Monday, September 29, 2014

Brantley Named Indians 2014 Hank Aaron Award Nominee

today, on September 29, one day after the 2014 regular season ended, it was announced that for the first time in his career, Michael Brantley is this year's Cleveland Indians nominee for the 16th annual Hank Aaron Award!

photo cropped off Indians.com

the Hank Aaron Award is given to the top offensive player in each league as voted on by fans and, for the 5th year in a row, a special panel of Hall of Fame players. the panel is led by Hank Aaron himself, comprised of a group of Hall of Famers that Aaron selected to help determine the winners. those HOF players include Roberto Alomar, Johnny Bench, Paul Molitor, Eddie Murray, Frank Thomas, and Robin Yount. fans can vote until October 5 at 11:59 pm eastern standard time, and the winners will be presented with their award by Aaron during this year's World Series.

this award started in 1999 to honor the 25th anniversary of Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's all-time home run record. says Aaron, "it is a privilege to have the award that recognizes the most outstanding offensive performer in each league named after me." Commissioner Bud Selig adds, "our game today is fortunate to have so many dynamic players emulating the remarkable example of Hank Aaron."

previous winners of the award are:
Manny Ramirez (with the Indians) and Sammy Sosa (1999)
Carlos Delgado and Todd Helton (2000)
Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds (2001 and 2002)
Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols (2003)
Manny Ramirez and Barry Bonds (2004)
David Ortiz and Andruw Jones (2005)
Derek Jeter and Ryan Howard (2006)
Alex Rodriguez and Prince Fielder (2007)
Kevin Youkilis and Aramis Ramirez (2008)
Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols (2009)
Jose Bautista and Joey Votto (2010)
Jose Bautista and Matt Kemp (2011)
Miguel Cabrera and Buster Posey (2012)
Miguel Cabrera and Paul Goldschmidt (2013)

Michael's made a hell of a case for the award with all the numbers he put up this season: .327 BA, .385 OBP, .506 SLG, .890 OPS, 200 H, 45 2B, 2 3B, 20 HR, 97 RBI, 94 R, 52 BB, 23 SB, and 56 K. you can vote for Michael up to 10 times a day per web browser. VOTE FOR MICHAEL HERE.

when asked about Michael, Indians General Manager Chris Antonetti had this to say: "he's a complete player, and, we think, is deserving of MVP consideration with the year he had. he was a huge part of our success and we think he's one of the best players in the American League."

congrats on the nomination, Michael, and good luck! =D

Brantley's 2014 Second Half #s

time for another little blog documenting Michael's second half numbers. the 2nd half of the 2014 season was comprised of 68 games for the Indians. i still don't get how they refer to this as a "half," but it is what it is. just like in the 1st half blog, i won't be doing post-break BOP break downs here; i'm only including the game-by-game numbers and notes.

Michael's batting average in the second half was .335, best on the team. the fact that he could improve upon his first half batting average of .322 is phenomenal. he had an 11-game slump in August, but his .416 September BA more than compensated for that. comparing his past 1st/2nd half batting averages, Michael hit .288/.288 in 2012, and .279/.291 in 2013. so it looks like he's beginning to trend upwards in the 2nd halves now. i'll take that.

Michael did not surpass his 1st half numbers in many categories simply because he played less games in this 2nd half of the season. not to mention he excelled in just about everything in his 1st half, so that would be tough to top. however, he did have 23 doubles versus 22 pre-All Star break, and 13 stolen bases versus 10 pre-ASB. as stated above, his batting average improved 13 points and he also drew all 4 of his intentional walks in this 2nd half.

Michael had a hit in 51 of the 66 games he played in post-All Star break. during these 66 games, Michael had a few significant hitting streaks, including
--5-straight multi-hit games from July 31 - August 4 (for the third time this season).

--a 12-game hitting streak from August 28 - September 8.
--and for the second time this season, a 15-game hitting streak from September 11-24 (over 14 days).

Michael reached base safely in 58 games and had a couple of long reached base streaks as well. he

--reached base in 11 straight games from July 25 - August 5.

--reached base in 28 straight games from August 28 - September 24.


after the All Star break, Michael bat .329 (54-for-164) against right-handed pitchers and .344 (33-for-96) against left-handed pitchers, the latter being a 69 point increase from the 1st half.

he hit .342 (40-for-117) with 18 RBI at home and .329 (47-for-143) on the road. his road BA improved by 49 points in the 2nd half.

Michael also bat .397 (25-for-63) with runners in scoring position, totaling 29 RBI. that's a 37 point increase from the 1st half and a 9 point increase from his 2nd half in 2013. additionally, he hit .364 (4-for-11) with 0 outs and runners in scoring position, .462 (12-for-26) with 1 out and RISP, and .346 (9-for-26) with 2 outs and RISP and 11 RBI. his RISP with 2 outs increased by 68 points in this 2nd half and 26 points compared with 2013.

post-break, Michael had a batting average of .320 (32-for-100) with 31 RBI with runners on base and .000 (0-for-1) with 2 RBI when the bases were loaded, both decreases from the 1st half. on the contrary, he bat .396 (40-for-101) with 12 RBI with 2 outs in an inning, and that's a 107 point improvement in the 2nd half.

Michael led the team in the 2nd half with: 87 hits, 29 extra base hits, 127 total bases, 58 singles, 23 doubles, 31 runs, 4 intentional walks (tied), 2 hit by pitches (tied), 13 stolen bases, 13:1 stolen base:caught stealing ratio, 260 at bats, .335 batting average, .388 OBP, and .877 OPS.

he was 2nd on the team with 22 walks, 66 games, 286 plate appearances, and .488 SLG. he was also 3rd with 34 RBI, and 4th with 1 triple (tied), 5 home runs, and 2 sac flies (tied). he had the least amount of strikeouts with 24 as well.

(these rankings include qualifiers only.)
Michael put together one of the better 2nd halves he's ever had in the big leagues this season. as a result, he had 2nd half career highs of: 87 hits, 29 extra base hits, 127 total bases, 58 singles, 3 doubles, 5 home runs, 34 RBI, 13 stolen bases, 13/1 stolen base/caught stealing ratio, 286 plate appearances, 260 at bats, .335 BA, .388 OBP, .488 SLG, and .877 OPS.

furthermore, Michael joined the 20-20 club for the first time in his career. and he set a new franchise record when he got his final hit, his 200th hit of the season. that made him the 1st Indians player in franchise history to ever have 200 hits, 40 doubles, 20 home runs, and 20 stolen bases in one season.
also in this 2nd half, Michael hit safely in 24 of 31 home games overall. he had 28 multi-hit games, multi-hitting in 42.4% of the games he played in. he recorded an RBI in 26 out of 66 games (39.4%) and had 8 multi-RBI games. he had 7 3+ hit games post-ASB as well.
Michael played both center and left field after the break, but mostly left. he did not make any errors and had a perfect 1.000 overall fielding percentage. so, obviously, his fielding percentage in left field was a perfect 1.000 and his fielding percentage in center was also 1.000. he had a total of 116 putouts, 2 outfield assists, and 1 double play.


2nd Half batting average: .335

OBP: .388

SLG: .488

OPS: .877


2nd Half of July BA: .278

August BA: .286

September BA: .416


Michael played in 66 (of 68) games, 60 complete, after the All Star break.

he started and played center in 22 games, completing 20 of those games.

he came in to PH in the top of the 8th inning for 1 game, and then played 1 inning in center field as part of a defensive substitution.

he was subbed out of 1 game after 5 innings because the Indians had a solid lead.

he left 1 game early after banging his right knee into the right-center field wall and played 6.1 innings.

he started and played left in 36 games, completing 33 of those games.

he was subbed out of 1 game after 7 innings because the Indians were getting blown out.

he was subbed out of 1 game after 8 innings because the Indians were losing.

he was lifted for a pinch runner in 1 game after hitting a double and playing 8 innings in left field prior to his final at bat of the night in a game where the Indians were getting blown out.

he started and was the DH for 7 complete games.

he had 2 games off.


Michael bat 3rd in 65 games.

Michael bat 5th in 1 game. (PH)


Michael played center field in 23 games, for a total of 196.2 innings. (20 complete, 1 defensive sub (PH): 1 inning, 1 subbed out: 5 innings, 1 left early w/ injury: 6.1 innings)

Michael played left field in 36 games, for a total of 326 innings. (33 complete, 2 subbed out: 15 innings, 1 lifted for PR: 8 innings)

Michael was the PH in 1 game.

Michael was the DH in 7 games.

Michael played in 60 complete games.


in the second half, Michael had a total of 286 plate appearances and 260 at bats. here is how he fared:

87 hits

58 singles

23 doubles

1 triple

5 home runs

34 RBI

2 sac flies

31 runs scored

22 walks

4 intentional walks

13 stolen bases

1 caught stealing

6 GIDP

24 strikeouts (14 swinging, 10 looking)

23 first at bat hits

127 total bases


85 left on base

116 putouts

2 assists

1 double play

522.2 innings, 66 games

(60 complete games)

2nd Half batting average: .335 (87-260) (66 games)


now my game-by-game numbers and notes.

