Saturday, June 30, 2012

Brantley's June and Overall 2012 #s

i already wrote a blog about Brantley's impressive team/league leading 22-game hitting streak, so i'm not really going to get into that again here. but i will say that i think that streak really helped him maintain around a .280 batting average, and for him that's pretty decent. i think that's what most people expected/projected from him. but now that he is hanging around .280, i'd like to see him do better than that. and i believe he can.

his season average, OBP, SLG, and OPS numbers continue to go up, but his runs scored and stolen bases continue to take a hit. and i don't believe these things are really in his control. the lower portion of our order on any given day is pretty weak, and it's not his fault that the people behind him are not batting him in. i figured this would be an issue once he got demoted from leadoff and sadly i was correct. same thing with the stealing bases; if he's not leading off and batting with the bases empty, it doesn't exactly provide him with the opportunities to run and steal as many bases as the guys who are more towards the top of the order. so if anyone's going to criticize him for that, you should think about the reasons for it first.

Brantley had at least 1 hit in 24 of the 27 games he played in June. and if you want to go back a little further, he's had a hit in 33 of the past 36 games he's played. he's doing very well considering Manny continues to move him all around in the batting order. through the first 3 months, he has hit in every place in the lineup except the 8th and 9th spots. and i don't think he'll ever see those spots. so good for Michael in that he's not letting any of that mess with his mind or interfere with his performance. the fact that Manny thinks he can hit anywhere in the order must be a testament to his overall consistency and being a reliable asset to the team. (i guess this could prove that it really doesn't matter where he hits in the order, because the hits should come all the same. do i think Michael would have eventually come out of his slump had he not been moved out of the leadoff spot? absolutely. do i think Choo would have eventually come out of his slump if he hadn't been moved to leadoff? yes i do. put Michael back there consistently and i bet we will see what we saw from him there last year. and i will argue that until the season's over lol) and of course, i've kept track of all his numbers everywhere he's hit.


now let's break down the numbers. i am going to document his June #s, the June 5th spot/overall 5th spot #s, the June 6th spot/overall 6th spot #s, the 3rd spot #s, the June leadoff/overall leadoff #s, the 4th spot #s, and the overall #s of everything other than leadoff. i will include his overall #s so far here as well.


June batting average: .286

OBP: .345

SLG: .400

OPS: .745


Michael played in 27 (of 27) games in June. he started and played center in all 27 games.

Michael bat 5th in 22 games.

Michael bat 6th in 2 games.

Michael bat 3rd in 1 game. (Kipnis had the day off.)

Michael led off 1 game. (Choo had the day off.)

Michael bat 4th in 1 game. (Santana was out and Lopez was not in the lineup.)


in June, Michael had a total of 116 plate appearances and 105 at bats. here is how he fared:

30 hits

21 singles

7 doubles

1 triple

1 home run

14 RBIs (1 sac fly)

7 runs scored

10 walks (1 intentional)

13 strikeouts

0 stolen bases (1 caught stealing)

4 first at bat hits

June batting average: .286 (30-105) (27 games)


now let's break down his numbers based on where he hit in the lineup.


when Michael bat 5th in June, he had a total of 93 plate appearances and 86 at bats in 22 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

26 hits

18 singles

7 doubles

0 triples

1 home run

11 RBIs (1 sac fly)

6 runs scored

6 walks (1 intentional)

8 strikeouts

0 stolen bases (1 caught stealing)

4 first at bat hits

June batting average in the 5th spot: .302 (26-86)
overall batting average so far in the 5th spot: .320 (31-97) (25 games)


when Michael bat 6th in June, he had a total of 8 plate appearances and 6 at bats in 2 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

2 hits

1 single

1 triple

1 RBI

2 walks

2 strikeouts

June batting average in the 6th spot: .333 (2-6)
overall batting average so far in the 6th spot: .250 (10-40) (12 games)


when Michael bat 3rd in June, he had a total of 5 plate appearances and 5 at bats in 1 game. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

1 hit

1 single

June batting average in the 3rd spot: .200 (1-5)


when Michael led off in June, he had a total of 5 plate appearances and 4 at bats in 1 game. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

1 RBI

1 run scored

1 walk

2 strikeouts

June batting average leading off: .000 (0-4)
 overall batting average so far in the leadoff spot: .227 (22-97) (22 games)


when Michael bat 4th in June, he had a total of 5 plate appearances and 4 at bats in 1 game. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

1 hit

1 single

1 RBI

1 walk

1 strikeout

June batting average in the 4th spot: .250 (1-4)


June batting average everywhere other than leadoff: .297 (30-101) (26 games)
overall batting average everywhere other than leadoff: .307 (61-199) (52 games)


now my game-by-game numbers and notes.

Michael ended May and therefore started June on a 9-game hitting streak.

