i have a plethora of statistics in this blog because Michael
did so many things worth mentioning, so bear with me. this really was the
shortest synopsis i could write lol but if you're not big on reading long
blogs, then just direct your eyes to the parts in bold italics, cause
that's the best stuff ;D
we're only two months into the season, yet we
can already see some big changes in Michael's ABs. and i don't just mean his
power equating to more homers. for example, he's hitting more ground balls and
less line drives. he has 81 groundouts through May versus 59 flyouts. his fly
ball percentage is down quite a bit, which is clearly a result of the increase
in balls going out of the park for home runs instead of being caught at or near
the wall on the warning track. his home run to fly ball ratio is near 17% so
far this year, compared with 6.2% for his career.
at the plate, Michael has also been seeing
fewer fastballs and more breaking and offspeed pitches. because of this, he's swinging earlier in the count and taking less pitches.
he's swinging less overall on pitches inside and outside the strike zone. he'll jump on a pitch early if he thinks he can do something with it.
consequently, that's made his swing-and-miss rate increase to 4.1%, the
highest of his career. (thank you to Jordan Bastian for these percentages.) i'm very curious to see how these numbers change as the season continues and if possible future movement in his batting order position has any effect.
on May 2, Kipnis went on the DL and Michael was quickly inserted into his spot in the 3 hole, where he remained for the rest of the month. he proved to be a more than adequate replacement. however, there were two things i disliked about this new BOP. the first thing was that Santana was then batting behind Michael. because Santana was still struggling, he didn't hit to get on base much and that hurt Michael's chances of scoring many runs. the second thing was that hitting higher in the order took away some of Michael's RBI opportunities—at first. it certainly wasn't due to lack of hitting; Michael was swinging the bat well and getting himself on base. it's just that a lot of times there wasn't anyone on base or in scoring position when it was his turn to bat because Swisher was totally lost at the plate in the 2 hole and Bourn wasn't getting on base much then either. the fact that over 30% of Michael's RBIs this month came when he hit his 5 home runs proves this.
but thankfully on May 18, Tito moved both Swisher and Santana down in the order, giving Michael a better chance to add to his RBI total. oddly enough though, Michael hit a solo homer on this date, giving him his first RBI in 9 days since he hit his last (solo) home run on May 9. it measured 423 feet, one of the furthest he's hit in his career. moving Santana down also improved Michael's odds to score more runs other than just from the homers he hit himself.
when Kipnis came off the DL on May 28, Tito opted to keep Michael in the 3 hole and have Kipnis bat cleanup. he thinks Michael has done a great job there and, for once, does not want to move him. Tito believes giving guys some regular spots in the lineup will help the team overall, and i'm all for that where Michael is concerned. i'd love to see Michael finally get one regular place in the batting order after being moved around so much in the past 2 years. so i am hoping now that this will be Michael's new permanent spot in the lineup regardless of whatever handed pitcher is on the mound.
Michael had a hit in 25 of the 27 games he played in May and reached base safely in 25 games. he only had two 0-for games this month.
Michael had 3 significant hitting streaks this month, each a team high. the first was an 11-game hitting streak from April 29 - May 11. during his hitting streak, he bat .356 (16-for-45) with 16 hits and 29 total bases. 7 of those hits were extra base hits, 4 being doubles and 3 being home runs. he also tallied 11 RBI, 7 runs, 3 walks, and only 6 strikeouts. his OBP was .388 and his SLG was .644, making his OPS 1.032.
Michael reached base in 12 straight games from April 28 - May 11 as well.
Michael's second hitting streak this month was a 15-game hitting streak, longest on the team and 3rd longest in the American League this season, from May 14-30. during this streak, he bat .383 (23-for-60) with 23 hits, 7 for extra bases. he hit 4 doubles, 1 triple, and 2 home runs, giving him 35 total bases. he also had 9 RBI, 14 runs, 6 walks, 4 stolen bases, and just 4 strikeouts. his OBP was .456, his SLG was .583, and his OPS was 1.039. this streak is also the longest streak by an Indian since last year when Jason Kipnis had a season high 16-game hitting streak from June 18 - July 5.