Game 91/Game 1, July 18: 4-5, single, single, stolen base, run scored, single, double, run scored. AVG: .329
(3rd/CF/CG9)

Game 92/Game 2, July 19 (Day Game): 1-5, bunt single (first at bat), caught stealing. AVG: .327
(3rd/CF/CG9)

Game 93/Game 3, July 19 (Night Game): 2-4, double (first at bat), single, intentional walk, run scored. AVG: .329
(3rd/CF/CG9)

Game 94/Game 4, July 20: 0-3, walk. AVG: .326
(3rd/CF/CG8)

Game 95/Game 5, July 21: 1-1, double (first at bat), run scored. AVG: .328
(5th/PH-CF – 1 i/8-GF)

^^Michael sets new career high in runs scored with 67^^

Game 96/Game 6, July 22: 0-4, walk. AVG: .324
(3rd/CF/CG9)

Game 97/Game 7, July 23: 0-4. AVG: .321
(3rd/CF/CG8)

Game 98/Game 8, July 24: 0-6. AVG: .316
(3rd/CF/CG13.1)

Game 99/Game 9, July 25: 1-4, single, run scored. AVG: .315
(3rd/CF/CG8)

Game 100/Game 10, July 26: 2-5, RBI double, single. AVG: .316
(3rd/CF/CG8)

Game 101/Game 11, July 27: 2-4, RBI sac fly, single, run scored, double, run scored. AVG: .318
(3rd/CF/CG9)

Game 102/Game 12, July 29: 0-3, walk (first at bat). AVG: .316
(3rd/CF/CG9)

Game 103/Game 13, July 30: 0-3, walk. AVG: .313
(3rd/CF/CG9)

Game 104/Game 14, July 31: 2-3, RBI single (first at bat), triple, run scored, walk, stolen base, walk. AVG: .316
(3rd/CF/CG9)

Game 105/Game 15, August 1: 3-4, RBI double (first at bat), single, run scored, RBI single. AVG: .320
(3rd/CF/GS5)

Game 106/Game 16, August 2: 2-4, single (first at bat), single. AVG: .322
(3rd/CF/CG9)

Game 107/Game 17, August 3: 2-6, double, home run, run scored. AVG: .322
(3rd/CF/CG12)


Game 108/Game 18, August 4: 2-4, RBI groundout (first at bat), single, run scored, RBI single, stolen base. AVG: .324
(3rd/CF/CG9)

Game 109/Game 19, August 5: 1-4, RBI single (first at bat). AVG: .323
(3rd/CF/CG9)

**Michael's 11-game reached base streak ends**

Game 110/Game 20, August 6: 0-3. AVG: .321
(3rd/CF/GS6.1)

^^Michael was removed from the game as part of a double switch during the top of the 7th inning. he banged his right knee into the wall in right-center field after making a running catch in the bottom of the 3rd inning^^

Game 111/Game 21, August 7: 1-4, double (first at bat). AVG: .320
(3rd/CF/CG8)

^^Michael sets new career high in extra base hits with 48^^

Game 112/Game 22, August 8: 1-3, walk, double, run scored, RBI walk, run scored. AVG: .320
(3rd/DH/CG)

^^Michael sets new career high in total bases with 223^^

Game 113/Game 23, August 9: 3-4, single (first at bat), single, home run, run scored. AVG: .324
(3rd/DH/CG)

^^Michael sets new career high in RBI with 74^^

Game 114/Game 24, August 10: 1-3, RBI single (first at bat), RBI sac fly, reached on fielder's choice, walk. AVG: .324
(3rd/DH/CG)

August 12: rain delay/game postponed, to be made up August 13 at 4 pm in a traditional DH.
(3rd/CF)

Game 115/Game 25, August 13 (Game 1): 1-4, 2-run single, reached on fielding error. AVG: .324
(3rd/CF/CG9)

Game 116/Game 26, August 13 (Game 2): 2-5, single, double. AVG: .325
(3rd/DH/CG)

Game 117/Game 27, August 15: 0-4. AVG: .322
(3rd/CF/CG11)

Game 118/Game 28, August 16: 1-4, 2-run home run, run scored. AVG: .321
(3rd/LF/CG9)

Game 119/Game 29, August 17: 0-3, walk (first at bat), stolen base. AVG: .319
(3rd/LF/CG9)

Game 120/Game 30, August 19: 1-3, walk (first at bat), single, stolen base. AVG: .319
(3rd/LF/CG9)

Game 121/Game 31, August 20: 0-4. AVG: .316
(3rd/LF/CG9)

Game 122/Game 32, August 21: 0-4, reached on fielding error. AVG: .314
(3rd/LF/CG8)

Game 123/Game 33, August 22: 0-4. AVG: .311
(3rd/LF/CG9)

Game 124/Game 34, August 23: 1-4, RBI single. AVG: .311
(3rd/LF/CG9)

August 24: not in lineup.

Game 125/Game 35, August 26: 1-4, hit by pitch (first at bat), run scored, RBI double. AVG: .310
(3rd/LF/CG10)

Game 126/Game 36, August 27: 0-4. AVG: .308
(3rd/LF/CG8)

Game 127/Game 37, August 28: 1-4, RBI single, stolen base, intentional walk. AVG: .307
(3rd/LF/CG9)

Game 128/Game 38, August 29: 3-5, single, run scored, double, double. AVG: .310
(3rd/LF/CG9)

Game 129/Game 39, August 30: 2-5, double (first at bat), RBI single, stolen base, run scored. AVG: .311
(3rd/LF/CG11)

Game 130/Game 40, August 31: 1-5, RBI double. AVG: .310
(3rd/LF/CG10)
^^game suspended due to rain, resumed at 6 pm on September 22 in the bottom of the 10th inning.

Game 131/Game 41, September 1: 1-3, single (first at bat), run scored, walk. AVG: .310
(3rd/LF/GS5)

Game 132/Game 42, September 2: 2-4, single (first at bat), run scored, walk, single. AVG: .311
(3rd/LF/CG9)


Game 133/Game 43, September 3: 1-4, RBI single. AVG: .311
(3rd/LF/CG9)

Game 134/Game 44, September 4: 2-5, double, run scored, RBI double. AVG: .312
(3rd/LF/CG11)


Game 135/Game 45, September 5: 1-4, single (first at bat), stolen base, run scored, reached on fielder's choice. AVG: .311
(3rd/LF/CG10)


Game 136/Game 46, September 6: 3-4, single (first at bat), stolen base, single, RBI single. AVG: .315
(3rd/LF/CG9)

Game 137/Game 47, September 7: 2-3, RBI single (first at bat), single, intentional walk. AVG: .317
(3rd/LF/CG9)

Game 138/Game 48, September 8: 1-4, single. AVG: .316
(3rd/LF/GS8)

**Michael's 12-game hitting streak ends**

Game 139/Game 49, September 9: 0-3, walk. AVG: .314
(3rd/LF/CG9)

September 10: game postponed, to be made up September 11 at 12 pm in a traditional DH.
(3rd/LF)

Game 140/Game 50, September 11 (Game 1): 2-3, walk (first at bat), run scored, RBI single, run scored, RBI single. AVG: .316
(3rd/DH/CG)

Game 141/Game 51, September 11 (Game 2): 1-3, single (first at bat), walk. AVG: .316
(3rd/LF/CG9)


Game 142/Game 52, September 12: 2-4, single (first at bat), single. AVG: .318
(3rd/DH/CG)


Game 143/Game 53, September 13: 2-4, 2-run home run (first at bat), run scored, single, stolen base. AVG: .319
(3rd/LF/CG8)


Game 144/Game 54, September 14: 2-4, single, stolen base, RBI hit by pitch, single, run scored. AVG: .320
(3rd/LF/CG8)


Game 145/Game 55, September 15: 2-4, double, single. AVG: .322
(3rd/LF/CG8)

Game 146/Game 56, September 16: 1-4, single (first at bat). AVG: .321
(3rd/LF/CG9)

Game 147/Game 57, September 17: 2-4, bunt single, run scored, single, stolen base. AVG: .322
(3rd/LF/CG9)

Game 148/Game 58, September 18: 1-5, reached on fielder's choice, single, intentional walk. AVG: .321
(3rd/LF/CG13)

Game 149/Game 59, September 19: 2-5, home run, run scored, double, reached on fielding error. AVG: .322
(3rd/DH/CG)


Game 150/Game 60, September 20: 2-4, walk (first at bat), double, run scored, single. AVG: .323
(3rd/LF/CG9)

Game 151/Game 61, September 21: 3-5, RBI double, reached on force attempt/error, run scored, RBI single, single. AVG: .325
(3rd/LF/CG9)

Game 152/Game 62, September 22: 1-3, single (first at bat), walk, stolen base. AVG: .326
(3rd/LF/CG9)


Game 153/Game 63, September 23: 2-4, single (first at bat), reached on fielder's choice, double. AVG: .327
(3rd/LF/GS8)

Game 154/Game 64, September 24: 3-4, single (first at bat), run scored, single, double. AVG: .329
(3rd/LF/CG9)

Game 155/Game 65, September 26: 0-3. AVG: .328
(3rd/LF/CG9)

**Michael's 15-game hitting streak and 28-game on-base streak end**

Game 156/Game 66, September 27: 1-4, single. AVG: .327
(3rd/LF/CG9)




Brantley's September 2014 #s

before i get into my last monthly blog of this season, i want to acknowledge some new readers to my blog. hello to the people in France, Romania, and Venezuela! thank you for coming here and reading about Michael Brantley. i hope you will continue to visit my blogspot even though the season has come to an end, because i still have many wrap-up blogs that i plan to write in the month of October. Michael and the Indians' season may be over, but my work is not yet done lol


the month of September had several questions surrounding it. the big one was, is Michael's August slump really a thing of the past, or will it re-emerge as this year winds down? the second was, what other career highs would Michael set in his final month of the regular season? and the third one, of course, was, would the Indians put up enough Ws to get into the playoffs?

