Brantley's Career Game-by-Game Numbers & Notes as an Indian

hey, Brantley fans! after much debate, i decided to compile a trio of posts featuring Michael's numbers and statistics from his 10 years as a Cleveland Indian before he starts adding onto his MLB career stats with numbers from his new team, the Houston Astros.

the first installment of my three-part series is his game-by-game numbers and notes. if you're a long-time reader of mine and have followed along with my end of the season wrap up blogs, then you're already familiar with this and how it's gonna go. if not, well, it should be easy enough to pick up on because i section off and divide everything for clarity.

however, in order to make this blog complete, i had to go back and research Michael's first 214 games in the majors due to the fact that i did not personally document those stats from his early years between 2009-2011. also, i didn't get into all the specifics of Michael's numbers when i did begin to keep track of them, so there are some notes and other information that's not included, mainly around the 2012-2013 years of his career. as my writing evolved, so did my notekeeping and you'll discover that once i get to Michael's more recent campaigns. nonetheless, the game lines won't necessarily be

Brantley Ranked 74th in MLB Network's Top 100 Players Right Now

spring training games are set to start in just over a week, which is a little earlier than usual this year due to the World Baseball Classic. so for some of us, Indians fans especially, this baseball offseason flew by very quickly. but before the games get underway, it's time for MLB Network to reveal their annual list of "Top 100 Players Right Now." Greg Amsinger, Bill Ripken, and Ron Darling once again hosted the three-day countdown of the Top 100 Players currently in Major League Baseball going into the 2017 season. the list was unveiled from February 15-17 in five one-hour installments featuring 20 players per show. tonight, on February 15, the second part of the series aired at 10 pm ET.

photo courtesy of @MLBNetwork on twitter

MLBN's Top 100 list is assembled by their research staff and based on

Brantley Confirmed For Tribe Fest 2017

Happy 2017, Brantley fans! i am back with some exciting news for you all! today, on January 13, the Indians posted that Michael Brantley has confirmed to attend the 5th annual Tribe Fest, presented by KeyBank.

photo courtesy of @Indians on twitter

like last year, Tribe Fest will not be held at Progressive Field due to ongoing construction on the service level. instead, the one-day event will be on Saturday, January 28, at the

Brantley News & Updates from November & December 2016

Happy New Year's Eve, Brantley fans! since the conclusion of the World Series, there really hasn't been a whole lot of notable information on the update front other than the plan for Michael's upcoming hitting progression being unveiled during the Winter Meetings. the rumor mill, however, was abuzz with unfounded gossip around the Christmas holiday. so before the clock strikes midnight and we start the new year, i present you with this last bit of news about Michael in 2016 from both November and December.


November News & Updates

November 4: the Indians twitter account reported that Michael is expected to resume baseball activities in December and be ready for spring training. Jordan Bastian followed up by tweeting the Indians are planning on Michael being ready for a normal spring training and will navigate the offseason with that expectation.

"Michael's progressing really well," Indians President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti said in Bastian's article on indians.com. "he's right on schedule for his rehab." and from a video on indians.com, Antonetti further elaborated, "he'll complete all of his normal physical work and then begin baseball activities at

Tribe Needs: Looking Ahead to 2017

in 2016, the Cleveland Indians were one win away from achieving their ultimate goal of becoming World Series Champions. now i'm going to look ahead and determine what they have to do--specifically, what moves they need to make--in order to claim the title next year.

the good news is they don't require a complete overhaul. in fact, they're luckier than most teams because the Indians are going to retain the majority of their 2016 roster, including all of their core players. not only that, but the players who were injured in October/November will also be starting the upcoming season at full health. (knock on wood.) so if they can just add a few more pieces, then the Indians should be primed and ready for another run towards a championship. in the meantime, i'm taking on the role of the front office.

this blog is comprised of several sections containing:
--Indians players already on the 2017 roster
--the approximate 2017 payroll
--players the Indians have lost and/or may lose to free agency
--contract extension ideas
--Tribe needs for 2017
--players within the organization who could be used in a trade
--Major League players on the free agent market who could be viable options to acquire
--front office changes

Terry Francona Wins BBWAA's 2016 AL Manager of the Year Award!

today, on November 15, it was announced that Terry Francona won Baseball Writers' Association of America's 2016 American League Manager of the Year Award! this is Francona's second MOY award while with the Indians, as he previously won it in his first year managing the club in 2013. the only other Indians skipper in franchise history to win Manager of the Year is Eric Wedge (2007). congratulations, Tito!

photo courtesy of @Indians on twitter

Francona was a finalist this year along with Jeff Banister of the Texas Rangers (who won the award last season) and Buck Showalter of the Baltimore Orioles. he finished with

My Final #s for the Cleveland Indians' 2016 Season

finally, i get to take off the baseball statistics hat and focus on my own numbers from this season for a minute. this is the My Final #s blog, where i go back through all of my baseball stuff and see what i acquired during the year. typically that includes player autographs, photographs taken with players, baseballs, and pictures and videos that i took at games. i don't generally promote these blogs because they can be presumed as bragging, but if you're subscribed to my email list, then you're getting the direct link sent right into your inbox. honestly though, i just like to see if i can set new records and accomplish personal bests with each new baseball season.