Michael also obviously reached base safely in 15 straight games from May 14-30.
additionally, Michael set a new franchise record with his 19-game hitting streak at home (Progressive Field/Jacobs Field), longest in the major leagues, which was snapped on May 31. it dated back to April 20, 2014. during this streak, he bat .408 (31-for-76) with 31 hits, including 7 doubles and 6 home runs equaling 56 total bases. he also had 20 RBI, 19 runs, 7 walks, 4 stolen bases, and just 3 strikeouts. defensively, he recorded 4 of his current 6 outfield assists as well.
Michael is now batting .309 (43-for-139) against right-handed pitchers and .290 (20-for-69) against left-handed pitchers. these are both great improvements from April, especially with the righty pitchers. and like i said last month, these numbers are closer together and fairly comparable because Michael is a good hitter no matter who is on the mound.
Michael's ability to hit in the clutch has not wavered. he's batting .302 (16-for-53) with runners in scoring position, producing 29 RBI. he's also hitting .222 (2-for-9) with 0 outs and runners in scoring position, .400 (8-for-20) with 1 out and RISP, and .250 (6-for-24) with 2 outs and RISP. Michael's batting .326 (30-for-92) with 33 RBI with runners on base, and .667 (6-for-9) with 16 RBI when the bases are loaded. lastly, he improved to hitting .303 (20-for-66) with 2 outs in an inning.
Michael continues to quickly increase his home run total. he hit 5 homers in May, a career high for the month. he had back-to-back home run games on May 8 and 9, and again on May 18 and 19. the home run that he hit on May 19 was his 9th home run of the year, a walk-off no less. 9 home runs at this point in the season is another career high for Michael, and he still holds the team high HR total. last season, he didn't hit his 9th home run until September 21! i might be a believer now that he can finish the year with 20 homers or so.
Michael now has a team high 39 RBI, also a career high for him through May. his 39th RBI didn't come last year until June 28. he's ranked 8th in the American League and 10th overall in the league with his 39 RBI as well.
it's interesting to note that 6 of Michael's 9 home runs have been solo, while the other 3 were 2-run homers. therefore, 6 of his 39 RBI have come from solo homers, and 12 of his 39 RBI (just under one-third) have come from all 9 of his home runs. this shows that Michael doesn't need necessarily need to hit home runs to drive guys home, as has been the case throughout his career so far.
when asked about his newfound power, Michael jokingly credits it to the daddy strength he's acquired from carrying around his newborn baby girl during the offseason. "i'm just putting good swings on good pitches," Brantley said. "i worked hard this offseason to mature my swing and grow as a hitter. i feel like i'm doing a great job at it."
Michael said working in the offseason to have more of a "mature" swing this year was key. "that means just trusting my swing," Brantley said. "it's trusting that every time it's going to be all right and not trying to tinker or make adjustments when there's no need to."
this season he's tried to be the same hitter with the same swing and not toy with his mechanics, as he's sometimes done in the past when going through a little slump. "i was young. i was trying to do whatever worked that felt good at the time, instead of going back to the basics and doing exactly what i was doing before. that's just not trying to do too much and putting good swings on good pitches." sounds like a good strategy to me.
but with newfound power comes responsibility and i do have one concern. it's very important that Michael does not start to get pull happy now and try to knock one out of the park every time he's at the plate in a big situation. he had some poor at bats during the Orioles series this month where he wasn't using the entire field and his fluid swing was absent. he can be too anxious during certain at bats, sometimes swinging at the first pitch and/or not working the count much, resulting in a quick out. he's also striking out more than normal. i just don't want him to lose what's made him such a great hitter to this point--intelligence, confidence, patience, and of course the swing that dubbed him as Dr. Smooth.
aside from once again leading the team in home runs (9)* and RBI (39)*, Michael also leads the team with: 63 hits*, 22 extra base hits*, 104 total bases*, 34 runs*, 8 stolen bases, 54 games*, 231 plate appearances*, 208 at bats*, .303 BA*, .368 OBP*, .500 SLG*, and .868 OPS*. he also leads the outfielders with 6 assists*.
he's tied for 2nd on the team with 12 doubles, and is 3rd with 19 walks. he has the least amount of strikeouts with 19 as well.