Michael had no slumps this month. whatever problem he was having in August was definitely in the rearview mirror. Michael had a hit in 23 of the first 24 games in September, and 27 of 28 games from August 28 - September 24. he put up hitting streaks of 12 and 15 games, the latter being his second streak of 15 games this season. it seemed like he was hitting everyone and everywhere in September. talk about finishing the season strong.

he set new career highs in 14 different categories: hits, doubles, stolen bases, outfield assists, PA, AB, singles, games, innings, SB:CS, BA, OBP, SLG, OPS. he also had a new career low in caught stealing. and if that weren't enough, he achieved 2 career firsts, by joining the 20-20 club and reaching 200 hits in a season. it was certainly a special month for Michael. as much as he may have been aware of how close he was to setting certain records, he never "tried" to achieve them. he simply continued to do what he's always done--put good swings on good pitches--and then the records just set themselves.

as for the Tribe, well they ended up being mathematically eliminated after Game #160 on September 26. not bad considering everything that went wrong this year. however, it was still sad, for me especially, that the majority of players could not rise to the occasion to get the team back into the playoffs. in regards to the American League Central Division, the Indians could have played some of those teams better. but don't blame Michael. this season, he bat .405 against the 1st place Tigers, .405 against the 2nd place Royals, .324 against the 4th place White Sox, and .333 against the cellar-dwelling Twins. (thanks to D-Man for that info.)

Michael told this to Indians radioman Jim Rosenhaus once the Indians fell out of the race. "yeah, it still stinks. as soon as you put on that jersey the first day of spring training, your goal is to get to the postseason and the World Series, so anything short of that is gonna hurt a little bit. but at the same time, you gotta reflect on the positive. we had a lot of good things that happened this year and a lot of bad. but at the same time, we matured as a team and i'm looking forward to doing it again next year. we're a young team still, we have a lot of fight in us, and we never give up. so it'll be exciting to watch for years to come."

i really wanted to see how Michael would perform on the big stage after such a spectacular regular season. last year he got his feet wet in that one wild card playoff game, but this year he was primed for a real playoff series, and the rest of his teammates denied him of that. but i digress. that is something i will address further in a future Indians wrap-up blog. for now, let me relish in the wonderment of Michael's last month of his record-setting 2014 season.

when Michael's not playing with a significant injury (like in 2012), he can close out with a bang. last year, Michael bat .370 in September. this season, he bat .416, a new career high for the month. historically, since 1914, Michael's .416 batting average is the best September average by an Indians player with at least 100 plate appearances since Roberto Alomar's .421 BA in September 2000. Michael's average ranks 2nd, ahead of Tris Speaker's .415 in 1923, Speaker's .406 in 1916, and Brett Butler's .398 in 1986. moreover, Michael's .416 BA, 1.023 OPS, 9 walks, and 8 strikeouts in one month (with a minimum of 100 at bats) were the most/least by an Indians player in those categories since 1948.

looking at a broader scale, Michael had the highest September batting average in the major leagues, beating out Detroit's Victor Martinez (.378), Houston's Jose Altuve (.367), and Toronto's Adam Lind (.352). i'm left almost deflated now that today, on September 29, he just has to stop playing ball and can no longer build on this great year because the season's over.

but on a brighter note, one of the most exciting things to happen this month was the fact that Michael's final hit of September and his 2014 season was hit #200. that made Michael only the 2nd player in baseball this year to have at least 200 hits. Astros 2nd baseman, Jose Altuve, led the MLB with a total of 225 hits. as far as the Indians, no one else was even close to 200 hits. catcher Yan Gomes finished with 135 hits, 2nd most on the team. that's 65 hits less than Michael.

Michael is the 18th player in club history to reach 200 hits, a feat that's only been done 28 times total. he's the first Cleveland Indian with 200 hits in a season in the last 18 years, since Kenny Lofton finished his 1996 season with 210 hits. (Kenny himself even tweeted a congratulations to Michael after his hit. how awesome!) since 1950, the only other Indians players with 200 hits in a season are Carlos Baerga in 1992 and 1993, Joe Carter in 1986, and Al Rosen in 1953. the franchise record remains 233 hits, held by "Shoeless" Joe Jackson from 1911.

Michael ended September and his season with a .327 batting average, a 17 point increase from the end of August. his final BA ranks 3rd in the American League, 3rd in the majors, and 1st among major league outfielders. if not for hit-machines Jose Altuve and Victor Martinez, Michael would have had the AL batting title in the bag. i said it would take several multi-hit games in order for Michael to see a significant increase in his end of the year batting average, and that is exactly what he delivered. i am so proud that he was able to wrap up the season with the highest BA that he ever boasted at the end of a month. .327!

Michael's .327 batting average for 2014 was also the highest BA by an Indians player in the last 13 years. since 2001, only Roberto Alomar's .336 season average has been better than Michael's.
 
while Michael sizzled in September, Lonnie Chisenhall fizzled. Michael's September average was over 200 points higher than Lonnie's! Chiz barely finished with the 2nd highest BA on the team, because Gomes really heated up in the last 2 months of the season and gave Chiz a run for his money. i had my suspicions about Chiz all along, and i maintain my position that if he had played regularly from Game 1, his batting average never would have hung around .300 for as long as it did, if it even got that high to begin with. after the final game, Chiz's batting average was 47 points behind Michael's. i really hope Michael made a bet with him that didn't get leaked to the media, and that he got something really good from it lol
 
i saw improvement everywhere i wanted it and got just about everything i asked of Michael this month. he set more career highs than i even expected, made it into the 20-20 club, and raised his slugging percentage to over .500. and he absolutely scorched those left-handed pitchers in September, an area where he hadn't been doing particularly well the last few months. but you'd never know it now that the season is over. he also increased his batting average with 2 outs in an inning quite a bit. and when runners were in scoring position, well let me just say that he bat .500 in that situation in September. damn!
 
despite Michael's exceptional amount of hits this month, he still leads the team with grounders and flyouts. over the 2014 season, he totaled 208 ground ball outs and 168 fly ball outs. Michael also ended the year with the least amount of strikeouts among the regulars. his final 8.3% strikeout rate in 676 plate appearances went down .2% from a month ago.
 
let me put that another way. Michael was the 3rd hardest batter in the American League to strike out, behind Jose Altuve (7.5% K rate) and Victor Martinez (6.6%). he concludes the year with a 91.3% contact rate, 3rd best in the American League behind the Orioles' Nick Markakis (91.3%) and Victor Martinez (91.8%). even more impressive, Michael and Victor are the only qualifying players in the American League with less than 60 strikeouts and a minimum of 50 walks on the season. so when Michael was not making direct contact with the ball, he was sitting back on more ball 4s than strike 3s. that's fantastic.
 
as expected, Michael only played left field this month. he had one assist and one double play, which i will go into further detail about later on in this blog. Francona knew that it was imperative to keep Michael's bat in the lineup for the Tribe's stretch run, but it was also important for Michael to have a little break and get off his feet some. so instead of giving him full off days, Francona penciled him in the lineup as the DH for a few games. his leg soreness no longer seemed to be a factor, as seen by all the hits he racked up in September. although, getting a couple games off from playing the field only could have helped him. usually by September, most players are a little beat up and battling some kind of issue, regardless of how small. i like that Francona was able to manage the leg soreness without it hurting Michael worse or affecting his overall play.
 
for just the second month this season, Michael only hit in the 3rd spot of the batting order. Michael Bourn actually didn't get hurt and remained the leadoff man, while Jose Ramirez bat 2nd in every game he played in. Bourn and Ramirez had their share of September hits, giving Michael coveted opportunities to try and finish the year with 100 RBIs. but alas, it was not meant to be. as usual, he also had a lot of at bats with 2 outs in an inning, and he more than flourished in that this month. i did get a little irritated when i saw him getting a lot of hits without anyone on base for him to bring home though. so many times he would either lead off an inning and get on, or get those 2-out hits when the bases were empty. sigh.
 
in addition to the Smooth200 and 100 RBI watch, some writers also made it a point to do research on where Michael's season would rank if he added 100 runs to his final numbers. (for what it's worth, it's never been done before in franchise history.) i personally thought that was one achievement that he wouldn't be able to get. he reached base 57 times in September, including by way of errors and fielder's choices. yet he only scored 13 runs this month, 2 of which came from his own home runs. so do the math. he could have scored over 100 runs easy this year, but his teammates behind him are partly at fault there. Carlos Santana had several at bats where he looked like a hot mess and Chiz struggled at the plate. you know, they say that hitting is contagious, but i think those guys kinda disproved that lol thank goodness for Gomes though. he drove in Michael the most this month. it's too bad he didn't have a higher BOP for more games, not just in September, but in the entire second half of the year. maybe Michael would have gotten to 100 had that been the case.
 