Background

in case you're a new reader and/or unaware of my current situation, i am a diehard Tribe fan living in the Western New York area. my exact location unfortunately does not allow me to watch Cleveland Indians games on TV unless they're on a national channel because STO is blacked out on the MLB package here. luckily, in this day and age, i have the ability to get online and see game highlights and photos on a nightly basis. still, i prefer to take my own pictures and record my own videos when i attend ballgames. then, once i get home,

Analyzing the Tribe's 2016 Season + Postseason

what a season the 2016 Cleveland Indians had! and, for the first time in 19 years, what a postseason they had, too! whether you're currently feeling immense pride or still nursing a broken heart over the outcome, it's time to pick up the pieces and take a trip down memory lane.

this blog recounts some of the particulars that happened on the Tribe's journey from their postponed Game 1 Home Opener back on April 4, all the way to the last out of the 10th inning in Game 7 of the World Series on November 2. more importantly, it contains my analysis of every player who spent time with the Indians this year. unlike in the past, however, this analyzation covers player performances in both the regular season AND the playoffs. so yes, it's quite a long read.

let me also acknowledge that this blog is being posted a good three weeks later than i usually post it because the Tribe's season unusually stretched all the way to the Fall Classic and into the early days of November. their final game was a mere 10 days ago, so truthfully, i got this up pretty quickly. enjoy!


Terry Francona Led the Way

the Indians amassed their best record in the Terry Francona era this year,

Francisco Lindor Wins Rawlings' 2016 AL SS Gold Glove Award & Platinum Glove Award!

tonight, on November 8, it was announced that Francisco Lindor won Rawlings' 2016 American League Shortstop Gold Glove Award! this is the first Gold Glove of Lindor's career. congratulations, Frankie!

photo courtesy of @Indians on twitter

no Cleveland Indian has won a Gold Glove since 2008 when Grady Sizemore won the AL CF Gold Glove, and no Cleveland shortstop has won since Omar Vizquel in 2001. Lindor, age 22, is the youngest middle infielder in franchise history to win a Gold Glove, and the youngest Indians player to win one since a 21-year old

Wrapping Up Brantley's 2016 Season

from Michael Brantley's perspective, i cannot say i'm sorry to see the 2016 baseball season go. for him, it was unlike any other and certainly will not be mentioned in the "best of" seasons of his career. we basically got a taste of what Indians baseball will be like without Dr. Smooth in the (hopefully far off) future. except, in an unexpected twist, the team did not seem in desperate need of its best hitter this year; not until the end, that is. on the other hand, Michael can now claim that he's already had a bit of experience as a coach in Major League Baseball once he's a retired player since his main role in 2016 became providing his teammates with his baseball knowledge, guidance, and pointers.

this final wrap up blog is somewhat different from how i've previously done it. that's due to the fact that Michael didn't play a full season, and so i couldn't really give justifiable comments about it or do fair comparisons of it to his past seasons. additionally, it's being posted later than usual because the Indians recently completed a long playoff run and i wanted to include my thoughts on that in here as well. nonetheless, this blog consists of some highlights from Michael's playing time with the Tribe, quotes, and

Brantley's 2016 Postseason October/November (w/ Rehab Updates & Pics)

it may not have ended how Michael Brantley, the Cleveland Indians, and all their fans wanted, but this was one hell of a postseason October/November. congratulations to the Tribe for extending their 2016 season into the early hour of November 3 (crazy right?! lol) and making it an exciting one.

despite Michael not appearing in any postseason games or series, i of course still had to write this blog. the format of it follows my more recent Brantley monthly blogs, where he didn't play at all and i provided a recap of the Tribe's performance for extra content.

there are four sections in this blog. the first covers the overall postseason for Michael and the Indians. the second focuses solely on the ALDS, the third is all about the ALCS, and the fourth discusses the World Series as well as some rehab updates! each section contains subsections that include an overview, Michael news and pictures, and/or win celebrations. had Michael been healthy and played in these playoff games with the Indians, i for sure would have created separate blogs for each series. but since i didn't have any numbers to document and breakdown, i decided to combine everything into one postseason blog.

