As Ryan Braun was inducted into the Brewers' walk of fame Sunday, it turned into a can't-miss roast

Doug Melvin is no different than many Milwaukee Brewers fans.

With Ryan Braun in town to be inducted into the franchise’s walk of fame Sunday, Melvin summarized the former Brewers outfielder’s remarkable career in layman’s terms.

“I’m retired now in Florida,” said the former Brewers general manager, “and there’s some evenings I’ll go grab a whiskey, sit out on the patio and pull up (Braun’s) YouTube highlights. There’s a lot of highlights; I’m drunk at the end of the night.”

There were many stories shared of Braun’s greatness – and his confidence – as Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, Melvin and former teammates and coaches gathered to honor Braun at American Family Field prior to his induction.

"I wanted more than anything to bring joy and excitement to this fanbase and this community that meant so much to all of us," Braun said during a pregame ceremony on the field. "From the day I was drafted I felt an immediate connection to this team and this city."

Throughout the day's proceedings, there was no mention of Braun's performance-enhancing drug scandal that resulted in a 65-game suspension in 2013.

Instead, in between recollections and tributes to Braun’s confidence and clutch hitting prowess from teammates and coaches, the roast of Ryan Braun broke out.

“The reason why Ryan went to the outfield,” former third base coach Ed Sedar recalled, “I’m probably sitting right here in the dugout. It was when he first started. I wasn’t paying attention and almost got hit from one of Ryan’s throws from third base. Right after that happened, we immediately had a talk and moved him to the outfield.”

Sedar wasn’t the only one to bring up Braun’s defensive “prowess” at third base, where he made 26 errors in 112 games as a rookie in 2007.

“I’m the only pitcher here,” said former pitcher Carlos Villanueva. “I can say I’m a survivor of Ryan’s third base days.”

“Thank God he moved or I wouldn’t have had a job,” said shortstop J.J. Hardy, referencing Braun being a shortstop at the University of Miami when Milwaukee drafted him in 2005.

Braun’s inimitable swagger was another prevalent theme, from Corey Hart recalling a bus ride back from a spring training game where Braun loudly commented he “at least got to show off my arm” in a game where he made two throwing errors to a garish first trip to Milwaukee on the day he signed his first professional contract.

“He walks up to Carlos Lee and taps him on the shoulder,” Bill Hall said. “He says, ‘Don’t worry, you’ll have some protection this lineup soon.’ Carlos Lee is our best hitter, our best-paid player and he walks up to our No. 4 hitter and tells him this.

“Now, if you look back and see all the stats and things he accomplished, that confidence really propelled him to be the player he became. It rubbed off on us.”

A few days later, Braun was playing in rookie ball in Helena, Montana, under Sedar.

“I was probably the first person he met in pro ball,” Sedar said. “He’s hitting like .600 through the first four or five games. All of a sudden there’s a knock on my office door. I just look up and Ryan goes, ‘Eddy.’ I go, ‘Yeah, Ryan, what do you need?’ He goes, ‘Do you mind if I use my home run swing today?’

Braun, of course, went deep later that night.

“He hits a home run and comes around third base and goes, ‘What do you think of that swing?’” Sedar said.

It was because of this bravado that Mike Cameron, who came to the Brewers late in his career in 2008, gave him a nickname: RnB.

‘He was just so smooth. He talked so much mess,” Cameron said. “He was really, really good. So I gave him the name RnB. The joy that he brought to the building and the confidence he brought. The guy was so good. I got a chance to play with him for two years. With him being in left field, it rejuvenated me seeing how great he was.

“I got a chance to hit in front of him. I got a chance to hit behind him. He definitely made me a few extra dollars at the end of my career, just being able to hit in front of him.”

Braun, Villanueva recalled, told reporters that Greg Maddux was fortunate Braun had his “travel day swing” after facing the first-ballot Hall of Famer in his MLB debut in 2007.

Braun in a nutshell.

“I think I maybe tried it once where I told someone I was gonna have a really good game and I went 0 for 4 with a bunch of punchouts,” Hardy said. “I remember ‘Brauny’ watching video before a game and he stopped the video, walks out and says, ‘Guarantee I’m hitting 2 homers today.’ I go, ‘Sounds like a couple punch outs for Brauny. He’s gonna be humbled.’

“Nope. First two at-bats, two homers. I can count probably five different times where he did that and I don’t know if he ever got humbled like the rest of us.”

The day ultimately focused on Braun’s achievements, including being the franchise’s all-time home run leader and hitting .296 with a .891 OPS, and litany of big hits.

“For me, it’s an opportunity to express my gratitude,” Braun said. “It’s really an overwhelming, emotional feeling. I feel more emotional and reflective than I expected to be.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: As Ryan Braun was inducted into the Brewers' walk of fame Sunday, it turned into a can't-miss roast