what's new, Brantley crew? i'm back with the latest monthly post! but first let me express my thanks to those who read my Brantley's July 2018 #s blog and Brantley's 2018 #s Through July blog! i truly appreciate it.😊
okay, so where did my Top 3 audiences come from in August? that would be the countries of Russia, the United States, and Spain.🥇🥈🥉 hello, welcome, and thank you for stopping by!👋 not from one of those locations? let me know where you reside in a comment below!🌎 if you want to up your chances of being named one of my top viewers, share my posts on all your social medias and your friends and family. then check back here next month to see who's been reading up on Dr. Smooth the most!😉
now let's get into Michael's performance in August!
August Overview
Michael is back, people! lol this was by far and away his best month since April and May. he improved and/or excelled in several areas. what i found particularly relieving was that
Michael finally kicked his struggles on the road and was productive away from Cleveland in August. he also feasted on divisional pitching, including the Minnesota Twins, who had been dominating him all season until now.👏
as for "big" moments this month, he really didn't have any other than hitting his first walk-off of the year. he did set a career high for August by drawing 14 walks though. that was great to see because Michael can be very aggressive at the plate sometimes when he gets a pitch to hit, so him exhibiting more patience at the plate was nice.
i noticed another thing that i thought was an important and encouraging development, too. there were many times when Michael looked to be running faster on the basepaths than he was in the first four months of the season. not only that, but he also had some great running catches in left field. so i think Michael might finally be realizing that his right ankle's gonna hold up and as a result, he's got increased confidence in his ability to run, which is fantastic news.
in Michael's first 13 games between August 3-15, he bat .340 (16-for-47) with three doubles, one home run, six RBI, 11 runs, nine walks, one hit by pitch, two stolen bases (2nd), and four strikeouts. in his last 13 games between August 17-31, he bat .327 (17-for-52) with four doubles, one home run, seven RBI, five runs, five walks, and four strikeouts.
overall, Michael had an August batting average of .333. on the season, Michael's 2018 batting average currently stand at .303, 8 points higher than it was at the end of July. it's the first time Michael's season BA improved after a month all year. better news is he managed to gain back the team lead in batting average, for now anyway. the final month will be very interesting to see if Michael can finish with the highest average on the team for a 5th straight year as a qualifying player. (Michael was not a qualifier in 2017 or 2016, so his streak would still stand should he boast the best BA yet again for 2018.)
a seven-game homestand was next up on the schedule, including a three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels and a four-gamer with the Twins. Michael had the tough task of going against three LA starters that he'd never faced before in his career. the results? he was just 2-for-10 with a double, two RBI, three walks, and two runs in the three games. i really wished he could have done a little bit better and gotten at least one more hit because i assumed he was going to struggle in the Minny series. to my surprise, Michael did really well, going 5-for-14 with two RBI, two runs, two walks, one hit by pitch, and two stolen bases. he hit five singles, one of which was a walk-off in the finale. so i was happy and impressed. overall at home, Michael went 7-for-24.
following Michael's 6th career walk-off, the team hit the road to play the Chicago White Sox for three games and then the Cincinnati Reds for three. Michael had a great series in Chicago, going 4-for-10 with one double, one home run, one RBI, three runs, and two walks. his 5-for-13 performance in Cincy was also terrific, with him hitting one double, acquiring one RBI, scoring four runs, and drawing two walks. for an Interleague matchup, that's more than satisfactory. for the trip, Michael was 9-for-23 altogether, bucking his usual road struggles.
when the Tribe returned to Cleveland, they weren't there long, playing just three games versus the Baltimore Orioles. Michael did decent, going 3-for-10 with one double, two RBI, two runs, and two walks.
after that, the Indians went back out on the road for seven games, four against the Boston Red Sox and three against the Kansas City Royals. in Boston, Michael played the first three contests before getting the fourth off. he definitely had one of the better performances on the team with a 4-for-12 showing, including one double, one home run, three RBI, one run, and one walk. during the KC series, which marked this year's MLB Players' Weekend, Michael went 4-for-13 with one RBI and two walks. his line for the entire trip read as 8-for-25.
this was another strong road performance for Michael, which wasn't a very frequent sight this season. however, Jordan Bastian had made a comment on twitter on August 25 about how Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, and Michael had all struggled, batting only .224, and that their bats had gone cold in the first five games on the trip. and that really pissed me off because first off, Michael only played in four of those games, and secondly, at that time, Michael was 6-for-16 in those games. yes, Lindor and Ramirez were having problems at the plate, but Michael absolute wasn't. not this time. without his six hits, that combined BA wouldn't have even been above .200. after six games, JB updated in his postgame article for mlb.com/indians that the trio was hitting 13-for-69 (down to a .188 BA) and he really tried to spin it to make it seem as though Michael was struggling and an equal part of the problem. unbelievable. i get it, Bastian didn't want Michael to return this year, he didn't think he would stay healthy, he's not a fan of the guy, whatever. but Michael didn't need to be lumped in with Lindor and Ramirez; he should have been getting praised for finally making improvements away from Progressive Field. i'm sure it made for a better article to state how the Top 3 was struggling, as opposed to saying what was actually happening--the leadoff man and 3-hole hitter were struggling. i didn't like that at all. it was very uncool, unfair, and inaccurate of Mr. Bastian.🙄
the guys had a day off ahead of their nine-game set at home, though only four occurred in August. three games versus the Twins and the first of three versus the Tampa Bay Rays concluded the month. just like earlier in August, Michael again mostly had success with Minnesota pitching, going 5-for-13, hitting two doubles and scoring two runs. then in the finale game of the month versus the Rays, Michael went 1-for-4 with an RBI single. he's 6-for-17 so far to start this homestand at Progressive Field.
after a subpar June and a mediocre July, this month showed an excellent and welcome turnaround and i am pleased. can't wait to see how Michael puts the bow on this 2018 campaign in September and wraps up what i truly believe is his final regular season with the Cleveland Indians.😭😭😭 go get 'em, Brant!👊
what did you think about Michael's August? leave all your thoughts in the comment section!
The New Month Begins with a Day Off
Michael was not in the starting lineup on August 1 against left-handed starter Adalberto Mejia because Terry Francona wanted to give him the day off to couple with the Indians' off day on August 2. however, he did consider pinch hitting him in the top of the 9th inning to face righty Fernando Rodney with the Indians up, 2-0, 1 out, Yonder Alonso at 2nd base, and Yan Gomes at 1st base. Michael is 5-for-11 against Rodney in his career. according to Paul Hoynes' article on cleveland.com, Tito explained, "i thought a day off for him would do him a world of good. so, yeah, i was fighting it, because he would've been a really good matchup there, as he is with most guys. i just really wanted him to have an off-day."
i was actually fine with this day off because Michael was stuck in an 0-for-13 slump coming out of July and he hadn't been hitting lefties well at the time either.
another article on cleveland.com by Hoynsie on August 4 had more from the skipper about giving Michael time off/rest days. "i kinda know his body language now. he's never going to ask for a day off, which i like. but i think i know him well enough now when he needs one. i don't want to give guys days off when they don't need them, because i think you can also get in the way. i'd rather be a day too early than a day too late."
Michael's only other day off this month came on August 23, when the Indians faced lefty David Price, whom Michael doesn't have much success against in his career. Francona, however, insisted the pitcher on the mound had nothing to do with the decision to rest him. "i think it's good for him," Tito confessed in Jordan Bastian's article on mlb.com/indians. "i don't think you can get lost in where you're playing. i think when a guy needs a day off, that's when they need it."
BOP
Michael maintained his spot in the 2 hole once again this month. the typical Top 5 read like this:
Francisco Lindor, Brantley, Jose Ramirez, Edwin Encarnacion, Yonder Alonso.
Lindor led off every game except for the one he didn't play in when Terry Francona gave him a day off. then Greg Allen replaced him. otherwise, Lindor was always batting ahead of Michael.
as for the three who followed Michael in the order, well, that varied quite a bit in August. a contributing factor to the change occurred when Encarnacion went on the disabled list with left biceps discomfort, so the team needed a replacement cleanup hitter. two guys filled the role. Alonso bat there for four games, including three when the Tribe played an Interleague series in a National League Park. Yandy Diaz, who was recalled when EE was officially played on the DL, played six games in the 4 hole before Encarnacion returned.
Ramirez bat 3rd in August except for the day he got off. then Jason Kipnis replaced him. and the 5 hole hitters consisted of Miguel Cabrera, Alonso, and Diaz. so that's who all bat behind Michael. now let's see how productive they were after Dr. Smooth got on base.
in August, Michael reached base a total of 51 times via hits, walks, hit by pitches, fielding errors, catcher interference, and fielder's choices. he scored 16 runs for the month, 2 of which came from his own home runs. so he was driven in by others 14 times and was left stranded 31 times. (he was lifted for pinch runner twice, hit a walk-off single once--when he technically was not stranded even though he reached, and thrown out trying to advance to 2nd base once, so i had to subtract four from the total count here.) that's a lot of times to be left on base considering how much he got on. once again, it seems that the guys hitting behind him just don't hit well when he does... it's odd.
how do you like the Tribe lineup right now? voice your opinions and any changes you'd make in a comment!