(*denotes these are also career highs for Michael through May. these rankings include qualifiers only.)
after doing extensive research, i found that Michael set career highs for himself in the month of May with the following: 38 hits, 13 extra base hits, 62 total bases, 5 home runs, 19 RBI, 21 runs, 9 walks, 2 hit by pitches, 121 plate appearances, .345 BA, .405 OBP, .564 SLG, and .969 OPS.
among Indians players with at least 100 at
bats, Michael's slash line of .345/.405/.564 in May was the best in one month
since Grady Sizemore's line of .377/.455/.642 in June 2005. before Grady, there
was Roberto Alomar in July 2001, Manny Ramirez in September-October 2000, and
Alomar again in September-October 2000. besides that, the last Indian to hit .345 with at
least 5 home runs, 19 RBI, and 21 runs in one month was Shin-Soo Choo in
September-October 2008.
want to know some other facts about Michael's season thus far? okay. he's hit safely in 24 of 28 home games overall. he has 14 multi-hit games and 11 multi-RBI games. he has 11 go-ahead hits and 11 go-ahead RBI this season. and these all rank towards the top of the American League.
now let's get into a couple of the more noteworthy events of the month. a minor scare occurred on May 14 when Michael left the game early with mid-back tightness due to playing on the astroturf in Tampa and Toronto. luckily he only missed 1 game and it didn't hurt his timing or his stats.
on May 19, Michael hit his first
career walk-off hit, a home run, on a full count (6 pitches) with 2
outs and no one on in the bottom of the 10th inning against Detroit's
Al Alburquerque. Michael got mobbed at home plate, literally running into a
waterfall and his excited teammates. it was so funny to me because he is always
the guy on the outside of the home plate mob when other guys get walk-off hits,
because he doesn't want to get injured. but he had no choice other than to be
right in the middle of it all this time, and he loved every second of it. this
was his 9th home run of the season and his 33rd RBI. i have a separate blog
commemorating this occasion here.
on May 21, Michael tied the
franchise record of hitting in 18 straight games at home. the last player to
accomplish this was Roberto Alomar in 2000, and Kenny Lofton before him in 1996.
also on May 21, Michael recorded
the seventh 4-hit game of his career with 3 singles, 1 double, 3 RBI, and 2
stolen bases. the last player in the big leagues to accomplish this was Alex
Rios (then of the Chicago White Sox) on October
3, 1999 at Detroit.
Michael became only the 6th
Indians player in history (dating back to 1914) with at least 4 hits, 3 RBI,
and 2 stolen bases in a game. the last player to do so was Franklin Gutierrez
on July 16, 2007 in an
11-10 loss to the White Sox at Progressive Field. the other Indians who achieved
this were Joe Carter on June 10, 1986;
Chuck Hinton on June 27, 1965;
Lew Fonseca on April 18, 1929;
and Charlie Jamieson on June 15, 1925.
(thanks to TribeVibe for these statistics.)
on May 30, the next home game
following May 21, Michael set a new record by extending his home
hitting streak to a franchise high 19 consecutive games (as i mentioned
earlier). his historical streak ended the following day when he went 0-for-4. (blame
it on bad timing/more goddamn end-of-the-month interleague play again lol) i wrote a blog
with all the details about his record here.
keeping in tune with Michael's outstanding offense, he had a great month defensively. Michael spent the majority of May playing left field, as was expected now that Bourn is back. also as expected, Michael did not commit one error and his fielding percentage for the month is a perfect 1.000. he had 45 putouts this month. on May 21, he played 13 innings in left field and did not record one putout. the major league record for zero putouts is held by Chuck Hinton in an 18 inning game way back on June 14, 1963.