Michael continued to swing early in the count during at bats and against pitchers that he needed to this month. as the number of games left in the season decreased, and Michael's chances to reach 200 hits went down more and more every day, i began to get very anxious any time he would come to the plate. so in all honestly, when i would hear Hammy announce that Michael had already swung at the first pitch, made contact with the ball, and added another hit to his total, there was a large sense of relief for me lol and any at bat that resulted in an out was not due to a poor AB this month. if Michael got out, it was earned by the opposition. his 42 hits in September, whether from a quick AB or a long battle, were the outcome of smart, quality at bats. and that is what i love to see from Michael.
 
after inquiry, Michael told reporters that he made a commitment to stay mentally focused for every at bat this season. "when you have such a long season, it's not only about being tired physically, but mentally. you have to stay in each and every at-bat. in a season, it's not just the physical tired, but the mental as well. you might give up on a pitch or take a play off here or there. i was just making sure i was in each and every play. i made sure i was focused every at bat. i never wanted to give up an at bat. every at bat is crucial as you can see. we're coming down to the wire and you're still scratching, clawing and climbing up a mountain to reach certain goals you have set. i have to make sure i come in next year and do the same thing." 
 
Michael had a hit in 24 of the 26 games he played in September and reached base safely in 25 games.
 
Michael reached base safely from August 28 - September 24, giving him a 28-game on-base streak, his longest such streak of the season.
 
Michael had a 12-game hitting streak from August 28 - September 8. this was his 3rd hitting streak of 10+ games this season. during his streak, he bat .400 (20-for-50) with 20 hits, 6 for extra bases. he hit 6 doubles, giving him 26 total bases. he had 7 RBI, 6 runs, 4 walks, 2 intentional walks, 4 stolen bases, and 6 strikeouts. his OBP was .444 and his SLG was .520, totaling a .964 OPS.
 
if that wasn't long enough for ya, Michael had a 15-game hitting streak, over 14 days, from September 11-24. this was his 4th hitting streak of 11+ games this season and 2nd hitting streak of 15 games (May 15-30). he bat .467 (28-for-60) with 28 hits during this streak. he had 8 extra base hits--6 doubles and 2 home runs--and 40 total bases. he also totaled 8 RBI, 9 runs, 5 walks, 1 intentional walk, 1 hit by pitch, 4 stolen bases, 1 GIDP, and 4 strikeouts. defensively, he had 1 assist and 1 double play. overall, he had a .515 OBP, .667 SLG, and 1.182 OPS.
 
Michael wraps up 2014 batting .337 (137-for-406) against right-handed pitchers, 1st in the American League, and .307 (63-for-205) against left-handed pitchers. his average against both went up, which is great. but i'm way more impressed with his improvement against the lefties. at the end of last month, i hoped to see adequate progress there to at least get him up into the .280 range before the season came to a close. and boy did he deliver that, and then some. he bat .488 against southpaws in September, allowing for a 48 point total increase! that's unbelievable for one month. i'm so proud and amazed.
 
Michael ended the season batting .353 (106-for-300) at home, with 57 RBI, and .302 (94-for-311) on the road. his September hitting was off the charts, both at home and away from home. that burst of the bat increased his home BA by 10 points and gave him a 22 point road increase, allowing him to finish batting over .300 for the year on the road. that's absolutely terrific.
 
Michael finished the year 1st in the American League with runners in scoring position, ahead of offensive juggernauts Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, Mike Trout, and Nelson Cruz. he bat .376 (56-for-149) with RISP and had 76 RBI. that's another large increase from the end of last month, thanks to that .500 BA with RISP in September. in 2013, Michael bat .375 with RISP, and i know a lot of media members automatically assumed that he would surely regress in that area this year. to those people i say, HA!
 
breaking down the RISP category, Michael bat .370 (10-for-27) with 0 outs and runners in scoring position, .450 (27-for-60) with 1 out and RISP, and .306 (19-for-62) and 27 RBI with 2 outs and RISP. those numbers represent increases in the first 2 categories and a slight decrease in the last. Michael finished 2013 batting .360 with RISP and 2 outs, so there was a retreat there this year. but in general, those are all really great batting averages. Michael was definitely the most clutch player on the team this year and that is why he led the team in RBI for pretty much the entire season.
 
furthermore, Michael hit .346 (85-for-246) with 82 RBI with runners on base, a small increase, but enough to finish 1st in the American League. he also bat a steady .545 (6-for-11) with 19 RBI with the bases loaded. Michael made the most of his frequent at bats with 2 outs this month, batting .564. that brought his overall average up 48 points, to a whopping .338 (75-for-222) with 34 RBI with 2 outs in an inning on the year.
 
Michael hit 2 home runs in September, one solo and one 2-run bomb. i could tell his power was starting to falter in this final month of the season; over 75% of his hits were singles. but he still went yard enough times to bring his new career high to 20 home runs and get himself into the 20-20 club for the first time in his career. even more notable, his 20th home run on September 19 made him the only player in the major leagues with at least a .300 batting average, 40 doubles, 20 home runs, 90 RBI, 90 runs, and 20 steals.
 
Michael maintained his hitting prowess in the clutch to keep bringing baserunners home in September. that enabled him to end the season with a new career high and team high 97 RBI. that ranked 5th among American League outfielders, 7th among major league outfielders, 12th in the American League, and 15th overall in the majors.
 
Michael's 12 RBI this month dropped a lot from last month. when August ended, it looked very probable that he would finish with at least 100 RBI. and with the way the media was hyping that up, i bought into it. i was waiting for it, literally counting the games left and how many potential at bats he had to try and get to 100. however, in his final 5 games of the season, he couldn't get any RBIs. so i was briefly bummed that Michael was unable to reach the triple digit plateau. but i wouldn't allow myself to wallow for long, as 97 is still an incredible amount of runs batted in and a huge improvement on Michael's personal best as well. historically though, it has now been 7 years since the Indians had a player reach 100 RBI. (Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner last did in 2007, with 114 and 100, respectively.) guess there's always next year ;D
 
let me also point out that it's kind of hard to get RBI when you continually hit and get on base when the bases are empty. as i briefly wrote earlier, that happened to Michael repeatedly in September. because i was keeping track of how many games were left to reach 100, i noticed it more than i normally would have, i admit that. there were several games where Michael was close to being the only one in the lineup who could even hit the tough pitching that the team faced. (i will expand more on that in my upcoming Indians wrap-up blog.) that's not to say that Michael didn't have plenty of chances still to get more RBI. he left 27 guys on base in 26 games this month, a decrease from August, which is good. but, if only he could have brought 3 of those 27 home... oh well. i'm still very proud of him.
 
now for the last time this year, i will recalculate Michael's HR/RBI ratios. 15 of his 20 home runs have been solo, while the other 5 were 2-run homers. this means that 15 of his 97 RBI (15.5%) have come from solo homers, and 25 of his 97 RBI (25.8%) have come from all 20 of his home runs. those percentages both went down a little again from last month, but in this instance, that's not a bad thing at all. and while i did not get a 3-run bomb from him this season, i can't hold that against him. i'm real pleased that he developed enough power this year to be able to finish with 20 home runs, doubling his career high from last season. if he can hit around 20 homers every year going forward, he's going to get more of the respect from the national media that he deserves.
 
Michael really came into his own this season and excelled in just about every facet of the game. he added onto some already set career highs this month, and set more new ones. so, for the final time, here is everything that Michael finished the 2014 season leading the team with: 200 hits*, 67 extra base hits*, 133 singles*, 45 doubles*, 97 RBI*, 94 runs*, 8 hit by pitches (tied)*, 23 stolen bases*, 390 total bases, 156 games*, 676 plate appearances*, 611 at bats*, .327 BA*, .385 OBP*, .506 SLG*, and .890 OPS*. he had the best stolen base:caught stealing ratio (23:1)* on the team as well. Michael also led the outfielders with 12 assists*, 2 double plays, 271 putouts, 1304.1 innings*, and overall .996 fielding percentage. 
 
he finished 2nd on the team with 52 walks and 4 intentional walks. he was 3rd on the team with 20 home runs* and 5 sac flies. he had the least amount of strikeouts with 56 as well.
 