Areas Of Concern
Michael had a pretty productive month as far as certain situational hitting went, and one big previous AOC (his hitting on the road) has been removed.😀👍
i'm leading this section off with Michael's continued struggles with RISP and 2 outs. he actually did well overall with runners in scoring position this month, but when there were 2 outs, he rarely delivered. in the second half, he was on an 0-for-9 skid in 11 PA, which was part of a bigger 0-for-11 skid in 13 PA since July 13, before finally getting a hit this month. it's something i really can't explain. it has to be mental, wouldn't ya think?
Michael also didn't perform all that well with 2 outs in an inning in general. he's sadly turned into a rally killer more often than not, which is disappointing.
left-handed pitchers gave Michael difficulty once again, too. at the start of August, however, he was having some success against southpaws, but as the month went on, the opposite was true. he is currently in an 0-for-7 slump, with his last hit off a lefty coming back on August 13.
did i leave anything out? tell me your concerns for Michael in the comment section!
August Team Batting Winner
shockingly, two of the Tribe's three main hitters struggled with the bat this month and you might not be able to guess which two!😮
i'm happy to report that the player who had the highest August batting average out of all the qualifiers on the team was Michael with his .333 BA! the next closest average was .293, owned by Melky Cabrera.
previous monthly batting average
winners:
March/April - Jose Ramirez (.267)
May - Francisco Lindor (.373)
June - Jose Ramirez (.267)
July - Jose Ramirez (.322)
July - Jose Ramirez (.322)
Team Leads & Career Highs
in August, Michael led the team with 33 hits, 24 singles, 7 doubles, 46 total bases, .333 batting average, .417 OBP, and .882 OPS. Michael also had the least amount of strikeouts among qualifying players with 8.
he was 2nd on the team with 16 runs, 14 walks, 116 plate appearances, 99 at bats, and .465 SLG. he was tied for 2nd with 9 extra base hits.
in
addition, he was tied for 3rd with 1 sac fly.
he led the outfielders
with 1 double play, 223.0 innings, and 26 games played. he was tied for 1st with 1 assist and 2nd with 47 putouts.
after looking through my personal record books, i discovered that Michael set careers high for himself in August with 14 walks and 116 plate appearances.
HR:RBI Ratio, LOB, K Rate, and Outs
Michael
hit 2 home runs in August. that's maybe one or two lower than i would like but as long as he continues to drive guys in, then how he does it, long balls or otherwise, doesn't necessarily matter. Melky Cabrera, Edwin Encarnacion, and Jose Ramirez all led the team in August with 5 homers. Yonder Alonso was 4th with 4 and Jason Kipnis had 3, ranking 5th. Michael, Francisco Lindor, and Leonys Martin were all tied for 6th with 2 home runs.
Michael acquired 13 RBI vs. 30 men left on base. he did well with runners on base and RISP as a whole this month. where i think he ran into problems was when he came to bat with 2 outs and guys in scoring position, so that struggle took multiple opportunities away from him to add to his RBI total. Cabrera, Encarnacion, and Ramirez had the most ribbies in August with 16. Michael's 13 ranked 4th along with Kipnis.
now let's check out Michael's August HR:RBI ratio. one of Michael's home runs was a solo shot and the other was a 2-run bomb. therefore, 7.7% of his 13 RBI in August came from his solo homer, while 23.1% of his 13 RBI came from both of his home runs.
Michael's K rate in August was 6.9% (8 K/116 PA). he's presently striking out once every 14.5 plate appearances. this was .5% higher than his strikeout rate in July, but it's terrific nonetheless.
in August, Michael had 32 groundouts, 15 lineouts, 6 flyouts, and 5 pop outs. so he continues to at least get the barrel on the ball when making an out. what else is new? well, the fact that he had more liner drive outs than fly ball outs. they always say, the best out is a lineout because it means you hit the ball hard. hopefully he can keep doing that and maybe more of those line drives will fall in for hits.
(reminder: the sortable player stats section on indians.com denotes outs differently from me in four distinctive ways. first, despite the site specifically stating that the flyouts total does NOT include line drives, it absolutely does. (it also includes pop outs.) second, when Michael grounds into a double play, that is counted as two groundouts on the site, due to two outs being recorded in an inning. however, in my personal documentation, i only count a GIDP as one out, because for Michael, it is only one out/one at bat/an 0-for-1 in his game line. and third & fourth, likewise with the GIDPs, i do not count sac flies as flyouts or sac bunts as groundouts here. even though they are outs in a game [a sac fly is even counted in a slump!], they don't count against Michael in his game line because sac flies and sac bunts are considered plate appearances and not at bats.)
Michael acquired 13 RBI vs. 30 men left on base. he did well with runners on base and RISP as a whole this month. where i think he ran into problems was when he came to bat with 2 outs and guys in scoring position, so that struggle took multiple opportunities away from him to add to his RBI total. Cabrera, Encarnacion, and Ramirez had the most ribbies in August with 16. Michael's 13 ranked 4th along with Kipnis.
now let's check out Michael's August HR:RBI ratio. one of Michael's home runs was a solo shot and the other was a 2-run bomb. therefore, 7.7% of his 13 RBI in August came from his solo homer, while 23.1% of his 13 RBI came from both of his home runs.
Michael's K rate in August was 6.9% (8 K/116 PA). he's presently striking out once every 14.5 plate appearances. this was .5% higher than his strikeout rate in July, but it's terrific nonetheless.
in August, Michael had 32 groundouts, 15 lineouts, 6 flyouts, and 5 pop outs. so he continues to at least get the barrel on the ball when making an out. what else is new? well, the fact that he had more liner drive outs than fly ball outs. they always say, the best out is a lineout because it means you hit the ball hard. hopefully he can keep doing that and maybe more of those line drives will fall in for hits.
(reminder: the sortable player stats section on indians.com denotes outs differently from me in four distinctive ways. first, despite the site specifically stating that the flyouts total does NOT include line drives, it absolutely does. (it also includes pop outs.) second, when Michael grounds into a double play, that is counted as two groundouts on the site, due to two outs being recorded in an inning. however, in my personal documentation, i only count a GIDP as one out, because for Michael, it is only one out/one at bat/an 0-for-1 in his game line. and third & fourth, likewise with the GIDPs, i do not count sac flies as flyouts or sac bunts as groundouts here. even though they are outs in a game [a sac fly is even counted in a slump!], they don't count against Michael in his game line because sac flies and sac bunts are considered plate appearances and not at bats.)
Streaks & Situational Statistics
Michael had a hit in 19 of the 26 games he played in August and reached base safely in 22 games. he had 7 hitless games, but still reached base in 3 of them. Michael had 11 multi-hit games, 3 three+ hit games, and 1 multi-RBI game. he had at least one RBI in 12 games. he also had 2 go-ahead hits and 3 go-ahead RBI this month. the Indians were 18-8 in games that Michael played in and 1-1 in the games he sat out.
Michael had a 9-game on-base streak at home between July 25 - August 17. it began on July 25, then continued over August 3-9 and August 17.
Michael had a 15-game on-base streak between July 31 - August 17. it began on July 31, then continued over August 3-15 and August 17.
Michael had a 9-game on-base streak on the road between July 31 - August 21. it began on July 31, then continued over August 10-15 and August 20-21.
Michael had a 7-game hitting streak on the road between August 11-21. it spanned over August 11-15 and August 20-21.
in August, Michael bat .363 (29-for-80) against right-handed pitchers and .211 (4-for-19) against left-handed pitchers. well, he did better this month than last against southpaws, but he's still having difficulty, clearly. any other player would probably be platooned out; thankfully, Michael's got enough time on the team and is respected enough by Terry Francona that that will not happen. let's hope he can figure out how to hit lefties next month.
Michael bat .314 (16-for-51) with 7 RBI in all 14 of the 14 games at home. he hit safely in 10 of the 14 home games he played in and safely got on base in 12 of them as well. he was hitless in 4 home games, but still reached base in 2 of them. he had at least 1 RBI in 7 home games.
Michael bat .354 (17-for-48) with 6 RBI in 12 of the 14 games away from Progressive Field. he hit safely in 9 of the 12 road games he played in and safely reached base in 10 of them. he was hitless in 3 road games, but still reached base in 1 of them. he had at least 1 RBI in 5 road games. amazingly, Michael had a very successful time on the road this month. i was beyond thrilled to see this and i hope it continues in September!✋
Michael hit .364 (8-for-22) with runners in scoring position, producing 9 RBI in August. more specifically, he hit .500 (3-for-6) with RISP and 0 outs, .375 (3-for-8) with RISP and 1 out, and .250 (2-for-8) with RISP and 2 outs. the issue here is obvious. Michael was in an 0-for-11 slump with RISP and 2 outs since July 13 before getting his first of two hits in those circumstances this month. it's an ongoing problem. bright side, as long as he can keep hitting with 0 outs and 1 out, then the 2-out failures might not matter that much.
with 2 outs in an inning, Michael bat .259 (7-for-27). he had 1 double, 2 RBI, and 5 walks. not a great performance here, even without guys in scoring position. i hate seeing him end innings regardless though.
additionally, he bat .390 (16-for-41) with 12 RBI with runners on base and .000 (0-for-1) with no RBI with the bases loaded. the former is excellent and i have no qualms about the latter since he only had one at bat with the bases loaded this month. it's not a big deal.