also this month, Michael had 3 more nice assists. his 6 total outfield assists tie him for the lead in the major leagues. his 5th assist came on May 20 at Progressive Field, when he caught the ball off the 19-foot left field wall, spun around, and threw a runner out at 2nd base. don't run on Michael! or no, please do, so he can continue to add to his assist total and hopefully get some consideration for a Gold Glove this year ;D
now let's break down the numbers. i am going to document his May #s, the 6th spot #s, the 3rd spot #s, and the DH #s, as well as the left field #s, the center field #s, and overall outfield #s.
May batting average: .345
OBP: .405
SLG: .564
OPS: .969
Michael played in 27 (of 28) games, 26 complete, in May. he started and played left in 25 games, completing 21 of those games. he left 1 game early with mid-back tightness and played 4 innings. he started and played center in 1 game, and completed it. he was part of a defensive switch in 3 games, moving from left to center. he played 10 innings when he moved over to center with 4 official at bats. he started and was the DH for 1 game. he missed 1 game with mid-back tightness from playing on astroturf.
Michael bat 6th in 1 game.
Michael bat 3rd in 26 games. (Kip DL)
Michael played left field in 25 games. (21 complete, 4 started: 22 innings)
Michael played center field in 4 games. (1 complete, 3 defensive switches: 10 innings)
Michael was the DH in 1 game.
Michael played in 26 complete games.
in May, Michael had a total of 121 plate appearances and 110 at bats. here is how he fared:
38 hits
25 singles
7 doubles
1 triple
5 home runs
19 RBI
21 runs scored
9 walks
2 hit by pitches
4 stolen bases
4 GIDP
11 strikeouts (9 swinging, 2 looking)
7 first at bat hits
62 total bases
41 left on base
45 putouts
3 assists
232.1 innings, 27 games
(26 complete games)
May batting average: .345 (38-110) (27 games)
now let's break down his numbers based on where he hit in the lineup.
when Michael bat 6th in May, he had a total of 5 plate appearances and 5 at bats in 1 game. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
3 hits
2 singles
1 home run
3 RBI
2 runs scored
1 strikeout (swinging)
1 first at bat hit
6 total bases
2 left on base
9 innings, 1 game
(1 complete game)
May batting average in the 6th spot: .600 (3-5) (1 game)
overall batting average so far in the 6th spot: .257 (9-35) (10 games) (85.1 innings)
when Michael bat 6th and played left in May, he had a total of 5 plate appearances and 5 at bats in 1 game. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
3 hits
2 singles
1 home run
3 RBI
2 runs scored
1 strikeout (swinging)
1 first at bat hit
6 total bases
2 left on base
9 innings, 1 game
(1 complete game)
May batting average in the 6th spot while playing left: .600 (3-5) (1 game)
overall batting average so far in the 6th spot while playing left: .333 (4-12) (4 games) (27 innings)
when Michael bat 3rd in May, he had a total of 116 plate appearances and 105 at bats in 26 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
35 hits
23 singles
7 doubles
1 triple
4 home runs
16 RBI
19 runs scored
9 walks
2 hit by pitches
4 stolen bases
4 GIDP
10 strikeouts (8 swinging, 2 looking)
6 first at bat hits
56 total bases
39 left on base
45 putouts
3 assists
223.1 innings, 26 games
(25 complete games)
May batting average in the 3rd spot: .333 (35-105) (26 games)
when Michael bat 3rd and played left in May, he had a total of 103 plate appearances and 94 at bats in 24 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
33 hits
21 singles
7 doubles
1 triple
4 home runs
16 RBI
19 runs scored
7 walks
2 hit by pitches
4 stolen bases
4 GIDP
7 strikeouts (5 swinging, 2 looking)
6 first at bat hits
54 total bases
38 left on base
38 putouts
3 assists
205.1 innings, 24 games
(20 complete games)
May batting average in the 3rd spot while playing left: .351 (33-94) (24 games)
when Michael bat 3rd and played center in May, he had a total of 8 plate appearances and 7 at bats in 4 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
1 hit
1 single
1 walk
2 strikeouts (swinging)
1 total base
7 putouts
18 innings, 4 games
(1 complete game)
May batting average in the 3rd spot while playing center: .143 (1-7) (4 games)
when Michael bat 3rd, he was the DH in May for 1 game. he had a total of 5 plate appearances and 4 at bats. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
1 hit
1 single
1 walk
1 strikeout (swinging)
1 total base
1 left on base
May batting average in the 3rd spot as the DH: .250 (1-4) (1 game)
May/overall batting average so far as the DH: .250 (1-4) (1 game)
now let's break down his outfield numbers.