(*denotes these are also career highs for Michael for the season. these rankings include qualifiers only.)
 
it was not until i looked it up and did the comparisons that i realized Michael has put together several strong Septembers during his career. as a result, he didn't achieve as many career highs for this month. however, he did set September career highs for himself with the following: 42 hits, 10 extra base hits, 56 total bases, 32 singles, 8 doubles, 13 runs, 1 hit by pitch, 6 stolen bases, 1 double play, .416 BA, .468 OBP, .554 SLG, and 1.023 OPS.
 
now here are some other facts about Michael's 2014 season. he hit safely in 63 of 77 home games and 123 of 156 games overall. he had a team leading 59 multi-hit games, multi-hitting in 37.8% of the games he played in. Michael was just 2nd in the American League behind Jose Altuve's 69 multi-hit games.
 
he recorded an RBI in 66 of 156 games (42.3%), and had 23 multi-RBI games. Michael also had 28 go-ahead hits and 31 go-ahead RBI. plus, he finished with a team high 16 games with 3+ hits this season.
 
comparing his final numbers with all the qualifying outfielders in the American League, Michael ranked 1st in batting average (.327), hits (200), and doubles (45); 2nd in OBP (.385); 3rd in total bases (309), extra base hits (67), runs (94), and OPS (.890); 4th in SLG (.506); 5th in RBI (97); 7th in stolen bases (23); and tied for 9th in home runs (20). he had the lowest strikeout rate (8.3%) among AL outfielders, too.
 
among all major league outfielders, Michael finished 1st in batting average, hits, and doubles; 2nd lowest in K rate; 3rd in total bases; 5th in extra base hits, OBP, and OPS; and 7th in RBI and SLG.
 
compared to all American League qualifiers, Michael was 2nd in hits; 3rd in batting average, doubles, and 3rd lowest strikeout percentage; 4th in OBP; 5th in extra base hits; 6th in runs and total bases; 7th in OPS; 9th in SLG; 11th in stolen bases, and 12th in RBI.
 
and finally, among all major league qualifiers, Michael ranked 2nd in hits; 3rd in batting average; 4th in doubles and 4th lowest K%; 6th in total bases; 9th in extra base hits and OBP; 10th in OPS; 13th in SLG; and 15th in RBI.
 
if you like stats from fangraphs, then you'll be interested in this. Michael's 6.6 fWAR (wins above replacement) for the 2014 season is the highest for an Indians position player since 2008 when Grady Sizemore finished with a 7.2 fWAR. Michael finished 2nd in the American League behind Angels outfielder Mike Trout's 7.8.
 
additionally, Michael's 155 wRC+ (weighted runs created plus) for the year is the highest of any qualifying Indian since Travis Hafner's 176 in 2006. if you're completely lost, this number is basically a player's ability to create runs compared to the league average. Michael finished 5th this year in the AL in wRC+.
 
lastly, in terms of baserunning, Michael proved to be the 3rd best baserunner in the American League this season with a 7.8 BsR (baserunning runs above average with stolen bases and caught stealings). he finished behind Detroit's Ian Kinsler (9.1) and Minnesota's Brian Dozier (8.3).
 
alright, time to delve into the good, the better, and the ugly moments of September. i say it like that because, as previously noted, Michael blew through the month on a tear, setting an abundance of new career highs. that (happily) gives me more positive things to write in here than negative. and i'm starting with the Michael Brantley bobblehead giveaway on September 1. the Indians finally celebrated Michael by making a bobblehead of him, the first of his career, and it was given out to fans at the Labor Day game against the Detroit Tigers. you already know i went to that game to get it. after i got home, i did a very thorough review of the bobble, which was somewhat disappointing due to the deviation from what it was supposed to resemble. but i was still very glad that Michael got to have his day and that he is now forever preserved in bobblehead form. my blog with all the details about it can be found here.
 
on September 2, Michael's first hit of the game against the Tigers gave him a new career high of 160 hits in a season. he hit a single to right field off Kyle Lobstein after a 3-2 count. later in the game, he hit another single, to reset his new career high to 161 hits. his old career high was 159 hits, accomplished during the 2012 season. i wrote a short blog with all the details here.
 
but there was one minor dark spot on the night. Michael was caught looking in what was yet another bullshit strike 3. it was in the bottom of the 3rd inning with the Tribe up 2-1, and Michael was once again facing Lobstein, a left-handed pitcher whom he's notably had some success against this year. after the count was 2-1, Michael took a pitch that was outside according to both GameDay and STO. however, it was called a strike by the home plate umpire, making the count 2-2. Michael fouled the 5th pitch off, and the 6th pitch was a ball.
 
then on the 7th pitch of a 3-2 count, Michael took another ball that he knew was outside, that Hammy said was outside, that i saw was outside on my GameDay, and that STO showed as clearly being outside. but guess what? it was not called ball 4, it was called strike 3, and Michael was out looking. he was not happy and almost slammed his bat down on the ground afterwards. but he regained composure at the last second before the slam and was quite frank with the ump while heading back to the dugout. i myself was really pissed off. all these bullshit strikeouts that get added to his stat line really skew his K rate. he should have a minimum of 4 more walks and 4 less strikeouts this season. grrr.
 
Michael set another new career high during the Detroit series by hitting not just the one, but two doubles on September 4, to go from 37 to 38 to 39 doubles in one game. his previous career high of 37 was set back in 2012. first he hit a leadoff double to center field off Max Scherzer's first pitch to him in the bottom of the 4th inning. then he got his second double of the game on the first pitch from Blaine Hardy with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th inning, which scored Bourn from 1st base. i wrote a blog all about that here.
 
for the second time in 2 days, and third time in 4 games, Michael set yet another career high on September 5 when he stole 2nd base in the bottom of the 1st inning against Chicago White Sox pitcher Chris Sale. that was a big accomplishment in itself because Sale is one of the toughest pitchers to get a steal off of. but Michael did it successfully and got his career high 18th stolen base of the year. he previously had a career high of 17 steals in 2013. the blog with all those details can be found here.
 
when Michael got his 91st RBI during the first game of a traditional doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins on September 11, he became just the 4th Indians player with at least 18 home runs, 91 RBI, and 19 stolen bases in one season. the other 3 Indians who achieved this were Roberto Alomar (1999 and 2001), Albert Belle (1993), and Joe Carter (1986-88).
 
the reason the Indians were playing this traditional doubleheader against the Twins was because of rain on September 10. i had a feeling that Michael would not play in the field for both games on the 11th, and i was right. he was the DH for Game 1 and played left field in Game 2. however, it struck me as odd when Francona allowed Michael Bourn, Mr. Hamstring Problem, to play center in both games. i could only hope the extra protection of Michael was indeed just that, and not done out of necessity. but i was very thankful that Francona chose to DH Michael in Game 1, as Michael recorded his career high 12th outfield assist while playing left field in Game 2. more on that later.
 
so i understood why Michael was a DH for one game during the doubleheader on September 11, but i was a little confused about why he was also the DH in the September 12 game against the Detroit Tigers. seeing that in the lineup made me fearful that the leg issue was back, or that maybe it never really went away. and i wasn't the only one curious about it. when asked, Francona offered, "he's played just about every game. he played 18 [innings on Thursday]. his bat is so important to us. it's hard, because he's so good, to try to give him a day off." Francona also said Michael's nagging leg soreness was not hindering him on the field. "i think it's something he has to manage, but i think he's doing better."
 
what immediately stuck out to me about that is the fact that he didn't play 18 innings on Thursday. he only played one game in the field for 9 innings and had just 4 at bats in the other. but based on Francona's logic, i readied myself for Michael to see split time between LF and DH for the rest of the year. surprisingly, he only used Michael as a DH one more time after that. so if he was still battling a leg issue, i sure as heck couldn't tell. it certainly didn't have any affect on his hitting and all the base hits he continued to earn.
 
now let me get back to the good stuff. Michael achieved another career high on September 12 in the game against the Tigers. after Michael's 2-out single to left field in his first at bat (as the DH) against David Price in the top of the 1st inning, he set a new career high with 612 plate appearances. Michael had a total of 611 PA at the end of last year in 151 games. and even though i said i wasn't going to, i did end up writing a blog about it here lol how could i not?
 
Michael set another new career high on September 13. his 3rd at bat of the game against the Tigers gave him 557 at bats overall, a new personal best. with 2 outs and Mikes Aviles at 2nd base in the top of the 5th inning against Kyle Lobstein, Michael hit a line drive to right field after a 1-0 count. Torii Hunter recorded the out, but it was still an official AB, marking the new high. Michael acquired 556 ABs last year, in what was his previous career high. i wrote a blog about it here.
 
also after the September 13 game against Detroit, Michael was the only player in the major leagues with a .300+ batting average, 35+ doubles, 18+ home runs, 90+ RBI, and 20+ stolen bases.
 
for the third straight day, Michael set another career high, this time with 120 singles. on September 14, he led off the top of the 9th inning against Detroit's closer Joe Nathan. after a 2-2 count, he sent a liner to right field for a base hit. last season, he finished with then-career high 119 singles. my blog about it is here.
 
ugh, time for some ugliness. according to the sabermetricians out there, Michael is apparently one of the worst left fielders in the league. i of course think that's preposterous and don't pay much attention to that nonsense. however, what happened in the September 15 game against the Houston Astros only adds fuel to the Michael Brantley adversaries' fire. remember last month how i wrote that Michael hasn't played much against the 'Stros in his career and that he was still somewhat unfamiliar with their pitchers? well, the same could be said in regards to their ballpark, and this was his first start out in Minute Maid Park's left field this season.
 
the Indians were ahead, 1-0, in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Zach Attack was pitching for the Tribe and had already gotten the 1st out. number 9 hitter George Petit reached 1st base on a ground ball single through the hole to left field. then Houston's leadoff man, Robbie Grossman, came to the plate. the switch-hitter bat left-handed and on the 5th pitch of a 1-2 count, hit a fly ball to deep left field. that ball was headed to the 19-foot wall, a wall that's only 315 feet from home plate. Michael ran back to the warning track and jumped up to make the catch.
 
unfortunately, the ball bounced off his glove, resulting in a double for Grossman and allowing Petit to go to 3rd. then the next batter, Jose Altuve, shot a single into center field, scoring both Petit and Grossman to give the Astros a 2-1 lead. and they went on to win the game, 3-1. so typically, some of the fans pointed their fingers at Michael for the loss. i say it's too bad Zach couldn't have gotten Altuve out. or that the Indians couldn't score more than 1 run, let alone score past the 1st inning.
 
yes, it was a catch Michael should have made, a catch he usually always makes. but to me, this is where the unfamiliarity with and inexperience at MMP comes into play. Michael, the consummate professional that he is, made no excuses. "any time the ball hits your glove you want to make the catch. i didn't catch it. it's a tough left field to play. i tried to do my best. i want to make that play for my team each and every time." 
 