Michael also bat .293 (17-for-58) with the bases empty. he hit 4 doubles and 1 home run, giving him 1 RBI. he totaled 7 walks and 6 strikeouts swinging as well.
furthermore, Michael had a 0.9 fWAR (wins above replacement), a 143 wRC+ (weighted runs created plus--the ability to create runs compared to the league average), and a 0.1 BsR (baserunning runs above average with stolen bases and caught stealings) in August. his WAR and wRC+ ranked 4th and his BsR ranked 8th among 10 total qualifying American League left fielders. [these stats all came courtesy of fangraphs.com.]
Versus AL Central Division Teams
vs. the Chicago White Sox, Michael bat .400 (4-for-10) in 3 road games in August. the Indians went 2-1 in the games he played in. overall, Michael had 2 singles and 2 extra base hits, including 1 double and 1 home run, as well as 1 RBI, 3 runs, 2 walks, 1 first at bat hit, and 8 total bases. he also reached base on catcher interference once and left 2 men on base. furthermore he had a .500 OBP, .800 SLG, and 1.300 OPS. in left field, Michael recorded 2 putouts while playing 24 innings, but only 2 complete games. he was lifted for a pinch runner in the top of the 8th inning in 1 game because the Indians were winning. great series for Michael all the way around.
vs. the Kansas City Royals, Michael bat .308 (4-for-13) in 3 road games in August. the Indians went 1-2 in the games he played in. overall, Michael had 4 singles, 1 RBI, 2 walks, 1 first at bat hit, and 4 total bases. he also had 3 strikeouts (2 swinging, 1 looking) and left 3 men on base. furthermore, he had a .400 OBP, .308 SLG, and .708 OPS. in left field, Michael recorded 9 putouts, acquired 1 assist, and turned 1 double play while playing 25 innings/3 complete games. while sandwiched in between two players whose bats went cold, this was another exceptional series against another division foe for Michael.
vs. the Minnesota Twins, Michael bat .370 (10-for-27) in 7 of 8 games--0 of 1 on the road and 7 at home--in August. (he had 1 scheduled day off during the road series.) the Indians went 5-2 in the games he played in and won the game he did not play in. overall, Michael had 8 singles and 2 extra base hits--doubles, as well as 2 RBI, 4 runs, 2 walks, 1 hit by pitch, 2 stolen bases (2nd), 1 first at bat hit, and 12 total bases. he also reached base on 1 fielder's choice, reached base on 1 fielding error, had 1 strikeout swinging, and left 10 men on base. furthermore, he had a .433 OBP, .444 SLG, and .878 OPS. in left field, Michael recorded 12 putouts while playing 61 innings, but only 6 complete games. he was lifted for a pinch runner in the bottom of the 7th inning in 1 game because the Indians were winning. hold the phone: Michael did this good against Minnesota?! i was very pleasantly surprised and so happy to see him at long last make the needed adjustments to get some hits off Twins pitching. way to go, Junior!😉👏
the Indians did not face the Detroit Tigers in August.
Interleague Play
in August, Michael played three games
against one National League opponent, going 5-for-13 and batting .385
overall. can't beat that.
vs. the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park (no designated hitter allowed), Michael bat .385 (5-for-13) in 3 road games in August. the
Indians went 3-0 in the games he played in. overall, Michael had 4 singles, 1
extra base hit--a double, 1 RBI, 4 runs, 2 walks, 1 first at bat hit, and 6
total bases. he also had 2 strikeouts swinging and
left 3 men on base. furthermore, he had a .467 OBP, .462 SLG, and .928 OPS. in
left field, Michael played 26 innings, but only 2 complete games. he was subbed
out defensively after 8 innings in 1 game because the Indians were winning a
blowout. he recorded 8 putouts as well. Michael did surprisingly well considering he faced a lot of pitchers that he either hadn't done well against or never faced before in his career. so it's great to see he made the needed adjustments in order to be successful in this series.
League Rankings
Michael had his best month since May, so let's see which of his August stats fall within the Top 10 compared to other AL and MLB qualifying players (per mlb.mlb.com/stats):
among qualifying left fielders in the American League, Michael ranked 1st in singles (24); 2nd in hits (33), batting average (.333) and OBP (.417); tied for 3rd in walks (14) and stolen bases (2); 4th in OPS (.882); tied for 4th in doubles (7) and sac flies (1); 5th in SLG (.465); tied for 5th in hit by pitches (1); 6th in plate appearances (116); tied for 6th in games played (26); 7th in total bases (46); tied for 7th in runs (16); tied for 8th in at bats (99); tied for 9th in extra base hits (9); and 10th in RBI (13). Michael also ranked 10th out of 10 players in strikeouts (8), making him the hardest left fielder in the AL to strike out in August.
among qualifying outfielders in the American League, Michael was tied for 1st in singles; 4th in hits and OBP; 5th in batting average; tied for 5th in sac flies and walks; 9th in OPS; and tied for 9th in doubles. plus, he was the hardest AL OF to K out of 33 players.
among qualifying players in the
American League, Michael
ranked tied for 3rd in singles, 5th in OBP, 6th in batting average, and 7th in hits. he also ranked tied for 89th out of 89 players in
strikeouts, or tied for the toughest player to strike out in the AL.
among all qualifying left fielders
in the Major Leagues,
Michael was 1st in singles; 2nd in OBP; 4th in batting average; tied for 4th in doubles and walks; 5th in hits; tied for 5th in sac flies; tied for 7th in stolen bases; 9th in plate appearances and OPS; tied for 9th in hit by pitches and games played; 10th in total bases; and tied for 10th in at bats. he was also 26th out of 26
players in strikeouts, aka the hardest to K among MLB left
fielders in August.
among all qualifying outfielders in the Major Leagues, Michael ranked tied for 3rd in singles, 5th in OBP, tied for 8th in walks, tied for 9th in hits, and 10th in batting average. Michael was also the toughest MLB outfielder to strike out this month, as he ranked 72nd out of 72 players in strikeouts.
among all qualifying outfielders in the Major Leagues, Michael ranked tied for 3rd in singles, 5th in OBP, tied for 8th in walks, tied for 9th in hits, and 10th in batting average. Michael was also the toughest MLB outfielder to strike out this month, as he ranked 72nd out of 72 players in strikeouts.
among all qualifying players in the Major Leagues, Michael was tied for 9th in singles. also, his strikeouts were tied for 178th out of 178, making him tied for the toughest player to K in all of baseball in August.
August Standout Games, Spotlights, &
Quotes
Michael broke some slumps in his first game of the month on August 3 versus the Los Angeles Angels. it began with his first at bat in the bottom of the 1st inning with Francisco Lindor at 1st base, no outs, and the Tribe down, 2-0. after a called strike from right-handed starter Jaime Barria, Michael sent a sharp line drive double to center field to score Lindor. that marked his first hit and first RBI of August (he got a rest day on August 1 and the team didn't play on August 2), broke an 0-for-13 slump at the plate and an 0-for-10 skid with runners on base.
Michael broke some slumps in his first game of the month on August 3 versus the Los Angeles Angels. it began with his first at bat in the bottom of the 1st inning with Francisco Lindor at 1st base, no outs, and the Tribe down, 2-0. after a called strike from right-handed starter Jaime Barria, Michael sent a sharp line drive double to center field to score Lindor. that marked his first hit and first RBI of August (he got a rest day on August 1 and the team didn't play on August 2), broke an 0-for-13 slump at the plate and an 0-for-10 skid with runners on base.
he later came around to score on Jose Ramirez's RBI single to right field.
 |
| photo courtesy of Chuck Crow via cleveland.com |
unfortunately, that was his only hit of the night, as he went 1-for-5 overall. he still had an 0-for-13 skid with runners in scoring position, was just 1-for his last 14 AB with runners on, and a mere 2-for his last 19 at bats.
at long last, Michael finally got a hit with runners in scoring position in the game versus the Angels on August 4. it happened in the bottom of the 6th inning with Lindor at 2nd base, no outs, and the Tribe up, 1-0. after a full count from right-hander Felix Pena, Michael sent a ground ball RBI single to right field. that snapped his 0-for-13 drought with RISP in his previous 14 plate appearances. the pitch sequence went: ball, called strike, ball, ball, foul, single.
 |
| photo courtesy of Chuck Crow via cleveland.com |
Michael also drew two walks in this game.
Michael got his first multi-hit game of the month on August 6 versus the Minnesota Twins, when he went 2-for-3. his first hit came in the bottom of the 1st inning with Lindor at 1st base, no outs, and no score. he swung at right-hander Kyle Gibson's first pitch and hit a ground ball single to center field. he later scored on Edwin Encarnacion's RBI groundout to the pitcher.
in his next at bat in the bottom of the 3rd inning with 2 outs and the Tribe up, 2-0, Michael again swung at Gibson's first offering and this time sent a line drive single to right field. then, on a 2-2 count during Ramirez's plate appearance, Michael ran and stole 2nd base as Gibson threw ball 3 to Ramirez.
he also drew a walk (on a 3-1 count in the bottom of the 7th inning against RHP Matt Belisle before being lifted for a pinch runner) for the third straight game.
in the game versus the Twins on August 7, Michael had his second straight multi-hit affair, going 2-for-3 with 2 singles and a hit by pitch. his first plate appearance in the bottom of the 1st inning came against a left-hander that he'd never faced before--Adalberto Mejia. with Lindor at 1st base, no outs, and no score, Michael was hit in the lower back on the 8th pitch of a 2-2 count. the pitch sequence went: ball, called strike, foul to the right, foul upstairs, ball, foul upstairs, foul back, hit by pitch. he was left stranded.
in the bottom of the 6th inning with 1 out and the Tribe trailing, 3-0, Michael hit a ground ball single to right field, deflected by the 2nd baseman, after a 1-1 count from lefty Gabriel Moya--another pitcher he'd never faced previously. it was just the second Indians' hit of the game and first since Lindor's leadoff single in the bottom of the 1st (0-for-16 drought, per Jordan Bastian). the pitch sequence went: ball, called strike, single. he again was left stranded.