when Michael played the outfield in May, he had a total of 116 plate appearances and 106 at bats in 26 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
37 hits
24 singles
7 doubles
1 triple
5 home runs
19 RBI
21 runs scored
8 walks
2 hit by pitches
4 stolen bases
4 GIDP
10 strikeouts (8 swinging, 2 looking)
7 first at bat hits
61 total bases
40 left on base
45 putouts
3 assists
232.1 innings, 26 games
(25 complete games)
May batting average while playing the outfield: .349 (37-106) (26 games)
overall batting average so far while playing the outfield: .304 (62-204) (53 games) (466.1 innings)
now let's break down his numbers specific to where he played in the outfield.
when Michael played left in May, he had a total of 108 plate appearances and 99 at bats in 25 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
36 hits
23 singles
7 doubles
1 triple
5 home runs
19 RBI
21 runs scored
7 walks
2 hit by pitches
4 stolen bases
4 GIDP
8 strikeouts (6 swinging, 2 looking)
7 first at bat hits
60 total bases
40 left on base
38 putouts
3 assists
214.1 innings, 25 games
(21 complete games)
May batting average while playing left: .364 (36-99) (25 games)
overall batting average so far while playing left: .320 (54-169) (45 games) (377.0 innings)
when Michael played center in May, he had a total of 8 plate appearances and 7 at bats in 4 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
1 hit
1 single
1 walk
2 strikeouts (swinging)
1 total base
7 putouts
18 innings, 4 games
(1 complete game)
May batting average while playing center: .143 (1-7) (4 games)
overall batting average so far while playing center: .229 (8-35) (13 games) (89.1 innings)
May #s while playing left: 38 putouts, 3 assists, 0 errors, 1.000 fielding percentage (214.1 innings, 25 games)
overall #s so far while playing left: 68 putouts, 5 assists, 0 errors, 1.000 fielding percentage (377.0 innings, 45 games)
May #s while playing center: 7 putouts, 0 assists, 0 errors, 1.000 fielding percentage (18 innings, 4 games)
overall #s so far while playing center: 24 putouts, 1 assist, 1 error, 0.962 fielding percentage (89.1 innings, 13 games)
May #s while playing the outfield: 45 putouts, 3 assists, 0 errors, 1.000 fielding percentage (232.1 innings, 26 games)
overall #s so far while playing the outfield: 92 putouts, 6 assists, 1 error, 0.990 fielding percentage (466.1 innings, 53 games)
now my game-by-game numbers and notes.