Francona concurred. "oh, yeah, he had a chance. that's a tough left field. probably one of the tougher left fields there is to play because you have to go back against that wall. it would have been a nice play." maybe when the Indians start playing these AL Astros more, Michael will start having better luck against them. this team should have stayed in the NL. (eye roll) when it was all said and done, i was just glad that the missed catch wasn't an error. thank god.
 
that mishap aside, it could not have been easy for Michael to really enjoy his personal best season in the majors while the Indians team as a whole was on the cusp of falling out of the playoff race. after the September 15 loss to the Astros, Michael contended that there was no carry-over from their recent sweep by the Tigers. "we're all professionals in this locker room. we take one game at a time. the great thing about baseball is that we get to do the same thing tomorrow. at the same time we have to come out and give a better effort. we have to score more runs. we have to play better baseball. there's no other way to put it. we're in this thing until they tell me i'm out of it. that's how i look at it. that's how everybody in this locker room looks at it." wise words from a team leader ;D 
 
on September 18, the last day of their 4-game series, Michael also had this to say about the ballpark. "it's the toughest left field to play in the major leagues because of the low lights." if you didn't know, Houston has a retractable roof, and therefore, the lights are lower than in any other park. so if you're not used to playing there, it can be a struggle and adjustment. taking that into account, i'm gonna have to give him a pass for that missed catch. and everyone else needs to just get over it.
 
in better news, during that final game against the Astros on September 18, Michael extended his hitting streak to 9 games. his first and only hit of the night was a 2-out single against left-handed reliever Kevin Chapman after a 1-1 count in the top of the 11th inning. good thing this one went to extras because that gave Michael 6 hitting streaks of 9 games or more this year. in doing so, he became only the 3rd Indians player in history (since 1914) with 6 such streaks in one season. Earl Averill previously accomplished this in 1936, and Johnny Hodapp did it before him in 1930. (thanks to D-Man, who got it from STO, for this info.) Michael ended up extending this streak to 15 games, giving him hitting streaks of 11 or more games 4 times this year, as well as two 15-game hitting streaks.
 
on September 19, Michael finally became of a member of the prestigious 20-20 club when he hit his 20th home run of the year. this career first came when he led off the top of the 6th inning against Phil Hughes of the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. he was DHing and the game was tied at 2. on the first pitch, he hit a bomb past the seats in right field and onto the concourse area, therefore nailing down a spot in Indians history as the 9th player to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases in one season. hmm, i may need to rethink my position on hating Target Field so much lol prior to Michael, Shin-Soo Choo was the last Indians player to reach 20-20 in both the 2009 and 2010 seasons. my heartfelt blog with all the details, pics, and video of the occasion is here.
 
also with that 20th home run, Michael became the 2nd player in the Indians franchise to total at least 40 doubles, 20 home runs, 90 RBI, and 20 stolen bases in one season. the only other Indians player to do this was Roberto Alomar in 1999. in addition, Michael was the only player in the major leagues at the time with at least a .300 batting average and 20 home runs, 90 RBI, and 20 stolen bases, plus the only player in the majors batting .320 or above with at least 40 doubles, 20 home runs, 90 RBI, and 20 steals. wow!
 
but the game did not end on a good note. after the Indians lost to the Twins in 10 innings, Michael spoke with the media about the team. he showed no sign of worry. "we're playing each and every game one game at a time." boy, is that a classic, true-to-form Michael Brantley quote or what? lol
 
on September 20 during the game against the Twins, Michael got his 190th hit of the season when he sent a base hit to center field after a 2-2 count against lefty Lester Oliveros in the top of the 9th inning. this was relevant because no Cleveland Indian had had at least 190 hits in a season since Grady Sizemore had 190 in 2006. Michael acquired 30 hits in just 19 games to reach 190. wow again!
 
then the next day, Michael's 2-out single in the top of the 8th inning on September 21 against Twins lefty reliever Logan Darnell gave him a total of 193 hits on the season. that tied him for the most hits in a season by an Indians player since 2000. he tied Roberto Alomar, who had 193 hits in 2001. and with 6 games to go, it was fairly obvious that Michael would break the tie. that 8th inning single also gave Michael 300 total bases. no Indians player has totaled 300 bases since 2008, when Grady Sizemore finished with 318.
 
as soon as the game against the Kansas City Royals started on September 22, Michael set another new career high. he then played a new season record of 152 games. it was pretty simple to achieve, he didn't even have to have an official at bat or anything. last season, he played in 151 games, the most he'd ever played in during a big league season until now. i wrote a blog with more details here.
 
also during the September 22 game, Michael became the Indians player with the most hits in a season since 2000. in the bottom of the 1st inning, he swung at Danny Duffy's first pitch and singled on a line drive back to Duffy, giving Michael hit #194. that surpassed Roberto Alomar's 193 hits in 2001. later in the game, Michael stole his 23rd base of the year in the bottom of the 8th inning while Gomes swung and struck out against relief pitcher Wade Davis. that finally made him the team leader in the stolen base category once again, a lead he lost to Jason Kipnis in July.
 
i mentioned before that the major thing that contributed to Michael's tough time scoring runs was that the hitters behind him weren't bringing him home much after he got on base. and boy was he getting on base this month. but there was a particular incident on September 23 in the game against the Royals that ticked me off. at that time, Michael was 7 runs away from 100, and in the bottom of the 8th inning, Francona decided to lift him for a pinch runner after he got on base with a leadoff double. and of course after that, the pinch runner scored. didn't Francona know that Michael was attempting to make Indians history? there was no reason to pull him from the game at that moment. why didn't he just leave him in, see if he ended up scoring, and then take him out of the game? duh. smh.
 
Michael got his 59th multi-hit game of the year on September 24. it happened when he hit his second single of the night in the bottom of the 5th inning after a 1-1 count against Kansas City's lefty reliever Brandon Finnegan. those 59 multi-hit games are the most multi-hit games by a Cleveland Indian since Omar Vizquel had 62 in 1999.
 
Michael got his 3rd hit of the game in the bottom of the 7th inning, but was sadly robbed of an RBI to go along with it. Jose Ramirez had lined out to left before Michael. however, Francona and everyone else thought that left fielder Alex Gordon trapped the ball. Francona rightfully challenged the play and that "out" was reviewed by the crew in NY. much to the bewilderment of the Indians and their fans, the crew mistakenly upheld the incorrect out call. so when Michael hit a double in the next at bat, no one was on base and he got screwed out of RBI #98. classic.
 
when Michael was asked about his season after the game, he once again downplayed it at the time. "i'll have to look back when the season's over. i'm not a very big stat man. i don't look too much into the past or the future. i try to take care of what's in front of me today." (my comment: grrr. lol)
 
on September 27, during the game against the Tampa Bay Rays, in what would become Michael's final game of the year, 2 significant things took place in his career. first, in the top of the 3rd inning, when Rays catcher Ryan Hanigan flew out to center field for out #1, Michael set a new career high with 1297.2 innings played. his old career high was 1297.1 innings, set in 2013. i wrote a blog about that here.
 
but the second thing is what made franchise history. Michael came to the plate to face Alex Colome with 1 out in the bottom of the 4th inning and the Tribe down, 1-0. after a 1-0 count, he hit a single through the hole and into center field. that hit was #200, and Michael became the 1st Indians player in club history to ever have 200 hits, 40 doubles, 20 home runs, and 20 stolen bases in one season. he gave thanks to his late grandmother with a kiss to the sky. i wrote a blog with an abundance of details, stats, pictures, and quotes here. still, i feel it is important to include some of the historical statistics of this occasion and quotes from that blog here as well.
 
Michael is only the 2nd player in Cleveland Indians history with at least 200 hits, 20 home runs, and 20 stolen bases in a season. Joe Carter was the first, with 200 hits, 29 home runs, and 29 stolen bases in 1986. eliminate the home runs, and Michael is the 7th player in franchise history with at least 200 hits and 20 stolen bases in a season. the other 6 include Kenny Lofton (1996), Joe Carter (1986), Charlie Jamieson (1924), Tris Speaker (1916), Joe Jackson (1911 and 1912), and Nap Lajoie (1904, 1906, and 1910.) (thank you to Jordan Bastian for this info.)
 