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| photo courtesy of Chuck Crow via cleveland.com |
then, in Michael's fourth PA in the bottom of the 8th inning with no outs and the Indians down, 3-1, he hit a sharp line drive single to right field on the first pitch from right-handed pitcher Trevor Hildenberger, someone he was 0-for-3 against lifetime. Michael later scored a run on Leonys Martin's RBI sac fly to center field.
aside from his offense, Michael made three spectacular catches in this game, which i described in the In The Field section of this blog below.
when the game was over, Michael had gotten his batting average up to .299, which gave him the team lead in BA for the first time since after the July 30th game against Minnesota.
while Michael's struggles against Minny returned on August 8 when he went 0-for-4 (though he did reach base on an error and steal 2nd base in the bottom of the 1st inning), he managed to get an important RBI. the game was tied at 1 in the bottom of the 5th inning and the Indians had Yan Gomes at 3rd base, Lindor at 1st, and 1 out. Michael faced righty Jake Odorizzi and after a 1-1 count, Michael grounded out to short, but the go-ahead run scored and the Tribe took the lead. this marked Michael's first go-ahead RBI since July 15! the pitch sequence went: pickoff attempt at 1st, foul 3rd base side, ball, groundout.
at the conclusion of the game, however, Michael had fallen down to the 3rd highest batting average (.296) on the team out of all the qualifying players for the first time this season, behind Ramirez (.298) and Lindor (.297). wow.
it should also be noted that the Indians did not take batting practice on the field prior to this game because of how late the game ended the night before. i think that may have affected Michael's performance...
in the game on August 9 versus the Twins, Michael went 1-for-4, but his one hit was significant. before that though, let me mention how in his first trip to the plate against righty Jose Berrios (whom he was 2-for-10 lifetime), Michael drew a walk after a full count. the pitch sequence went: called strike, ball, ball, ball, called strike, ball. because of that, Michael reached base in his first plate appearance or at bat in eight straight games, dating back to July 31! he'd reached via either a hit, walk, hit by pitch, or fielding error. so, despite some of his struggles, it was good to see him get on base in the 1st inning. his teammates only drove him home three times, however.
Michael got his one and only hit in the bottom of the 9th. Allen was at 3rd base with 1 out and the game tied at 4 when Michael came to bat against right-handed reliever Addison Reed. after a 2-1 count, Michael hit a ground ball that went under the glove of 1st baseman Miguel Sano and into right field for a walk-off single! that gave Michael the sixth walk-off of his career and fifth walk-off hit! he also got a go-ahead RBI for the second straight day!
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| photos courtesy of Chuck Crow via cleveland.com |
his teammates pelted him with Gatorade, water, and baby powder to celebrate! more details, quotes, and a lot more pictures from the exciting win can be found in the separate blog i wrote, entitled Brantley's 6th Career Walk-off!
what may have gotten lost is Michael's new nickname for MLB's Players' Weekend this year (August 24-26), which was released during this game. according to an unauthored article on mlb.com, Michael will be going with "JUNIOR" instead of his "DR. SMOOTH" moniker from a year ago.
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| photos courtesy of mlbshop.com |
(^^not so fun fact about the above jersey: i saved that picture to my laptop after i ordered a women's Junior jersey. on August 14, i got an email saying this order was unable to be fulfilled. translation: this jersey should not have been made available for sale so we cannot make it for you. what a bunch of dumbasses. they pulled this same shit last season when i ordered a Brantley women's All Star jersey. aside from false advertising, MLB shop clearly has something against making women's customized jerseys, which is SEXIST and unfair! we women still have a long way to go as far as equality in baseball goes...)
a rare thing occurred in the game on August 10 against the Chicago White Sox. in Michael's fourth trip to the plate in the top of the 8th inning with 2 outs and no score, he faced left-hander Carlos Rodon. coming into the day, Michael was 2-for-17 lifetime against Rodon and then went 0-for-3 in his first three at bats. but in the 8th inning, Michael took a called strike before fouling off the next four pitches to him (upstairs, to the left, to the left, and at home plate). except, as he fouled the 5th pitch at home plate, the catcher interfered with Michael's swing, and therefore Michael reached base on catcher interference/an error by catcher Omar Narvaez. stranger still is that is not considered an official at bat, unlike a regular reached on an error. i don't know if this is a career first, but i can't recall this ever happening to Michael before, at least not while i've been documenting his ABs...
in the latest Hey, Hoynsie on cleveland.com on August 11, Andy Mees of Sandusky, Ohio, asked how Hoynsie felt about Michael's chances of winning the AL Comeback of the Year award as long as he stays healthy for the last two months of the season. Hoynsie wrote, "i definitely think Brantley should be in the conversation. Mike Moustakas and Greg Holland were MLB's AL and NL comeback players in 2017. the Players Association also presents annual comeback player of the year awards as well. Brantley, considering what he went through in 2016 and 2017 with shoulder and ankle problems, would have to be a strong candidate for either award. especially in light of the train wreck the rest of the Indians' outfield has been this year."
Michael had a three-hit game versus the White Sox, going 3-for-4. he led off the top of the 4th inning with the Indians behind, 1-0. after a 2-2 count from righty James Shields, Michael hit a line drive double to right field, then advanced to 3rd base on a fielding error by the right fielder. the pitch sequence went: called strike, ball, ball, foul into the Tribe dugout, double.
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| photo courtesy of @SportsTimeOhio on twitter |
he also led off the top of the 6th inning with the game tied at 1. after a 1-1 count from Shields, Michael hit a go-ahead home run to right field, giving him a go-ahead RBI in three of his last four games! it was his first homer since July 15, 13th on the year, and first off Shields in his career! the pitch sequence went: ball, foul by the 1st base coach, home run.
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| photo courtesy of Jon Durr via Getty Images |
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| photo courtesy of @DingerTracker on twitter |
according to Home Run Tracker, Michael hit the 68.6 mph ball 372 feet, at an angle of 30 degrees and exit velocity of 93 mph. the Indians said it was a curveball that hung in the zone as well. on the WTAM 1100 radio broadcast, Tom Hamilton also noted that the ball landed in the right field bullpen.
Michael's fourth at bat came against lefty Luis Avilan when he again led off an inning. this time it was the top of the 8th and after a 1-1 count, he hit a line drive single to center field. the pitch sequence went: called strike, ball, single. this marked Michael's first three-hit game since June 24!
when the game ended, Michael had moved up to 2nd in the batting average race (.297) between first place Ramirez (.298) and third place Lindor (.295).
Michael got the call for the postgame on-field interview with in-game SportsTime Ohio reporter Andre Knott. i transcribed the most pertinent info from the video on FOX Sports Ohio's youtube channel.
talk about going against a guy like James Shields, who obviously slows it up and is a veteran who knows how to pitch. "yeah, you nailed it. he's a veteran pitcher, mixes all his pitches in any count. you gotta be disciplined and try to get mistakes. uh, he's been doing this for a long time, had a great career and uh, we were lucky enough to scratch out a couple more runs than we did last night and get a win."
in his home run, he didn't take a stride. is that something he changes with a guy like that or is that something he picked up on as he was going along? "no, i took a stride. i took it, took it really early. uh, i been getting beat by some fastballs lately i haven't been happy about. i wanted to get down early today and try to see the ball a little longer and uh, i ended up hitting a breaking ball that was really slow, but i was down just too early i guess."
does he like playing all these division games? they're tough games no matter what their record is. "absolutely. i mean, uh, i know that everybody wants to talk about our division but every time, you know, we play these in-division games, they're close ballgames, fun ballgames to be a part of. um, and we gotta just go out there and play good team baseball and win as many games as we can in the division."
Michael had a great night against the Cincinnati Reds on August 13, going 3-for-6, his second three-hit game in his last three. in the top of the 3rd inning with 2 outs and the Indians down, 1-0, Michael hit a ground ball single to center field after a 1-2 count from right-handed starter Homer Bailey. that gave him a 12-game on-base streak, dating back to July 31, by the way. the pitch sequence went: foul to the right, foul to the 1st base (Reds) dugout, ball, single. he later scored on Ramirez's 2-run homer to right field.
after leaving the bases loaded in the top of the 4th inning, he got a chance to redeem himself in the top of the 6th inning. the Indians had Yandy Diaz at 2nd base and Lindor at 1st with 1 out and the Indians up, 3-2. the Reds just brought on lefty Amir Garrett to face Michael and after a 2-0 count, he sent a line drive double to right field (that may have nicked the glove of the 1st baseman), scoring Diaz and moving Lindor up to 3rd. at this point, however, Michael was still batting just 3-for-24 with RISP in his last 26 plate appearances. Michael later scored on Miguel Cabrera's 2-run single to center field.
