more homers in each of his first two seasons. Braun hit 71 home runs in his first two seasons, tying him with Pujols for fourth all-time. Joe DiMaggio tops the list with 75 home runs, followed by Ralph Kiner (74) and Eddie Mathews (72). In 2008, in 151 games Braun hit 37 home runs (tied for 4th in the NL, behind Ryan Howard, Adam Dunn, and Carlos Delgado), with 106 RBIs (9th), and batted .285 with a .553 slugging percentage (5th). He also led the league with 83 extra base hits, and had 338 total bases (2nd in the NL), 7 triples (6th), 16.5 at-bats-per-home-run (10th), and 611 at bats (10th). 12.5% of his plate appearances were extra base hits (3rd in the NL; behind Ryan Ludwick and Pujols), he had 29 infield hits (7th), and he stole third base 6 times (9th). Against starting pitchers, Braun hit .244 the first time he faced them in a game, .331 the second time, and .328 with a .672 slugging percentage the third time. Braun led the Brewers in batting average, slugging percentage, triples, home runs, RBIs, extra base hits, total bases, at-bats-per-home run, OPS (.888), runs (92), and hits (174). Braun hit .313 in October against the Phillies in his first postseason series, which the Brewers lost 3–1. Braun was voted to the 2008 NL Sporting News All Star Team, by a panel of 41 major league general managers and assistant general managers. He also won the 2008 NL Outfielder Silver Slugger Award. In voting for the 2008 NL MVP award, Braun was third (with 139 points), behind Pujols and Ryan Howard. 2009: All Star, Silver Slugger, and Team USA In 2009, Braun was named to Sporting News''' list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball, ranking No. 32. A panel of 100 baseball people, many of them members of the Hall of Fame and winners of major baseball awards, were polled to arrive at the list. Braun was invited to play for Team USA in 2009 in the second World Baseball Classic. "I'm really excited to get to represent my country", he said. "It's an honor just to get invited for the event." He batted .381 as the team's starting left fielder, helping it reach the semi-finals.Haudricourt, Tom. "Brewers still back Rogers; Ailing shoulder has stalled pitcher's career," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 31, 2009, accessed March 1, 2009 Braun