Michael's 200th hit also gave him at least one hit in 123 of the 156 total games he'd played in this year. no Cleveland Indian has had that many games with a hit during a season since Roberto Alomar had 123 games with at least one hit in 2000.
 
thanks in part to Corey Kluber's Cy Young-type year on the mound, Michael and Corey became the 1st Indians duo in club history with at least 200 hits and 250 strikeouts in one season. additionally, they were the first 200H/250K duo in the major leagues since 1999 when Luis Gonzalez and Randy Johnson had 206 hits and 364 strikeouts with the Arizona Diamondbacks. (for the record, Kluber had a total of 269 strikeouts on the year.)
 
after the September 27 game, when Michael was asked about his 200 hits and his season as a whole, he still wasn't ready to look back at it in awe just yet. "it's gonna mean a lot. it's gonna mean a lot on Monday when i kinda sit back and reflect on kinda what went on. i'll take more time to think about it and kinda digest it all." and when the media told Michael about the M-V-P chants from the fans during his at bat that night, he was extremely appreciative. "that's a remarkable feeling. i want to thank the fans for that. it's not something you hear very often. it's not something that's just thrown around. my hat's off to them. i can't thank them enough." 
 
on September 28, Francona chose to play a lot of his seldom-used/younger players, so Michael was not in the lineup. that meant his 2014 season was officially complete and he would finish the year with 4 more career highs: a .327 batting average, .385 OBP, .506 SLG, and .890 OPS. he was the only Indians player to finish with a BA over .300, SLG over .500, and OPS over .800. discounting the final numbers from 2009 (when he was a rookie and only played 1 month with the Indians), Michael's previous career highs were .288 BA, .348 OBP, .402 SLG, and .750 OPS from 2012. my blog about that can be found here. talk about ending on an offensive high note!
 
besides career highs, Michael tacked on one new career low once his season was over, too. through 156 games, he had just one caught stealing. that gave him a final stolen base:caught stealing ratio of 23:1, and that's yet another new career high for him. in 2013, Michael had a 17:4 SB:CS ratio, his old personal best. i wrote a blog detailing his 95.8% stolen base rate, with information about his final stolen base along with the one time he was tagged out, here.
 
when the Indians' season came to its conclusion, and Michael's .327 batting average on the year was made official, his name was added to another historical group. he became the 9th major league player in history in the past 100 years to hit .320 or above with at least 40 doubles, 20 home runs, 90 RBI, and 20 stolen bases, as well as just the 2nd Indians player in franchise history. the 8 players who did this before him include: Jacoby Ellsbury in 2011 with the Boston Red Sox, Hanley Ramirez in 2009 with the Florida Marlins, David Wright in 2007 with the New York Mets, Roberto Alomar in 1999 with the Cleveland Indians, Larry Walker in 1997 with the Colorado Rockies, Ellis Burks in 1996 with the Colorado Rockies, Chuck Klein in 1932 with the Philadelphia Phillies, and Babe Herman in 1929 with the Brooklyn Robins.
 
in addition, Michael was the first Indians player with at least a .320 batting average, .380 OBP, and .500 SLG in one season since 2001. who did it then? why, Roberto Alomar, of course. Michael's slash line of .320/.380/.500 or better also added him to the small group of American League players who totaled those numbers in the last 5 years. the others are Josh Hamilton with the Texas Rangers in 2010, Adrian Gonzalez with the Boston Red Sox in 2011, Mike Trout with the Los Angeles Angels in 2012 and 2013, and Miguel Cabrera with the Detroit Tigers from 2010-13, along with Victor Martinez this year.
 
want more stats? in major league history, Michael is the 11th player with a stat line of at least 200 hits/20 home runs/40 doubles/20 stolen bases and the first since Jacoby Ellsbury did it in 2011. he also joins Hanley Ramirez (2007), Alfonso Soriano (2002), Craig Biggio (1998), Larry Walker (1997), Nomar Garciaparra (1997), Ellis Burks (1996), Vada Pinson (1959), Chuck Klein (1932), and Babe Herman (1929). take out the National League players from that list, and Michael is only the 4th player in American League history with a minimum of 200 hits, 20 home runs, 40 doubles, and 20 stolen bases.
 
if you remove Nomar Garciaparra and Babe Herman from the 11 players listed above, the remainders all had at least 45 doubles in their respective seasons. that makes Michael the 9th major league player in history to finish a season with at least 200 hits, 20 home runs, 45 doubles, and 20 steals. without the National Leaguers, Michael becomes the 3rd player in American League history with those same numbers.
 
Michael is now the 6th player in major league history with at least 200 hits, 20 home runs, 40 doubles, 90 RBI, 20 stolen bases, and a .320 batting average. he's in the record books for this with Jacoby Ellsbury (2011), Larry Walker (1997), Ellis Burks (1996), Chuck Klein (1932), and Babe Herman (1929). looking solely at the AL, Michael is the 2nd player in American League history to compile these stats.
 
spotlighting just Michael's .327 BA, 200 H, 67 XBH, 94 R, .385 OBP, .376 RISP, and 6.6 fWAR, he is only the 7th player in major league history to put up those numbers in one season. the last player to do so was Jacoby Ellsbury in 2011. the other 5 players who've done it are Alfonso Soriano in 2002, Larry Walker and Nomar Garciaparra in 1997, Ellis Burks in 1996, and Chuck Klein in 1932. (i have to thank the incomparable Mr. Jordan Bastian for some of the above stats. he's an amazing source for Indians statistics. Dennis Manoloff also contributed to some of my historical comparisons, and i thank him as well.)
 
moving on from statistical analysis for a minute, i also have a personal highlight to share, about getting Michael's autograph after the Indians' last game on September 28. however, i think i'm going to wait to share that in a separate blog that i plan to write sometime during the offseason. stay tuned! =D
 
okay let's take some time to focus on a little defense now. Michael said goodbye to center and only played left field in September, and once again he did not commit any errors. that means that for the fifth month in a row, he put up a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage (in September). so i was right, Michael had 0 errors after the Ryan Raburn fiasco on April 2. it's a damn shame that happened, because Michael's franchise record errorless streak in the outfield could have been extended SO much more. sigh. i'm still not over it. bright side, he currently has 144 consecutive games played in the outfield without an error, so he's only 104 games away from breaking his current franchise record. hopefully he can do it next year! check back with me around August 2015 ;D
 
as far as catches, Michael had 45 putouts this month, giving him a total of 271 for the season. that's not bad when you take into account the number of games he didn't play any outfield in, and how he went back and forth between left and center up until this past month of the year.
 
Michael added 1 final assist to his total this month, and that was all he needed to break his old record from last season. in Game 2 of the doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins on September 11, Michael recorded his career high 12th outfield assist. with Chris Parmelee at 1st base in the top of the 3rd inning, Brian Dozier flew out to left field and Michael made the catch for the 2nd out of the inning. but Parmelee was already at 2nd base by this time and got doubled off 1st when Michael threw the ball to shortstop Jose Ramirez, who threw it to 1st baseman Chris Gimenez. Michael was also credited with a double play, his 2nd of the year. i wrote a blog about it with the video here.
 
his 12 outfield assists are tied for 4th most in the American League and tied for 5th in the major leagues this year. in the AL, Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays also had 12 assists. Jackie Bradley, Jr. of the Boston Red Sox and Melky Cabrera of the Blue Jays were tied for 2nd with 13 assists. and the top outfielder in the AL, with 16 assists on the year, was Yoenis Cespedes of the Red Sox. looks like both the Jays and Sox have some real good arms in their outfield. now comparing all the outfielders in baseball, Yasiel Puig of the LA Dodgers finished 2nd behind Cespedes with 15 assists, which pushed Michael back to 5th overall in baseball.
 
i don't care that Michael spent time in both left and center field this year because of Bourn's bum legs. Michael still deserves serious Gold Glove consideration. the sabermetrics may rate Michael as one of the worst left fielders in the AL defensively, but they would be wrong. open your eyes and watch him. players don't run on him very much anymore because they know. they know he's got a cannon and can throw strikes to the infield to get them out. and with Michael finally emerging as a bit of a power hitter, something that the voters also take into account for this award (let's be honest here), he should be a real contender now. and it's time.
 
 
one final note from me before i get into the break downs. i hoped to see improvement from Michael in certain categories this month, and i got everything i wanted and more. there was not one area where Michael disappointed in this year. he has made me so happy and proud this season, since spring training, really. he put up some numbers this year that i never imagined or dared to wish for, and he achieved things that i didn't see coming. he made me cry so many tears of joy, i'm almost embarrassed to admit it lol this was a season for the ages, one of the best all-around seasons by any major league player not only in 2014, but ever. and i am so glad that i re-arranged my social life and my schedule so that i did not miss one single plate appearance of his this year. thank you, Michael, for all your hard work and dedication to your craft, and making it very easy for me to continue proclaiming that i am your #1 Ride or Die fan. (outside your family of course! lol)
 
btw, look for a few blogs wrapping up Michael's season and some more final thoughts from me in the coming week.
 
 
now let's break down the numbers. i am going to document his September #s, the 3rd spot #s, and the DH #s, as well as the left field #s and overall outfield #s.


September batting average: .416

OBP: .468

SLG: .554

OPS: 1.023 
 
 
Michael played in 26 (of 27) games, 23 complete, in September. he started and played left in 23 games, completing 20 of those games. he was subbed out of 1 game after 7 innings because the Indians were getting blown out. he was subbed out of 1 game after 8 innings because the Indians were losing. he was lifted for a pinch runner in 1 game after hitting a double and playing 8 innings in left field prior to his final at bat of the night in a game where the Indians were getting blown out. he started and was the DH for 3 games. he had 1 game off.


Michael bat 3rd in 26 games.


Michael played left field in 23 games. (20 complete, 2 started: 15 innings, 1 lifted for PR: 8 innings)
 
Michael was the DH in 3 games.