Michael got his third hit of the night in the top of the 7th with 1 out, Lindor at 1st, and the Indians leading, 9-2. on the 5th pitch of a 1-2 count, Michael hit a line drive single to center field off lefty Wandy Peralta. the pitch sequence went: called strike, called strike, ball, foul, single.
when the game came to its end, Michael's batting average was back to .300, the first time he'd been in the .300 range since July 29. his BA still ranked second on the team at this time, however, trailing Ramirez by a mere point.
in the Reds game on August 14, Michael faced right-hander Sal Romano, a guy he was 0-for-4 against in his career. in his first plate appearance in the top of the 1st inning, with Lindor at 1st base, Michael drew a walk after a 3-1 count, giving him a 13-game on-base streak. he fouled back the first pitch before taking four straight balls. he later scored on Alonso's 2-run single to center field.
after every Indian batted in the 1st, Michael came to bat next in the top of the 2nd inning. with 1 out and the Tribe still up, 4-0, Michael swung at Romano's first offering and sent a line drive single into center field for his first ever hit off Romano. after almost being taken out by Ramirez (does Michael really need another injury, dude? geez) and advancing to 3rd base, he scored on Alonso's sac fly to center.
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| photo courtesy of @MLBastian on twitter |
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| photo courtesy of Jordan Bastian via bastian.mlblogs.com |
Michael did not reach base again after that, finishing 1-for-4 on the night. after the game, from Tito's presser video on mlb.com/indians, he proclaimed, "he's, i mean, just the fact... i don't know how many stolen bases he has... because he's not, i don't want to say he's slow cause he's not, but he's, he's a very good baserunner. he's one of the smartest baserunners you'll see."
and in Bastian's Covering the Bases blog on bastian.mlblogs.com, 3rd base coach Mike Sarbaugh commented on Michael's "stutter-step" in the top of the 2nd, "when the ball was hit, [Brantley] had to go back to avoid the ball. and then he was able to recognize coming around second that, 'hey, i can get to third.'"
the Indians had a day off on August 16 and, according to Jason Kipnis, he went fishing with Michael and Lonnie Chisenhall. they didn't catch much though, despite Michael and Chiz being so-called "expert" fishermen lol you check out Kip's instagram pic to see Brant in action.
in honor of Jim Thome's number being retired before the game on August 18 versus the Baltimore Orioles, a video was posted on FOX Sports Ohio's youtube channel with some of Thome's former Indians teammates talking about him. here's what Michael shared, "after the games, he, he would sit down in the food room, uh, crack open a cold one and just tell stories. but at the end of every story, i feel like another person sat down, another person sat and the next thing i know, i look up and there's like six, seven, eight guys all just, you know, funneled around his table just listening to his stories and uh, he was a very special, you know, teammate."
Michael had a multi-hit game on August 19 versus the Orioles. in the bottom of the 2nd inning with Greg Allen at 1st base, 2 outs, and the Tribe up, 2-0, Michael hit a ground ball single to right field on an 0-1 count from righty Yefry Ramirez. the pitch sequence went: pickoff attempt at 1st, pickoff attempt at 1st, called strike, single.
he got an RBI in his next at bat in the bottom of the 4th inning. it came with Erik Gonzalez at 3rd base, Allen at 1st, no outs, and the Indians still leading, 2-0. after fouling Ramirez's first pitch at home plate, Michael hit a line drive, RBI double to left field. he later scored on Cabrera's grand slam to left-center field.
Michael had another two-hit game on August 20 against Boston Red Sox. but first, if you'd like to see Michael take batting practice ahead of the game, he's in the cage at the 0:00, 3:50, 7:45, 11:58, and 13:46 marks of this video on mlb.com/indians.
with the Tribe down, 3-1, Michael stepped to the plate with Lindor at 1st base and no outs in the top of the 6th inning. after right-hander Rick Porcello threw to 1st twice in an attempt to pick off Lindor, Michael took a ball. then, on the next pitch, Michael sent a high fly ball to deep right-center field for a game-tying, 2-run home run! this marked his first multi-RBI game since July 13!
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| photo courtesy of @MLB on twitter |
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| photo courtesy of @MLBBarrelAlert on twitter |
according to MLBBarrelAlert, Michael hit the 86.5 mph slider a distance of 424 feet at an exit velocity of 106.6 mph and launch angle of 29 degrees. Bastian also tweeted that this was Michael's longest home run in the Statcast Era (since 2015).
Michael led off the top of the 8th inning with the Indians leading, 5-3, and after an 0-2 count, he hit a ground ball single to left field off righty Tyler Thornburg. the pitch sequence went: called strike, foul to the right side, single.
at the game's conclusion, Michael had the highest batting average on the team for the first time since August 7, passing Ramirez's .298 BA with his .302 BA.
Michael joined Knott and Allen on the field for a postgame interview and i transcribed some of it from FOX Sports Ohio's youtube channel.
what is it like for Michael coming to Fenway Park to play still? "uh, it's my favorite road city to play in. i was telling GA a couple stories out there and, you know, just memorable experiences i had here. uh, it's a great atmosphere that we bring every single time and it's fun to be a part of."
what can a series like this do for a younger player? "uh, it's a little taste of the postseason. you know, especially in the 9th like that, adrenaline gets going, it's a fun, you know, it's a fun game right there, a competitive game. uh, but at the same time, you know, we learn each other's strengths and uh, we just go out there and, you know, play the best we can side by side." (click the link for some other nice things Michael said about Allen.)
then during Tito's media session, Bastian brought up how Michael's turning in a full season. "that's... i'm so happy for him," the skipper remarked in a video on mlb.com/indians, "that... i think about that so often when he's out there, just the fact that, you know, we don't check on him every night and he's worked so hard and i know he's enjoying it. he ought to."
in the game against the Red Sox on August 21, Michael got his third straight multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 at the plate. his first hit came when he led off the top of the 5th inning with the Indians up, 2-0. following a called strike from right Nathan Eovaldi, Michael sent a sharp line drive double to center field for his first hit off Eovaldi in his career.
then, with Gomes at 2nd base, Allen at 1st, 2 outs, and the Tribe ahead, 3-0, in the top of the 6th inning, Michael faced right-hander Joe Kelly. after a 2-2 count, Michael hit a line drive to center field, good for an RBI single. however, Michael tried to advance to 2nd base and was initially called safe, but after a replay review by the Red Sox, the call was somehow overturned and it was determined that he was thrown out trying to advance (but i don't see it). therefore the inning ended. the pitch sequence went: ball, foul 1st base side, called strike, ball, single.
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| photo courtesy of @SportsTimeOhio on twitter |
the run batted in gave Michael four straight games with an RBI. not only that, but this was his first hit with RISP and 2 outs since July 13, breaking an 0-for-11 skid in 13 plate appearances, and it was just Michael's 10th hit in 50 at bats with RISP and 2 outs.
for the record, Michael also drew a 2-out walk off Eovaldi in the top of the 3rd inning.
he had a 9-game on-base streak on the road as well as a 7-game hitting streak on the road thanks to this game, too. in addition, Michael had an 11-game hitting streak at Fenway Park, according to Hoynsie's article on cleveland.com, which was the longest active streak at Fenway by a visiting player. Michael further had an overall 13-game hitting streak against Boston. (more on this can be found in the In Indians History section below.)
Bastian posted a blog during this game on bastian.mlblogs.com that shed some light on the meeting that Lindor, Diaz, and Francona recently had. Lindor explained that he turned to Michael for advice on whether or not Lindor and Diaz should discuss how Diaz could stay on the roster once Encarnacion returned from the DL with the manager. "we were talking," Lindor said. "we were talking about it. i have him right next to me in Cleveland and he told me, like, 'hey, i'm confused. what's going on?' i was just like, 'hey, just let it out and then we can go talk to Tito.' and that was OK, because Brantley told me. Brantley was like, 'hey, try to talk to him. try to see.' so i followed my leader, which is Brantley, and [Diaz] followed me, and next thing you know, everybody was on the same page. that's what a team is all about."
i wanted to share that passage because i think it's important to note just how much Michael's teammates value his opinion and respect his leadership. everyone will miss him if he does not re-sign with the Tribe next season...
all of Michael's streaks ended when he went 0-for-4 against the BoSox on August 22.
MLB Players' Weekend began on August 24, and Michael went 2-for-4 with 2 singles and a walk against the Kansas City Royals. he got his first base hit in the top of the 3rd inning with Allen at 3rd base, 1 out, and the Tribe behind, 3-0. after a 2-1 count from right-handed pitcher Brad Keller, Michael hit a line drive RBI single to left field. the pitch sequence went: ball, foul straight back, ball, single.
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| photo courtesy of Ed Zurga via Getty Images |
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| photo courtesy of @SportsTimeOhio on twitter |
then in the top of the 5th inning with 1 out and the Indians trailing, 3-2, Michael hit a pop up to 3rd that fell in for a base hit on a 1-1 count. the pitch sequence from Keller went: ball, foul 1st base dugout, single.
also, SportsTime Ohio uploaded a photoshopped pic of Michael during a broken pipe delay in the 4th inning that revealed his thank you patch on the left sleeve of his Players' Weekend jersey, where you can see he thanked his three children. (last year, he thanked his mom and dad.)
