The Milwaukee Brewers gave Christian Yelich the ultimate badge of honor by announcing that he was selected as the team's official captain before the end of the 2026 regular season. Yet, Yelich, a left-handed batter, did not start Game 1 of the National League Championship Series with a left-hander on the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Tarik Skubal. He returned as the designated hitter in Game 2 of the NLCS with right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound, but Yelich is once again out of the lineup in Game 3 as lefty Blake Snell takes the ball.

From a numbers standpoint, manager Pat Murphy's decision makes sense. Overall, Yelich endured a difficult regular season, appearing in just 118 games while hitting .235 with a .692 OPS during that span. Yelich was especially bad against lefties, hitting just .212/.279/.331. Meanwhile, he hit .244/.327/.395 against right-handed pitching.

Should Milwaukee start Yelich regardless given his track record and reputation? Is the fact that he's been with the Brewers through the highs and lows since 2018 enough reason to keep him in the lineup? Are the Brewers disrespecting the 2018 NL MVP and three-time All-Star?

One could certainly make that argument. However, Christian Yelich has accomplished so much in baseball that his primary goal is surely to win a World Series. If that means only starting against right-handed pitching, one has to imagine Yelich will not feel too disrespected. He's not the player he once was at 34 years old, but it isn't as if he's consistently getting benched.

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As mentioned, Yelich started the Brewers' Game 2 7-4 win over the Dodgers. He made a big impact, recording two hits and two RBI in the game. Milwaukee won Game 1 by a final score of 2-1 without him. The Brewers are hoping to accomplish a similar feat in Game 3, but it would not be surprising to see Yelich pinch hit at some point in the game.

The disrespect-based question is a valid one to ask. I'd argue against it, though. Christian Yelich knows he's valued in Milwaukee — he wouldn't have been given the captain honor otherwise. He certainly won't care about the conversation if the Brewers end up winning their first World Series in franchise history this year.