My Thoughts on the Cleveland Indians' Loss to the Chicago Cubs in the 2016 World Series

shortly before 1 am on November 3, 2016, the Cleveland Indians lost Game 7 to the Chicago Cubs in 10 innings and therefore lost the World Series. this came after the Tribe was up, 3-1, in the series. alas, they could not manage to win one game out of the last three, or even one of their final two games at home. and i'm stunned.

i had such a sweet, heartfelt blog draft started (much like how a lot of real writers pre-write their stories) for if the Indians won the World Series, and i'm really sad that it's never going to see the light of day. so instead, i have written a blog with my thoughts on their losing the 2016 World Series, something i honestly did not consider a possibility. warning: i am a diehard Indians fan who's taking this loss hard, and this blog does contain some harsh, explicit remarks and potential knee-jerk reactions.

the 112th Fall Classic was met with a very intriguing matchup between two teams with the two longest championship droughts in Major League Baseball. the Cubs had last won the World Series in 1908 and the Indians last won in 1948--that's 108 years ago vs. 68 years ago. except now, the Indians are the biggest losers in baseball and their drought will officially extend to 69 years at the commencement of 2017.

Chicago, a 103 game winner in the regular season, was the

Brantley's 2016 Situational #s & Statistics

the third installment of my Brantley wrap up blog series contains Michael's 2016 situational #s and other statistics. this includes his batting averages against RHP and LHP, at home and away, with RISP, with runners on base, with the bases loaded, and with the bases empty. there's also stats like WAR, wRC+, BsR, and UZR along with his K rate, number of times he reached base, and number of times he was left stranded. in addition, i've chronicled his total numbers against each AL Central team as well as from Interleague Play in this post. and, if you can believe it, there is a section acknowledging how Michael finished the year with one stat that ranked in the Top 10 around the league. not bad for a guy who only played in 11 games.


in 2016, Michael had 43 plate appearances and 39 at bats in 11 games (89.1 innings). in total, he had 9 hits, 2 extra base hits, 7 singles, 2 doubles, 7 RBI, 1 sac fly, 5 runs, 3 walks, 1 intentional walk, 1 stolen base (3rd), 1 GIDP, 6 strikeouts (3 swinging, 3 looking), 1 first at bat hit, 11 total bases, 14 left on base, 18 putouts, and 1 assist.

2016 batting average:

Brantley's 2016 Batting Order Position & LF/PH #s

this blog is the second in what i'm referring to as my Brantley wrap up series. happily, i can reveal that there's definitely more numbers in this one than in my first because the core of it revolves around Michael's BOPs. and even though he played in just 11 games, he did bat in three spots in the order; therefore, i have stuff to break down.

note: if you don't recall, Michael played 11 minor league games while on his rehab assignments this year in addition to playing in the big leagues. i am only breaking down the numbers from his time with the Indians here. if you want to see his overall rehab number breakdowns, please read the Brantley's Overall 2016 Minor League Rehab #s blog.


Michael didn't play much in 2016, yet he finished the year with three different batting order positions on record. the original plan was for Michael to reclaim his 3rd spot in the lineup again this season once he was done rehabbing from his offseason right shoulder surgery and ready to rejoin the Indians. well that got scrapped before he even came off the disabled list. while Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor were batting 1 and 2 against right-handed starters, Terry Francona was content with Rajai Davis leading off in front of them against left-handed starters. so it was assumed, when Michael came back, that he would bat

Brantley's 2016 Game-by-Game Numbers & Notes

now it's time to start posting my series of Michael Brantley wrap up blogs. [insert the "but hasn't his season been wrapped up since May 9?" joke here if you must, but i have writing to do regardless.] despite the abnormality that Michael didn't play much in 2016, i'm still going to follow my usual format of splitting everything up in several posts even though the amount of information this year is minor.

the primary focus of this first blog is Michael's game-by-game numbers and notes. however, i have to tell ya, there are more notes than numbers.

Michael had the most injury-riddled season he's ever experienced in the major leagues. it was full of peaks and valleys, progressions and setbacks, smiles and frowns. from opening the 2016 season on the DL, to playing 11 games with the Indians, to suffering right shoulder inflammation/a subacromial impingement and going back on the DL in May, to developing right biceps tendinitis in June, to going out on a minor league rehab assignment in July, to being diagnosed with chronic right biceps tendinitis in August and consequently undergoing season-ending biceps tenodesis (surgery), Michael battled so many challenges. he was basically on a roller coaster ride and, unfortunately, it had a rough ending.

there's no question Michael

Brantley's Second Half 2016

before i start posting all of my Brantley wrap up blogs, i have to post about his (atypical) second half of 2016. for the first time in Michael Brantley's Major League career, he missed out on the entire second half of the year. he was still on the disabled list when baseball resumed after the All Star Break, and then his season-ending surgery in August ensured that he would not be playing again in 2016. therefore, he remained on the DL and was merely a spectator for the whole second half.

consequently, this was a bit of a challenge for me because i've never previously written a second half blog where Michael literally had no statistics, so there was no template for me to go by. that said, i did manage to write it and filled in whatever sections i could. honestly, this post is more for documentation purposes than anything else, so if it has no appeal to you, i understand. more blogs will be published as the week continues, and hopefully those will pique your interest.


post-All Star Break in 2016, Michael had no numbers of any kind.