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| photo courtesy of @SportsTimeOhio on twitter |
i learned that his son, Michael III, is called "Trey." (must be a nickname for "three" since he's the third Michael.👦⓷)
in the morning of August 25, the Indians posted a twitter video of Dad Jokes between Josh Tomlin and Michael. to save space, i'm not going to list out all the jokes here, but the beginning was quite funny when Michael laughed, "he's looking deep into my eyes, i can't take it." i also liked when Tomlin said he could see the joke (on the card Michael was holding) and told Michael to pick it up or he would admittedly cheat. then he ruined the joke by answering "submarine" before Michael could even read anything lol
i will leave you with this one: "when does a joke become a dad joke? when the punchline becomes 'a parent.'" you can watch the entire thing here.😁
in the game on August 26 versus the Royals, Michael went 2-for-5 with two singles and a walk. he got his first hit in the top of the 1st inning with 1 out and no score. in his first time ever seeing right-handed starter Jorge Lopez, Michael hit a line drive single to right field after a 1-2 count. the pitch sequence went: called strike, foul at the plate, ball, single.
his other hit came in the top of the 6th inning with Lindor at 1st base, 2 outs, and the Tribe ahead, 7-2. after a 2-0 count from righty Burch Smith, he hit a line drive single to left field. the sequence went: ball, pickoff attempt at 1st, ball, single.
Michael drew a walk in his final plate appearance of the day in the top of the 8th. with the Indians leading, 8-4, and Lindor at 1st base, right-hander Jake Newberry threw Michael four straight balls.
on August 28, Michael went 3-for-5 versus the Twins. his first of three singles occurred with Lindor at 1st base, 1 out, and no score in the bottom of the 3rd inning. on a 1-0 pitch from righty Kyle Gibson, Michael hit a line drive single to center field.
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| photo courtesy of Chuck Crow via cleveland.com |
he came around to score on Encarnacion's single to left field.
then, when Michael led off the bottom of the 5th inning and the Tribe up, 3-0, he hit another (sharp) line drive single to center field after Gibson's 1-0 count. this gave Michael his 42nd multi-hit game of the year (out of 118), btw.
Michael hit his third single of the night off right-hander Alan Busenitz in the bottom of the 8th inning with no outs and the Indians leading, 7-1. Gonzalez was pinch running for Lindor at 2nd base and after another 1-0 count, Michael sent a line drive to left field.
on the contrary, he did struggle with his other two at bats, stranding a combined three runners. but that's just kind of how things go when he faced Minny this season.
in the morning of August 30, the Cleveland Baseball Talk podcast was posted on cleveland.com. in the last five minutes, Hoynsie and Joe Noga answered a fan question about if the front office would seriously try to re-sign free agent Michael for next season. the consensus was Michael will probably receive a qualifying offer, between $18-19 million for one year, from the Indians, but that other teams out there will want Michael on a multi-year deal and offer him a nice contract that he's played himself into.
also in the morning, sometime before the game versus the Twins, which was broadcast on MLB Live's facebook page (and is now archived), Michael did an interview with Jackie Redmond around the 14:00 mark. she first wanted to know what stands out to him as the turning point for the team's recent success? "yeah, i just think it was the front office doing a great job of getting, you know, good baseball players at a young age and kinda putting us together for a long period of time. uh, if you look at our roster, we had guys that, you know, were playing five or six years together and kinda came up together and learned from each other and kinda pushed each other to get better every day."
does it feel more like a family now than it ever has before? "absolutely. i mean, you know, we all kinda came in here young with no kids. now we have kids and... yeah, we grew up together. you know, we matured as men together. we got married, i mean, you name it. so it was, it was just a family atmosphere around here."
how do the Indians stay motivated as they wait for October to get here? "we just gotta make sure that, you know, we go out there and play competitive baseball every day. that you don't look at the records, that we go out there, just take one game at a time. uh, it's win today. uh, you know, try to win the series and, you know, just be good teammates and just try to push one another to get better every day."
Michael was then asked some fun non-baseball questions starting with if he ever had a nickname that he hated and if so, what was it? "i haven't never had a nickname that i hate it. i've been called a lot worse in the outfield, so most of the time my nicknames are always good with me."
pet peeve? "do i have a pet peeve? yeah. uh, when, if you call me and you don't leave me a message. i don't understand why you called me, you called me for a reason to say something so leave me a message and i'll get back with you.
"you called me, you needed something from me. hahaha"
his first job was at TGIFriday's, so if he were to go back there, what would he order? "the cheesecake. vanilla bean cheesecake. i absolutely love vanilla bean cheesecake." the interview cut off after that.
but Redmond told a story about Michael meeting his favorite player Ken Griffey, Jr. when he was 21 years old and how Griffey said, "no need to introduce yourself. i already knew who you are," which Michael said stopped him in his tracks and was very very cool. Michael won't be rocking the backwards hat style, however. "no way man, that's Griffey's thing."
during the game, Michael went 2-for-4 with two doubles. the first came when he led off the bottom of the 4th inning with no score. after a 2-2 count from right-handed pitcher Jake Odorizzi, Michael hit a line drive double to center field. the pitch sequence went: ball, ball, foul to the left, foul at the plate, double.
he scored on Encarnacion's RBI single to right field.
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| photo courtesy of Chuck Crow via cleveland.com |
then with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th inning and the Tribe on top, 5-2, Michael hit another line drive double, this time to right field after a 1-1 count from right-hander Oliver Drake. the pitch sequence went: swinging strike, ball, double.
Michael only went 1-for-4 on August 31 versus the Tampa Bay Rays, but his hit was important. he came to bat in the bottom of the 8th inning. it started with 2 outs, Allen at 3rd base, Lindor at 1st, and the Tribe clinging to a 1-0 lead. Lindor was off and running before the first pitch from right-hander Ryne Stanek, which was a wild pitch, allowing Allen to score and Lindor to successfully steal 2nd base. now, with the Indians up, 2-0, Stanek threw Michael ball 2, on which Lindor stole 3rd base. then on the next pitch of a 2-0 count, Michael sent a sharp ground ball RBI single to center field. (check out the subsequent section for details on what the RBI signified.)
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| photo courtesy of Chuck Crow via cleveland.com |
after the Indians win, Michael was chosen to do the on-field interview with Knott. and from the looks of it, unless he was playing around, Michael didn't look happy to do it. at 0:59 in this video on mlb.com/indians, it would appear as though he told that guy who grabbed him, 'that's bullshit,' as he threw his arm down. then he turned to Knott and said something as he pointed back to the unknown guy and Knott was just like, "come on." 😬 idk, you be the judge of what that was all about.
i transcribed a couple things from the video on FOX Sports Ohio's youtube channel. how fun is it to be in a game that's zero-zero going that late in a game, where everything the team does is important? "yeah, you feel the intensity in the stadium, too. i mean the crowd was into every pitch. um, you know, in the 6th inning, people are standing up on their feet. zero-zero, you know, i think we had one hit, they had two. i mean, it's a great ballgame all the way around. um, you know, it's just a, a great, a great fought-out ballgame by our team and look to, look to do it again tomorrow."
how fun has it been to watch Greg Allen have an inning like that late to just spread the lead out and for him to be able to get an RBI? "yeah, especially since he got crushed. i mean, he got smoked hard in the, in the leg, and he battled. you know, he toughed it out. he stole a bag right there, got to 3rd, and scored. that's a huge run. you know it gives, you know, Brad Hand to come in, to get a little extra relief and, you know, Frankie did a good job getting that at bat and i got in him and, you know, it's a team, it's a team effort, it's all-around good game."
he also talked about Edwin's home run, having confidence in Cody Allen, and why he wasn't going to stay to watch the fireworks lol
In Indians History
when Michael acquired his 60th RBI of the season on August 8 (in his 101st game vs. the Tribe's 113th), he became the fifth Indians player with 60 RBI, joining Jose Ramirez (83), Edwin Encarnacion (81), Francisco Lindor (71), and Yonder Alonso (65). no other team in the majors had more than three players with 60 ribbies at this time, per Ryan Milowicki. this is also the first time an Indians team had five players totaling 60 RBI this fast since 1999, according to Paul Hoynes' article on cleveland.com.
and it gets better. when Michael acquired his 70th RBI of the season on August 31 (in his 121st game vs. the Tribe's 134th), he became the fifth Indians player with 70 RBI, joining Ramirez (94), Encarnacion (92), Lindor (78), and Alonso (76). no other team in the majors had five players with 70 ribbies at this time, so said Tom Hamilton on the WTAM 1100 radio broadcast.
on August 9, Michael hit a walk-off, RBI single in the bottom of the 9th inning versus the Minnesota Twins. (more details on that can be found here.) but in doing that, it gave the Indians back-to-back walk-off games for the first time since 2016, when they had walk-offs on August 18 and 19, according to Joe Noga's article on cleveland.com. (Lindor hit a walk-off 3-run home run the day before.)
in the game on August 20 against the Boston Red Sox, each Indians starting outfielder hit a home run: right fielder Miguel Cabrera hit a solo homer, while left fielder Michael and center field Greg Allen both his 2-run homers. Milowicki tweeted that marked just the 15th time in franchise history that three starting OFs homered. it was the first time this happened on the club since April 30, 2013 versus the Philadelphia Phillies, when Michael, Drew Stubbs, and Ryan Raburn all hit home runs.
after getting his first hit (of two total) in the game against the Red Sox on August 21, Michael had a 13-game hitting streak against Boston, covering his 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018 seasons. from Hoynsie's cleveland.com article, that's the longest streak by an Indian since Casey Blake's 16-game hitting streak from 2005-2007.
