Keon Broxton is only getting playing time because the Brewers needed a center fielder to replace the DL-bound Lorenzo Cain at the end of June, but he seems determined to do as much cool shit as possible before he’s no longer needed.
Brewers closer Corey Knebel would’ve been charged with an earned run Wednesday had his teammate not leapt up and snagged Brian Dozier’s would-be homer. Broxton was understandably pumped after the thievery; that’s one of the best catches of the season. (Keon could only do so much, though—Eduardo Escobar, the next batter, hit a dong to right, but Milwaukee still escaped with the 3-2 win.)
This was Broxton’s second robbery of the three-game series. The outfielder did something similar to Joe Mauer in the seventh inning of Monday’s game. The Brewers won that in 10 innings, 6-5:
Hell, here’s a Keon Broxton highlight from last week: On June 29's 8-2 win over the Reds, he hit two homers, rung up four RBI, and got out of a pickle between third and home to score a run.
Despite all these highlights, the reason the 28-year-old Broxton isn’t a regular OF is because the guys above him are bigger names and more expensive. The Brewers picked up Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich this past offseason, and they also have Ryan Braun and Domingo Santana. When all of those guys are healthy, there simply isn’t any room for Broxton, but maybe he can turn this stint into something more than a one-year contract next season. Until that happens, let’s gawk at these AP photos, courtesy of Morry Gash. The first two are of Wednesday’s catch. The last one is of Monday’s.