"When Ryan Braun was hobbled in the middle of the season by an inflamed tendon behind his left knee, it was impossible to imagine him putting together a 30/30 season.

"It wasn't just the running," said the Brewers' all-star leftfielder. "I wasn't able to work out. My workouts are such a big part of my routine. I feel like that's my home base.

"For at least four or five weeks, I couldn't really work out. I was mostly doing rehab stuff. I was doing as much as I could to get on the field but nothing additionally because we didn't want to irritate it."

With help from the club's medical and training staff, Braun was able to get through that period and get his legs back under him. The hitting savant started putting together big numbers again, resulting Friday night in him becoming only the second player in franchise history to accumulate 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in the same season. Tommy Harper did it in 1970."