In The Field
as the left fielder in August, Michael recorded 47 putouts, 1 assist, and 1 double play in 48 total chances to give him a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
Michael got his one assist of the month (and fifth on the season) on August 25 against the Kansas City Royals. it occurred in the bottom of the 7th inning with 1 out, Whit Merrifield at 2nd base, and the Indians down, 6-1. Salvador Perez hit Tribe reliever Dan Otero's 0-1 pitch to left field, a line drive that Michael caught with ease. then Michael was also able to get Merrifield out at 2nd because he was running on contact and almost to 3rd base, so Michael threw the ball in to 2nd baseman Jason Kipnis for the assist and inning-ending double play, his second DP of the year. there was no video of the play online, sadly, but if you go to the 7:28 mark in the condensed game video from mlb.com, you can watch it.
Michael exhibited some great defense this month with some very impressive catches. i'm gonna spotlight a few specific ones here now.
an exciting putout came on August 3 versus the Los Angeles Angels. with the game tied at 2 in the top of the 2nd inning, Kaleb Cowart bat against Indians starter Mike Clevinger. Cowart swung at the first offering and sent a fly ball to left field. Michael made the catch for the second out of the inning; however, the momentum forced him to jump up onto and take a few steps across the tarp lol check out that video on mlb.com/indians.com.
in the top of the 5th inning during the game versus the Angels on August 5, Michael caught a ball hit high off the left field wall with his bare hand and threw a perfect strike to 2nd baseman Jason Kipnis to hold Jose Briceno to a long single. the next day, in a cleveland.com article by Paul Hoynes, Terry Francona praised Michael's ability in left. "he's so good at that. he throws well anyway, but he sees the field real well. his awareness is real good and his balance--he can get it barehanded and he's already in throwing position. he's just so accurate. you see a lot of outfielders, they'll maybe get the ball where he did, but they clutch up. he catches it and he's ready to go."
Indians 3rd base coach Mike Sarbaugh also recognized that Michael is good at knowing the speed of the runners and reading the ball when it comes off the wall near the foul line. "that part of the wall is angled a little bit and the ball will kick off it and come back to the right. he's really good at positioning himself on that play."
Hoynsie additionally wrote, "it is safe to say that no outfielder has played the 19-foot wall at Progressive Field better than Brantley since the ballpark opened in 1994."😀 good luck to the next player who mans left on a regular basis once Michael signs with a different team this offseason...😕😢
in the game versus the Minnesota Twins on August 7, Michael totaled four putouts. three of those were fantastic. beginning with Indians starter Carlos Carrasco's very first pitch in the top of the 1st inning to Joe Mauer, Michael ran back and made a leaping catch at the wall in left to rob Mauer of a double. it was a big play because the next three Twins batters reached base before Carrasco got out of the jam unscathed.
 | |
| photos courtesy of Chuck Crow via cleveland.com |
Michael's next amazing putout occurred in the top of the 4th inning with 2 outs, Eddie Rosario on 2nd base, and the Tribe down, 3-0. Jorge Polanco swung at Carrasco's first offering and sent a sinking liner to left, but Michael made a sliding catch to end the inning.
the final catch i want to acknowledge came in the top of the 8th inning. Indians reliever Andrew Miller was pitching with 2 outs, Logan Forsythe on 1st base, and the Tribe still behind, 3-0. after a 3-1 count, Jake Cave hit a fly ball that Michael caught in the left field corner for the 3rd out in the inning. when Tom Hamilton made the call of the catch on the WTAM 1100 radio broadcast, he was very excited about it lol
Michael made another nice catch in the game on August 14 against the Cincinnati Reds. it was the bottom of the 4th inning and the Indians had a 6-0 lead. with 2 outs and a 1-1 count on Eugenio Suarez, Corey Kluber delivered his pitch and Suarez sent the ball to left field. Michael ran back on a dead sprint and made a leaping catch for the third out to end the inning.
now let's break down the numbers. i am going
to document his August #s and the 2nd spot #s, as well as the left
field #s, BOP + left field #s, and overall outfield #s.
August batting average: .333
OBP: .417
SLG: .465
OPS: .882
Michael played in 26 (of 28) games, 22
complete, in August.
he started and played left
field in 26 games, completing 22 of those games, appearing in 26
total.
he was lifted for a PR in 2 games after playing a total of 14 innings; 1 game in the bottom of the 7th inning because the Indians were winning and 1 game in the top of the 8th inning because the Indians were winning.
he was subbed out defensively in 2 games after playing a total of 15 innings; 2 games after playing a total of 15 innings (8 innings/7 innings per game) because the Indians were winning a blowout.
he got 2 scheduled games off.
Michael bat 2nd in 26 games.
he was lifted for a PR in 2 games after playing a total of 14 innings; 1 game in the bottom of the 7th inning because the Indians were winning and 1 game in the top of the 8th inning because the Indians were winning.
he was subbed out defensively in 2 games after playing a total of 15 innings; 2 games after playing a total of 15 innings (8 innings/7 innings per game) because the Indians were winning a blowout.
he got 2 scheduled games off.
Michael bat 2nd in 26 games.
Michael played left field in 26
games. (22 complete, 2 lifted for PR: 14 innings, 2 subbed out: 15 innings)
Michael played in 22 complete games.
in August, Michael had a total
of 116 plate appearances and 99 at bats in 26 games.
here is how he fared:
33 hits
9 extra base hits
24 singles
7 doubles
2 home runs
2 home runs
13 RBI
1 sac fly
16 runs
14 walks
1 hit by pitch
1 hit by pitch
2 stolen bases (2nd)
1 reached on fielder's choice
1 reached on fielding error
1 reached on catcher interference
8 strikeouts (7 swinging, 1
looking)
5 first at bat hits
46 total bases
30 left on base
47 putouts
1 assist
1 double play
1 double play
223.0 innings, 26 games
(22 complete games)
August batting average: .333 (33-99) (26 games)
now let's break down his numbers based
on where he hit in the lineup.
when Michael bat 2nd in August, he
had a total of 116 plate appearances and 99 at bats in 26
games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
33 hits
9 extra base hits
24 singles
7 doubles
2 home runs
2 home runs
13 RBI
1 sac fly
16 runs
14 walks
1 hit by pitch
1 hit by pitch
2 stolen bases (2nd)
1 reached on fielder's choice
1 reached on fielding error
1 reached on catcher interference
8 strikeouts (7 swinging, 1
looking)
5 first at bat hits
46 total bases
30 left on base
47 putouts
1 assist
1 double play
1 double play
223.0 innings, 26 games
(22 complete games)
August batting average in the 2nd spot: .333
(33-99) (26 games)
when Michael bat 2nd and played left
in August, he had a total of 116 plate appearances and 99 at
bats in 26 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
33 hits
9 extra base hits
24 singles
7 doubles
2 home runs
2 home runs
13 RBI
1 sac fly
16 runs
14 walks
1 hit by pitch
1 hit by pitch
2 stolen bases (2nd)
1 reached on fielder's choice
1 reached on fielding error
1 reached on catcher interference
8 strikeouts (7 swinging, 1 looking)
5 first at bat hits
46 total bases
30 left on base
47 putouts
1 assist
1 double play
1 double play
223.0 innings, 26 games
(22 complete games)
August batting average in the 2nd spot
while playing left: .333 (33-99) (26 games)
when Michael played the outfield in August, he had a total of 116 plate appearances and 99 at bats in 26 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
33 hits
9 extra base hits
24 singles
7 doubles
2 home runs
2 home runs
13 RBI
1 sac fly
16 runs
14 walks
1 hit by pitch
1 hit by pitch
2 stolen bases (2nd)
1 reached on fielder's choice
1 reached on fielding error
1 reached on catcher interference
8 strikeouts (7 swinging, 1 looking)
5 first at bat hits
46 total bases
30 left on base
47 putouts
1 assist
1 double play
1 double play
223.0 innings, 26 games
(22 complete games)
August batting average while playing the
outfield: .333 (33-99) (26 games)
now let's break down his numbers
specific to where he played in the outfield.
when Michael played left field in August, he had a total of 116 plate appearances and 99 at bats
in 26 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
33 hits
9 extra base hits
24 singles
7 doubles
2 home runs
2 home runs
13 RBI
1 sac fly
16 runs
14 walks
1 hit by pitch
1 hit by pitch
2 stolen bases (2nd)
1 reached on fielder's choice
1 reached on fielding error
1 reached on catcher interference
8 strikeouts (7 swinging, 1
looking)
5 first at bat hits
46 total bases
30 left on base
47 putouts
1 assist
1 double play
1 double play
223.0 innings, 26 games
(22 complete games)
August batting average while playing left
field: .333 (33-99) (26 games)
August #s while playing left field: 47
putouts, 1 assist, 0 errors, 1 double play, 1.000 fielding percentage (223.0 innings, 26 games)
August #s while playing the
outfield: 47 putouts, 1 assist, 0 errors, 1 double play, 1.000 fielding percentage (223.0
innings, 26 games)
now here are my game-by-game numbers
and notes.