Game 28/Game 1, May 2: 3-5, single (first at bat), run scored, home run, run scored, 2-run single. AVG: .272
(6th/LF/CG9)
Game 29/Game 2, May 3: 1-4, single (first at bat). AVG: .271
(3rd/LF – 3 i, CF – 6 i/CG9)
Game 30/Game 3, May 4: 1-5, single, run scored. AVG: .268
(3rd/LF/CG9)
Game 31/Game 4, May 5: 1-4, double (first at bat). AVG: .267
(3rd/LF – 8 i, CF – 2 i/CG10)
Game 32/Game 5, May 6: 1-3, RBI single (first at bat), run scored, walk. AVG: .269
(3rd/LF – 7 i, CF – 2 i/CG9)
Game 33/Game 6, May 7: 2-4, 2-run double, single. AVG: .276
(3rd/LF/CG9)
Game 34/Game 7, May 8: 3-5, double (first at bat), run scored, single, 2-run home run, run scored, RBI fielder's choice. AVG: .289
(3rd/LF/CG9)
Game 35/Game 8, May 9: 1-5, reached on fielding error (first at bat), home run, run scored. AVG: .286
(3rd/LF/CG9)
Game 36/Game 9, May 10: 1-3, walk, single. AVG: .287
(3rd/CF/CG8)
Game 37/Game 10, May 11: 1-4, walk (first at bat), single. AVG: .286
(3rd/DH/CG)
**Michael's 11-game hitting streak and 12-game reached base streak end**
Game 38/Game 11, May 13: 0-4. AVG: .278
(3rd/LF/CG8)
Game 39/Game 12, May 14: 1-3, double. AVG: .279
(3rd/LF/GS4)
^^Michael left the game after the top of the 5th inning with mid-back tightness and is day-to-day^^
May 15: precautionary day off, should play tomorrow.
Game 40/Game 13, May 16: 1-4, single. AVG: .278
(3rd/LF/CG9)
Game 41/Game 14, May 17: 1-3, walk (first at bat), single, run scored. AVG: .279
(3rd/LF/CG9)
Game 42/Game 15, May 18: 2-3, walk (first at bat), single, home run, run scored, RBI walk. AVG: .287
(3rd/LF/CG9)
Game 43/Game 16, May 19: 2-4, double, walk, hit by pitch, home run, run scored. AVG: .292
(3rd/LF/CG10)
^^Michael hits first career walk-off home run^^
Game 44/Game 17, May 20: 1-4, single (first at bat). AVG: .291
(3rd/LF/CG9)
Game 45/Game 18, May 21: 4-7, 2-run single, stolen base, run scored, double, single, stolen base, run scored, RBI single. AVG: .302
(3rd/LF/CG13)
Game 46/Game 19, May 22: 2-6, RBI triple, run scored, single, run scored. AVG: .303
(3rd/LF/CG13)
Game 47/Game 20, May 23: 1-4, single, run scored. AVG: .302
(3rd/LF/CG8)
Game 48/Game 21, May 24: 1-3, walk (first at bat), stolen base, RBI hit by pitch, single, run scored. AVG: .303
(3rd/LF/CG9)
Game 49/Game 22, May 25: 1-4, single. AVG: .302
(3rd/LF/CG8)
Game 50/Game 23, May 26: 2-3, RBI single, walk, stolen base, run scored, single. AVG: .307
(3rd/LF/CG8)
Game 51/Game 24, May 27: 1-4, single. AVG: .306
(3rd/LF/CG8)
Game 52/Game 25, May 28: 2-4, single, single, run scored. AVG: .310
(3rd/LF/CG8.1)
Game 53/Game 26, May 30: 1-4, reached on fielder's choice (first at bat), run scored, double, run scored. AVG: .309
(3rd/LF/CG9)
^^Michael sets new franchise record with 19-game home hitting streak^^
**Michael's 15-game hitting streak and 19-game home hitting streak end**
Game 54/Game 27, May 31: 0-4. AVG: .303
(3rd/LF/CG9)
so far in 2014, Michael has a total of 231 plate appearances and 208 at bats in 54 games (466.1 innings). in total, he has 63 hits, 41 singles, 12 doubles, 1 triple, 9 home runs, 39 RBI, 1 sac fly, 34 runs scored, 19 walks, 3 hit by pitches, 8 stolen bases, 7 GIDP, 19 strikeouts (14 swinging, 5 looking), 12 first at bat hits, 104 total bases, 89 left on base, 92 putouts, 6 assists, and 1 error.
2014 season batting average: .303 (63-208)
OBP: .368
SLG: .500
OPS: .868
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