George Brett reflects on iconic career riddled with difficulty - "I would do it exactly the same way"
Kansas City Royals cornerstone player George Brett was loyal to the club throughout his 21 seasons in the MLB. Brett's loyalty demonstrates his love for the team, as only a few players in major sports have spent their entire career with a single franchise.
He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 on the first ballot with 98.2%. MLB Network released a documentary on his Hall of Fame career, titled, "Brett," which premiered on Thursday, Dec. 7, at 8:00 p.m. ET.
While discussing his documentary, Brett mentioned that it was a fun ride and that he would love to do it the same way:
“It was a fun run. If I had to do it over again, I would do it exactly the same way," George Brett on his Hall of Fame career.
The documentary celebrates the life and legacy of the 13-time Major League All-Star. It is a part of the documentary series by MLB Network and has released programs on a variety of topics and people, such as Johnny Bench, Ken Griffey, Jr., Tony Gwynn, Don Mattingly and Mike Trout.
George Brett's Hall of Fame major league career
Brett made his major league debut on Aug. 2, 1973, against the Chicago White Sox. He went 1-4 and played third base. Moreover, he played 13 games in that season and hit .125.
His batting struggles continued in 1974 until he took guidance from hitting coach Charley Lau. Lau showed Brett how to guard the entire plate and fill up some gaps in his swing that veteran big-league pitchers were exploiting during the All-Star break. With this understanding, Brett quickly improved as a hitter, finishing the year with a .282 batting average, two home runs and 47 RBIs in 113 games.
Since then, Brett became a prolific hitter for the Royals for the next 20 seasons. During that span, he won a World Series (1985), was crowned AL MVP (1980), 3× Silver Slugger Award (1980, 1985, 1988) and 3× AL batting champion (1976, 1980, 1990).
To celebrate his career, his No. 5 jersey was retired by the Royals and he eventually made his way to the Hall of Fame.