Game /1 & /107, August 1: scheduled day off.
Game 1 of 2/Game 96 of 108, August 3: 1-5, RBI double (first at bat), run. AVG: .294
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 2 of 3/Game 97 of 109, August 4: 1-2, walk (first plate appearance), walk, RBI single. AVG: .295
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 3 of 4/Game 98 of 110, August 5: 0-3, walk (first plate appearance), run. AVG: .293
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 4 of 5/Game 99 of 111, August 6: 2-3, single (first at bat), run, single, stolen base (2nd), walk. AVG: .296
[2nd/LF/GS7]
^^Michael was lifted for a pinch runner in the bottom of the 7th inning after drawing a walk.^^
Game 5 of 6/Game 100 of 112, August 7: 2-3, hit by pitch (first plate appearance), single, single, run. AVG: .299
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 6 of 7/Game 101 of 113, August 8: 0-4, reached on fielding error (first at bat), stolen base (2nd), RBI groundout. AVG: .296
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 7 of 8/Game 102 of 114, August 9: 1-4, walk (first plate appearance), RBI single. AVG: .295
[2nd/LF/CG9]
^^Michael hit a walk-off single^^
Game 8 of 9/Game 103 of 115, August 10: 0-3, reached on catcher interference. AVG: .293
[2nd/LF/CG8]
Game 9 of 10/Game 104 of 116, August 11: 3-4, double, home run, run, single. AVG: .297
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 10 of 11/Game 105 of 117, August 12: 1-3, single (first at bat), run, walk, run, walk. AVG: .298
[2nd/LF/GS7]
^^Michael was lifted for a pinch runner in the top of the 8th inning one batter after drawing a walk.^^
Game 11 of 12/Game 106 of 118, August 13: 3-6, single, run, RBI double, run, single. AVG: .300
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 12 of 13/Game 107 of 119, August 14: 1-4, walk (first plate appearance), run, single, run. AVG: .300
[2nd/LF/GS8]
Game 13 of 14/Game 108 of 120, August 15: 1-3, single (first at bat), walk. AVG: .300
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 14 of 15/Game 109 of 121, August 17: 1-2, walk (first plate appearance), run, walk, single. AVG: .301
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 15 of 16/Game 110 of 122, August 18: 0-3, RBI sac fly. AVG: .299
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 16 of 17/Game 111 of 123, August 19: 2-5, single, RBI double, run. AVG: .300
[2nd/LF/GS7]
Game 17 of 18/Game 112 of 124, August 20: 2-4, 2-run home run, run, single. AVG: .302
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 18 of 19/Game 113 of 125, August 21: 2-4, walk, double, RBI single. AVG: .304
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 19 of 20/Game 114 of 126, August 22: 0-4. AVG: .301
[2nd/LF/CG8]
Game /21 & /127, August 23: scheduled day off.
Game 20 of 22/Game 115 of 128, August 24: 2-4, RBI single, single, walk. AVG: .303
[2nd/LF/CG8]
Game 21 of 23/Game 116 of 129, August 25: 0-4. AVG: .300
[2nd/LF/CG8]
Game 22 of 24/Game 117 of 130, August 26: 2-5, single (first at bat), single, walk. AVG: .301
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game /1 & /107, August 1: scheduled day off.
Game 1 of 2/Game 96 of 108, August 3: 1-5, RBI double (first at bat), run. AVG: .294
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 2 of 3/Game 97 of 109, August 4: 1-2, walk (first plate appearance), walk, RBI single. AVG: .295
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 3 of 4/Game 98 of 110, August 5: 0-3, walk (first plate appearance), run. AVG: .293
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 4 of 5/Game 99 of 111, August 6: 2-3, single (first at bat), run, single, stolen base (2nd), walk. AVG: .296
[2nd/LF/GS7]
^^Michael was lifted for a pinch runner in the bottom of the 7th inning after drawing a walk.^^
Game 5 of 6/Game 100 of 112, August 7: 2-3, hit by pitch (first plate appearance), single, single, run. AVG: .299
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 6 of 7/Game 101 of 113, August 8: 0-4, reached on fielding error (first at bat), stolen base (2nd), RBI groundout. AVG: .296
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 7 of 8/Game 102 of 114, August 9: 1-4, walk (first plate appearance), RBI single. AVG: .295
[2nd/LF/CG9]
^^Michael hit a walk-off single^^
Game 8 of 9/Game 103 of 115, August 10: 0-3, reached on catcher interference. AVG: .293
[2nd/LF/CG8]
Game 9 of 10/Game 104 of 116, August 11: 3-4, double, home run, run, single. AVG: .297
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 10 of 11/Game 105 of 117, August 12: 1-3, single (first at bat), run, walk, run, walk. AVG: .298
[2nd/LF/GS7]
^^Michael was lifted for a pinch runner in the top of the 8th inning one batter after drawing a walk.^^
Game 11 of 12/Game 106 of 118, August 13: 3-6, single, run, RBI double, run, single. AVG: .300
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 12 of 13/Game 107 of 119, August 14: 1-4, walk (first plate appearance), run, single, run. AVG: .300
[2nd/LF/GS8]
Game 13 of 14/Game 108 of 120, August 15: 1-3, single (first at bat), walk. AVG: .300
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 14 of 15/Game 109 of 121, August 17: 1-2, walk (first plate appearance), run, walk, single. AVG: .301
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 15 of 16/Game 110 of 122, August 18: 0-3, RBI sac fly. AVG: .299
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 16 of 17/Game 111 of 123, August 19: 2-5, single, RBI double, run. AVG: .300
[2nd/LF/GS7]
Game 17 of 18/Game 112 of 124, August 20: 2-4, 2-run home run, run, single. AVG: .302
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 18 of 19/Game 113 of 125, August 21: 2-4, walk, double, RBI single. AVG: .304
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 19 of 20/Game 114 of 126, August 22: 0-4. AVG: .301
[2nd/LF/CG8]
Game /21 & /127, August 23: scheduled day off.
Game 20 of 22/Game 115 of 128, August 24: 2-4, RBI single, single, walk. AVG: .303
[2nd/LF/CG8]
Game 21 of 23/Game 116 of 129, August 25: 0-4. AVG: .300
[2nd/LF/CG8]
Game 22 of 24/Game 117 of 130, August 26: 2-5, single (first at bat), single, walk. AVG: .301
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 23 of 25/Game 118 of 131, August 28: 3-5, reached on fielder's choice (first at bat), single, run, single, single. AVG: .304
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 24 of 26/Game 119 of 132, August 29: 0-4. AVG: .302
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 25 of 27/Game 120 of 133, August 30: 2-4, double, run, double. AVG: .304
[2nd/LF/CG9]
Game 26 of 28/Game 121 of 134, August 31: 1-4, RBI single. AVG: .303
[2nd/LF/CG9]
so far in 2018, Michael has 536 plate appearances
and 485 at bats in 121 games (963.2 innings). in total, he has 147
hits, 49 extra base hits, 98 singles, 33 doubles, 2 triples, 14 home runs (2 grand slams), 70
RBI, 5 sac flies, 75 runs, 41 walks, 3 hit by pitches, 8 stolen bases (2nd), 3
caught stealing (2 - 2nd, 1 - 3rd), 7 reached on fielder's choice, 1 reached on
forceout, 3 reached on fielding error, 1 reached on throwing error, 1 reached on catcher interference, 1 sac bunt, 12 GIDP, 44
strikeouts (34 swinging, 10 looking), 34 first at bat hits, 226 total bases, 170
left on base, 186 putouts, 5 assists, 1 error, and 2 double plays.
2018 season batting average: .303 (147-485)
OBP: .358
SLG: .466
OPS: .824
for more details about Michael's 2018
#s so far, please refer to my Brantley's 2018 #s Through August
blog.
as always, i live tweet all of Michael's in-game plate appearances and re-tweet all the news i come across, including stats and fun facts. so be sure you're following me @clevelandgirl23 on twitter to ensure you don't miss any of that. also, i've been #CelebratingMichaelBrantley all season long. every Monday i post an accomplishment or memory from Michael's career with the Indians. occasionally i throw in some special bonus anniversary dates as well. (something really good is coming later today!😉) search the hashtag to look through what i've highlighted so far and feel free to add your own comments to the thread, too!🎉
if you would like to join my subscription list and get notifications sent directly to your inbox every time i post a new blog, you can sign up by entering your email address in the box underneath the Blog Archive sidebar over on the upper right-hand side of this page!📧
if you would like to join my subscription list and get notifications sent directly to your inbox every time i post a new blog, you can sign up by entering your email address in the box underneath the Blog Archive sidebar over on the upper right-hand side of this page!📧
and don't forget to leave your September/final season predictions in the comment section! answer these specific questions:
what will Michael's batting average be for the month?
what will Michael's season batting average end up as? (you can use a 10-point range for your guesses)
how many RBI will Michael acquire in September?
how many games with the Indians win next month?💭
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