Game 48/Game 1, June 1: 1-4, RBI double. AVG: .277
(batting 5th)

Game 49/Game 2, June 2: 1-4, fielder’s choice RBI, RBI single. AVG: .276
(batting 5th)

Game 50/Game 3, June 3: 2-4, single, single. AVG: .281
(batting 5th)

Game 51/Game 4, June 5: 1-2, walk (first at bat), RBI triple, walk. AVG: .283
(batting 6th)

Game 52/Game 5, June 6: 1-4, 3-run home run (first at bat), run scored, intentional walk. AVG: .282
(batting 5th)

Game 53/Game 6, June 7: 1-4, reached on fielding error, single. AVG: .282
(batting 6th)

Game 54/Game 7, June 8: 2-5, RBI groundout (first at bat), single, single, run scored. AVG: .284
(batting 5th)

Game 55/Game 8, June 9: 2-4, single, single. AVG: .288
(batting 5th)
^^before this game, it was reported by Nick Camino that Michael had “soreness”^^

Game 56/Game 9, June 10: 1-5, single. AVG: .286
(batting 5th)

Game 57/Game 10, June 12: 1-4, single, caught stealing. AVG: .286
(batting 5th)

Game 58/Game 11, June 13: 1-4, single. AVG: .285
(batting 5th)

Game 59/Game 12, June 14: 1-4, double, run scored. AVG: .285
(batting 5th)

Game 60/Game 13, June 15: 1-4, RBI single. AVG: .284
(batting 5th)
^^Michael’s 22-game hitting streak comes to an end^^

Game 61/Game 14, June 16: 0-3, walk (first at bat). AVG: .280
(batting 5th)

Game 62/Game 15, June 17: 1-4, RBI double. AVG: .280
(batting 5th)

Game 63/Game 16, June 18: 2-3, double (first at bat), run scored, double, run scored, RBI sac fly. AVG: .285
(batting 5th)

Game 64/Game 17, June 19: 1-4, single. AVG: .284
(batting 5th)

Game 65/Game 18, June 20: 1-5, single. AVG: .282
(batting 3rd)

Game 66/Game 19, June 22: 1-3, walk, RBI single. AVG: .283
(batting 5th)

Game 67/Game 20, June 23: 1-4, single (first at bat). AVG: .283
(batting 5th)

Game 68/Game 21, June 24: 0-4. AVG: .278
(batting 5th)

Game 69/Game 22, June 25: 1-3, single (first at bat), reached on force out. AVG: .279
(batting 5th)

Game 70/Game 23, June 26: 1-4, double. AVG: .279
(batting 5th)

Game 71/Game 24, June 27: 0-4, fielder’s choice, run scored, RBI walk. AVG: .275
(leading off)

Game 72/Game 25, June 28: 2-3, walk (first at bat), run scored, double, single, walk. AVG: .279
(batting 5th)

Game 73/Game 26, June 29: 1-4, RBI single (first at bat), walk. AVG: .278
(batting 4th)

Game 74/Game 27, June 30: 2-5, walk (first at bat), single, single. AVG: .280
(batting 5th)


so far in 2012, Michael has a total of 317 plate appearances and 296 at bats in 74 games. in total, he has 83 hits, 57 singles, 22 doubles, 3 triples, 1 home run, 35 RBIs, 33 runs scored, 20 walks (2 intentional), 31 strikeouts, and 9 stolen bases (5 caught stealing).

season batting average: .280 (83-296)

OBP: .325

SLG: .385

OPS: .710

Sunday, June 17, 2012

No 23 for 23

thought i would write a quick blog now that Brantley's hitting streak has ended. never before in my life have i been disappointed that Brantley "wasted" an at bat today by drawing a walk. and i may be bitter that Michael wasn't batting higher in the order, which could have given him one final at bat in the bottom of the 9th inning today. and i may or may not have teared up about it...i won't divulge that information lol but all good things must come to an end. Michael didn't want to talk about his hitting streak with reporters, but there's no way he wasn't thinking about it every time he went to bat in the last couple days after he set a new career high for himself.

Brantley's 22-game hitting streak started on May 20 and extended through June 15. at the start, his batting average was .255; at the end, .284.


Brantley had 90 plate appearances and 86 at bats in 22 games during his streak.

he bat 2nd in 3 games.

he bat 5th in 13 games.

he bat 6th in 6 games.


here are his numbers:

batting average: .337 (29-86)

against lefties: .333 (9-27)

against righties: .339 (20-59)

OBP: .367

SLG: .442

OPS: .809


23 singles

4 doubles

1 triple

1 home run

16 RBIs

12 runs scored

12 strikeouts

4 walks (1 was intentional)

6 stolen bases (1 caught stealing)


let's break this down even further.


Michael bat 2nd in 3 games. he had 13 plate appearances and 12 at bats. his numbers are as follows:

batting average: .333 (4-12)

3 singles

1 double

6 RBIs

4 runs scored

2 strikeouts

1 walk

1 stolen base


Michael bat 5th in 13 games. he had 54 plate appearances and 53 at bats. his numbers are as follows:

batting average: .321 (17-53)

14 singles

2 doubles

1 home run

9 RBIs

4 runs scored

7 strikeouts

1 (intentional) walk

2 stolen bases (1 caught stealing)


Michael bat 6th in 6 games. he had 23 plate appearances and 21 at bats. his numbers are as follows:

batting average: .381 (8-21)

6 singles

1 double

1 triple

1 RBI

4 runs scored

3 strikeouts

2 walks

3 stolen bases


when i wrote my May blog and documented that he finished the month on a 9-game hitting streak, i was happy because it was a clear sign of improvement, and i never could have imagined he'd continue on with that for 13 more games. not only is his hitting streak a team high for the season, but it's the current longest streak in the major leagues. he set the bar high, and while another player on another team may eventually break that streak, i doubt any Indians will.

but of course, some people out there were unimpressed by his streak. i heard comments such as "shouldn't his batting average be higher for someone with that long of a streak?" and "he's only been 1 for 4 in most games, hitting mainly singles." downplay it all you want, but if it was so easy to do, more players would be doing it.

no matter what else happens this season, i am proud of him. he's a team player and doesn't care about individual accolades, but i hope he was enjoying the ride on some level. and at least it helped him get more recognition around the league. not many people knew who he was in 2010, but people have to know him now. it's what he's always wanted; to go to the plate with the fans behind him cheering him on.😀