Michael played in 23 complete games.
 
 
in September, Michael had a total of 111 plate appearances and 101 at bats. here is how he fared:

42 hits

32 singles

8 doubles

2 home runs

12 RBI
 
13 runs scored

9 walks
 
2 intentional walks

1 hit by pitch
 
6 stolen bases

2 GIDP

8 strikeouts (4 swinging, 4 looking)

12 first at bat hits

56 total bases


27 left on base

45 putouts

1 assist
 
1 double play
 
207 innings, 26 games

(23 complete games)

September batting average: .416 (42-101) (26 games) 
 
 
now let's break down his numbers based on where he hit in the lineup.
 
 
when Michael bat 3rd in September, he had a total of 111 plate appearances and 101 at bats in 26 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

42 hits

32 singles

8 doubles
 
2 home runs

12 RBI
 
13 runs scored

9 walks

2 intentional walks

1 hit by pitch
 
6 stolen bases
 
2 GIDP

8 strikeouts (4 swinging, 4 looking)

12 first at bat hits

56 total bases


27 left on base

45 putouts

1 assist
 
1 double play
 
207 innings, 26 games

(23 complete games)

September batting average in the 3rd spot: .416 (42-101) (26 games)
overall batting average in the 3rd spot: .336 (170-506) (126 games) (853.1 innings) 
 
 
when Michael bat 3rd and played left in September, he had a total of 98 plate appearances and 89 at bats in 23 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

36 hits

28 singles

7 doubles

1 home run

9 RBI
 
10 runs scored

8 walks
 
2 intentional walks
 
1 hit by pitch
 
6 stolen bases
 
2 GIDP
 
7 strikeouts (4 swinging, 3 looking)
 
11 first at bat hits
 
46 total bases


25 left on base

45 putouts
 
1 assist
 
1 double play

207 innings, 23 games

(20 complete games)

September batting average in the 3rd spot while playing left: .404 (36-89) (23 games)
overall batting average in the 3rd spot while playing left: .344 (117-340) (86 games) (759.2 innings)


when Michael bat 3rd, he was the DH in September for 3 games. he had a total of 13 plate appearances and 12 at bats. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

6 hits

4 singles
 
1 double
 
1 home run
 
3 RBI
 
3 runs scored
 
1 walk

1 strikeout (looking)
 
1 first at bat hit

10 total bases


2 left on base

September batting average in the 3rd spot as the DH: .500 (6-12) (3 games)
overall batting average in the 3rd spot as the DH: .452 (14-31) (8 games)


overall batting average as the DH: .452 (14-31) (8 games) 
 
 
now let's break down his outfield numbers.
 
 
when Michael played the outfield in September, he had a total of 97 plate appearances and 89 at bats in 23 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

36 hits

28 singles

7 doubles
 
1 home run

9 RBI
 
10 runs scored

8 walks

2 intentional walks
 
1 hit by pitch

6 stolen bases
 
2 GIDP

7 strikeouts (4 swinging, 3 looking)

11 first at bat hits

46 total bases


25 left on base

45 putouts

1 assist
 
1 double play
 
207 innings, 23 games

(20 complete games)

September batting average while playing the outfield: .404 (36-89) (23 games)
overall batting average while playing the outfield: .318 (184-578) (147 games) (1304.1 innings) 
 
 
now let's break down his numbers specific to where he played in the outfield.
 
 
when Michael played left in September, he had a total of 97 plate appearances and 89 at bats in 23 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

36 hits

28 singles

7 doubles

1 home run

9 RBI
 
10 runs scored
 
8 walks
 
2 intentional walks
 
1 hit by pitch
 
6 stolen bases
 
2 GIDP
 
7 strikeouts (4 swinging, 3 looking)

11 first at bat hits

46 total bases


25 left on base

45 putouts
 
1 assist
 
1 double play

207 innings, 23 games

(20 complete games)

September batting average while playing left: .404 (36-89) (23 games)
overall batting average while playing left: .333 (138-415) (107 games) (931.1 innings) 
 
 
 
September #s while playing left: 45 putouts, 1 assist, 1 double play, 0 errors, 1.000 fielding percentage (207 innings, 23 games)

overall #s while playing left: 165 putouts, 10 assists, 2 double plays, 0 errors, 1.000 fielding percentage (931.1 innings, 107 games)

overall #s so far while playing center: 106 putouts, 2 assists, 1 error, 0.991 fielding percentage (373 innings, 46 games)

September #s while playing the outfield: 45 putouts, 1 assist, 1 double play, 0 errors, 1.000 fielding percentage (207 innings, 23 games)

overall #s while playing the outfield: 271 putouts, 12 assists, 2 double plays, 1 error, 0.996 fielding percentage (1304.1 innings, 147 games) 
 
 
 
now my game-by-game numbers and notes. 
 
Game 131/Game 1, September 1: 1-3, single (first at bat), run scored, walk. AVG: .310
(3rd/LF/GS5) 
 
Game 132/Game 2, September 2: 2-4, single (first at bat), run scored, walk, single. AVG: .311
(3rd/LF/CG9) 
 
 
Game 133/Game 3, September 3: 1-4, RBI single. AVG: .311
(3rd/LF/CG9) 
 
Game 134/Game 4, September 4: 2-5, double, run scored, RBI double. AVG: .312
(3rd/LF/CG11) 
 
 
Game 135/Game 5, September 5: 1-4, single (first at bat), stolen base, run scored, reached on fielder's choice. AVG: .311
(3rd/LF/CG10) 
 
 
Game 136/Game 6, September 6: 3-4, single (first at bat), stolen base, single, RBI single. AVG: .315
(3rd/LF/CG9) 
 
Game 137/Game 7, September 7: 2-3, RBI single (first at bat), single, intentional walk. AVG: .317
(3rd/LF/CG9) 
 
Game 138/Game 8, September 8: 1-4, single. AVG: .316
(3rd/LF/GS8) 
 
**Michael's 12-game hitting streak ends** 
 
Game 139/Game 9, September 9: 0-3, walk. AVG: .314
(3rd/LF/CG9) 
 
September 10: game postponed, to be made up September 11 at 12 pm in a traditional DH.
(3rd/LF) 
 
Game 140/Game 10, September 11 (Game 1): 2-3, walk (first at bat), run scored, RBI single, run scored, RBI single. AVG: .316
(3rd/DH/CG) 
 
Game 141/Game 11, September 11 (Game 2): 1-3, single (first at bat), walk. AVG: .316
(3rd/LF/CG9) 
 
 
Game 142/Game 12, September 12: 2-4, single (first at bat), single. AVG: .318
(3rd/DH/CG) 
 
 
Game 143/Game 13, September 13: 2-4, 2-run home run (first at bat), run scored, single, stolen base. AVG: .319
(3rd/LF/CG8) 
 
 
Game 144/Game 14, September 14: 2-4, single, stolen base, RBI hit by pitch, single, run scored. AVG: .320
(3rd/LF/CG8) 
 
 
Game 145/Game 15, September 15: 2-4, double, single. AVG: .322
(3rd/LF/CG8) 
 
Game 146/Game 16, September 16: 1-4, single (first at bat). AVG: .321
(3rd/LF/CG9) 
 
Game 147/Game 17, September 17: 2-4, bunt single, run scored, single, stolen base. AVG: .322
(3rd/LF/CG9) 
 
Game 148/Game 18, September 18: 1-5, reached on fielder's choice, single, intentional walk. AVG: .321
(3rd/LF/CG13) 
 
Game 149/Game 19, September 19: 2-5, home run, run scored, double, reached on fielding error. AVG: .322
(3rd/DH/CG) 
 
 
Game 150/Game 20, September 20: 2-4, walk (first at bat), double, run scored, single. AVG: .323
(3rd/LF/CG9) 
 
Game 151/Game 21, September 21: 3-5, RBI double, reached on force attempt/error, run scored, RBI single, single. AVG: .325
(3rd/LF/CG9) 
 
Game 152/Game 22, September 22: 1-3, single (first at bat), walk, stolen base. AVG: .326
(3rd/LF/CG9) 
 
 
Game 153/Game 23, September 23: 2-4, single (first at bat), reached on fielder's choice, double. AVG: .327
(3rd/LF/GS8) 
 
Game 154/Game 24, September 24: 3-4, single (first at bat), run scored, single, double. AVG: .329
(3rd/LF/CG9) 
 
Game 155/Game 25, September 26: 0-3. AVG: .328
(3rd/LF/CG9) 
 
**Michael's 15-game hitting streak and 28-game on-base streak end** 
 
Game 156/Game 26, September 27: 1-4, single. AVG: .327
(3rd/LF/CG9) 
 
 
September 28: not in lineup. 
 
**Michael sets new career high in SB:CS with 23:1 and new career low in CS with 1**



in 2014, Michael had a total of 676 plate appearances and 611 at bats in 156 games (1304.1 innings). in total, he had 200 hits, 133 singles, 45 doubles, 2 triples, 20 home runs, 97 RBI, 5 sac flies, 94 runs scored, 52 walks, 4 intentional walks, 8 hit by pitches, 23 stolen bases, 1 caught stealing, 16 GIDP, 56 strikeouts (38 swinging, 18 looking), 51 first at bat hits, 309 total bases, 211 left on base, 271 putouts, 12 assists, 2 double plays, and 1 error.

2014 season batting average: .327 (200-611)

OBP: .385

SLG: .506

OPS: .890