Ben Sheets elected to Brewers Walk of Fame, Bob Hazle to Braves Wall of Honor
Ben Sheets, one of the top strikeout artists in Milwaukee Brewers history, is going to be taking his place among the franchise's greats this summer.
The team announced Thursday that the right-hander has been elected to the team's Walk of Fame, making him just the 22nd player to be so honored.
Bob "Hurricane" Hazle has also been elected to the Milwaukee Braves Wall of Honor.
Both players will be honored during the upcoming season at a date to be announced later.
Sheets, the 10th overall pick in the 1999 draft, was named an all-star in four of his eight seasons in Milwaukee (2001, 2004, 2007 and 2008) and became the first Brewers pitcher to start the All-Star Game in 2008.
His best season came in 2004 when he tied for second in the major leagues with five complete games while ranking third in strikeouts (264) and WHIP (0.98) and fourth in ERA (2.70) and innings pitched (tied, 237).
On May 14, 2004, Sheets struck out a franchise-record 18 batters in a complete-game victory over Atlanta in Milwaukee. Sheets ranks second in franchise history in strikeouts (1,206), third in starts (221), fifth in innings pitched (1,428), sixth in wins (94) and ninth in ERA (3.72).
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The Walk of Fame commemorates some of the most accomplished names in Milwaukee baseball history with a granite-shaped home plate set in the ground outside of American Family Field.
Hazle had a brief but memorable run with the Braves that began in late July 1957 after an injury to outfielder Billy Bruton.
Hazle hit .556 in his first 12 games and recorded hits in 26 of his 37 starts that season, batting .403 with seven home runs and 24 runs batted in. Since Ted Williams in 1941, Hazle is the only player to have a season with at least 150 plate appearances to hit over .400 in a season. In Game 7 of the World Series in 1957, Hazle hit a single off Don Larsen of the New York Yankees to ignite a four-run rally. He scored on a double by Eddie Mathews, a run that proved to be the difference in the series for the Braves.
The Braves Wall of Honor was established by the Brewers and the Milwaukee Braves Historical Association in 2004.
A bronze plaque will be affixed to the American Family Field exterior by the Hot Corner in Hazle's honor.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Pitching great Ben Sheets elected to Milwaukee Brewers Walk of Fame