2nd Half 2016 batting average:

Brantley's September/October 2016 (w/ Sling Updates)

what's up, Brantley fans? thank you so much to all those who read my Brantley's August 2016 blog and Brantley's 2016 #s Through August blog. and hello to the people in Chile and Pakistan who've come here over the past month! welcome and feel free to browse through whatever posts you like!

because Michael did not play in any September/October games, most of the typical sections in this monthly blog are either devoid of stats or have been excluded. there was also a serious lack of information in regards to post-surgery updates, and the majority of what i wrote about that came from my own personal observations. otherwise, there wasn't a whole lot going on in terms of Michael news. in the end though, i did manage to create FOUR new blog sections that i think will be of interest to you guys, so read on!


notes: at this time, i always like to clarify that September and October are combined as one month. this is common practice throughout baseball when the regular season extends into the beginning of October because there's really no point in singling out October stats since so few games are played. (it's the same any time the season opens up in late March; March and April are always considered one month as well.) therefore, whenever "the/this month" is written throughout this blog, know that i am referring to both September/October as one month despite the fact that Michael didn't play in either September or October. i have also used "September/October" continually in each section below even if the particular thing i'm discussing occurred in only one of the two months and not the other (ie. the interleague series in early September).

The Indians Are the 2016 AL Central Division Champions!

tonight, on September 26, after beating the Detroit Tigers in Game #156, the Cleveland Indians clinched the American League Central Division and secured their spot in the 2016 postseason AL Division Series! this is their first AL Central Division title since 2007 and eighth title overall in club history. it's been a looong nine years but it had to happen again sometime, right? congratulations, boys!!!

photo courtesy of the Cleveland Indians facebook page

the Indians won the game, 7-4, when

Brantley's 2016 #s Through August

by now i'm sure everybody has heard that Michael Brantley's 2016 season officially came to an end when he underwent biceps tenodesis for his chronic right biceps tendinitis on August 15. the good news is he's expected to make a full recovery in four months. the bad news is he has no chance to build on his numbers for the year anymore. as a result, this is going to be another "#s Through" blog much like the previous two i've posted. once again, if you see (unchanged) next to a section, it means nothing was added to it, and sections without that marking include new/different information from the last time you viewed them.

note: even though Michael's season is over and his statistics will not be changing, i am going to continue using the present tense when listing them below. i'm also still going to address his numbers and stats throughout this blog using the terms "through August" and "after five months" simply to keep the timeline of the season straight. however, i am no longer using "so far" and "thus far" when describing his stats because they are indeed final.


in 2016, Michael has 43 plate appearances and 39 at bats in 11 games (89.1 innings). in total, he has 9 hits, 2 extra base hits, 7 singles, 2 doubles, 7 RBI, 1 sac fly, 5 runs, 3 walks, 1 intentional walk, 1 stolen base (3rd), 1 GIDP, 6 strikeouts (3 swinging, 3 looking), 1 first at bat hit, 11 total bases, 14 left on base, 18 putouts, and 1 assist.

2016 batting average through August:

Brantley's August 2016 (w/ Post-Surgery Interview)

hey, Brantley fans! as always, i want to start out by expressing my usual gratitude. thank you to everyone who took the time to read my Brantley's July 2016 blog and Brantley's 2016 #s Through July blog, as well as the three surgery blogs i wrote this month AND the three rehab blogs that i posted. there was a lot going on that i needed to address separately from here, so i appreciate people checking all that out. i also want to say a special hello to my new viewers in Sint Maarten, Taiwan, Egypt, and South Africa! welcome and thanks for stopping by!

now on to the sad news. if you don't already know, Michael's season is over. that's right, he will not be returning this year after all on account of the biceps tenodesis (surgery) he had mid-month. give the man props for putting everything he had into his many rehab attempts in order to rejoin the Indians on the baseball field, but apparently it was not meant to be. regardless, the blog must go on!

because Michael did not play in any August games, this will be a lot like the June and July blogs once again in that many sections are bare and some have been altogether omitted. this post heavily features his DL updates and post-surgery news. i did try my best, however, to incorporate some interesting things despite Michael's absence from games, so be sure to read the new "Did You Know?" and "Hammy Says" sections of the blog down below.


August Overview

the Indians had a packed schedule this month, playing a total of 30 games in August. and for the third month in a row, Michael played zero. the Indians went