He was a two-time all-area selection by the Los Angeles Times, and a three-time choice by the Los Angeles Daily News. Braun was rated the sixth-best shortstop prospect in the country by Team One Baseball as a senior, and rated among the top 100 overall prospects by Baseball America. He graduated in 2002, but went undrafted as he told teams that he intended to go to college.
College
Offered scholarships to Stanford University and UC-Berkeley, he instead attended the University of Miami. He chose Miami for its academics, its athletics, and its social scene, noting: "I think the girls were the deal closer on the recruiting trip." There, Braun was named "National Freshman of the Year," as well as a first-team "Freshman All-American," by Baseball America in 2003. He was also named first-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball.He clinched the awards by batting .364 with 76 RBIs and 17 home runs. As a sophomore shortstop/DH, Braun hit .335 and slugged .606, stealing 21 bases.
During his junior year, his final and most successful at Miami, Braun batted .396 with 18 home runs, a .726 slugging percentage, 76 RBIs, and 23 stolen bases. He was ninth in slugging, and 10th in RBIs, in NCAA Division I, and was named to Baseball America's 2005 College All-American Team as the DH. He moved from shortstop to third base during the year.
His performance earned Braun a spot as one of the finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, the most prestigious individual award in college baseball,and the Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Player of the Year award
Family
Braun's younger brother, middle infielder Steve Braun, played for the University of Maryland, College Park. He signed with the Brewers in 2008 as a free agent, and in 2009 was on the roster of the Brewers' low-A affiliate, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers until he broke an ankle in June.
Braun's younger brother, middle infielder Steve Braun, played for the University of Maryland, College Park. He signed with the Brewers in 2008 as a free agent, and in 2009 was on the roster of the Brewers' low-A affiliate, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers until he broke an ankle in June.
Pursuits outside baseball
Braun is developing his own signature fashion t-shirt line for Affliction Clothing, a California-based clothing manufacturer owned by friends of his which manufactures shirts that are garment dyed and hand distressed.[202] In August 2008 he filmed a YouTube video with supermodel Marisa Miller for Remington's ShortCut clippers, which was released in the fall. And in October 2008, Apple released a commercial for its new iPhone, which showed a clip of Braun's 10th inning walk-off grand slam against the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 25, 2008, which kept the Brewers' Wild Card hopes alive. Gatorade used the same clip in its November 2008 "League of Clutch" commercial. He has also signed endorsement deals with CytoSport, a supplement maker, Nike, Wilson, Mikita Sports for autographs and memorabilia, Sam Bat, and AirTran Airways, and is working on his own line of aluminum bats. Braun has turned down a request by ABC that he appear on the TV show "The Bachelor".
Braun is developing his own signature fashion t-shirt line for Affliction Clothing, a California-based clothing manufacturer owned by friends of his which manufactures shirts that are garment dyed and hand distressed.[202] In August 2008 he filmed a YouTube video with supermodel Marisa Miller for Remington's ShortCut clippers, which was released in the fall. And in October 2008, Apple released a commercial for its new iPhone, which showed a clip of Braun's 10th inning walk-off grand slam against the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 25, 2008, which kept the Brewers' Wild Card hopes alive. Gatorade used the same clip in its November 2008 "League of Clutch" commercial. He has also signed endorsement deals with CytoSport, a supplement maker, Nike, Wilson, Mikita Sports for autographs and memorabilia, Sam Bat, and AirTran Airways, and is working on his own line of aluminum bats. Braun has turned down a request by ABC that he appear on the TV show "The Bachelor".
Braun has appeared in commercials in 2010 for Muscle Milk and for Dick's Sporting Goods. Also in 2010, Braun opened two restaurants in Wisconsin, Ryan Braun's Waterfront in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward and Ryan Braun's Tavern & Grill in Lake Geneva. In late 2010 Braun's Milwaukee location closed for remodeling and to upgrade it's menu before re-opening on April 3, 2011 as Ryan Braun's Graffito. The Graffito serves Italian fare in a building styled like Milwaukee's urban areas, including a large painting of Miller Park.
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