Brantley Wins Players Choice Awards' 2018 AL Comeback Player of the Year Award!

don't call it a comeback! wait... yes, do! hey there, Brantley fans, i have great news! remember on October 16, when Michael Brantley was named a finalist for the Players Choice Awards' 2018 AL Comeback Player of the Year? well tonight, on November 27, the winner was finally revealed, live from the Four Seasons in Dallas, Texas, and... Michael won the PCA for 2018 American League Comeback Player of the Year!!! congratulations, Brant!!!👏👊😀

photo courtesy of mlbplayers.com

Michael will now receive a $20,000 grant from

Lindor & Ramirez Win Louisville Slugger's 2018 Silver Slugger Awards!

hey, Tribe fans. today, on November 8, Fran Charles and Eric Byrnes revealed on MLB Network that the Cleveland Indians have two Silver Sluggers on their team! Francisco Lindor won Louisville Slugger's 2018 American League Shortstop Silver Slugger Award & Jose Ramirez won Louisville Slugger's 2018 American League 3rd Baseman Silver Slugger Award! this is the second Silver Slugger for both and second straight year that the two won the award together. congratulations!👏

photo courtesy of @MLBNetwork on twitter

Brantley Named Finalist For Players Choice Awards' 2018 AL Comeback Player of the Year

hello, Brantley fans! i'm back with more news! this should come as no surprise, but it was formally announced earlier today, on October 16, that Michael Brantley was named as one of three finalists for the Players Choice Awards' 2018 AL Comeback Player of the Year!👏 he's nominated with right-handed pitcher Edwin Jackson of the Oakland Athletics and left-handed pitcher David Price of the Boston Red Sox.

photo courtesy of mlbplayers.com

per the website, this award is described as for those who have overcome adversity and

Brantley Finishes 3rd For Sporting News' 2018 AL Comeback Player of the Year Award

hey, Brantley fans. i've got another (quick) post for you because today, on October 16, Sporting News announced their winner for AL Comeback Player of the Year. Michael received votes, but ultimately finished in 3rd place while David Price of the Boston Red Sox was named the 2018 Comeback Player in the American League.

this award, given out by Sporting News since 1965, is voted on by the players. there is no set criteria for what makes a player eligible for the Comeback Award, so the players get to decide on their own which of their peers' "career downturns" was significant enough to be considered. the fact that someone missed a year due to an injury is not always a factor in the voting for a Comeback Player. ballots were cast in early September and 14 players in the American League received at least one vote.

according to the article by Ryan Fagan, Price led the way with 20 votes. Edwin Jackson of the Oakland Athletics got 16 total votes, Michael got

The Indians Are the 2018 AL Central Division Champions!

great news, Tribe fans! after defeating the Detroit Tigers today, on September 15, your Cleveland Indians are the 2018 American League Central Division Champions!👏👏👏

photo courtesy of @MLB on twitter

this is their third straight season winning the division, having clinched it last year on September 16, and on September 26, 2016. the Indians have not won that many consecutive division pennants since 1995-1999! in addition, this marks the club's fourth division title since 2007 and 10th title in

Brantley's Career All Star Game #s (Through 2018)

Michael Brantley is now a three-time All Star. he was selected to every game by his peers as an American League OF reserve. his first All Star Game, back during his 2014 season, was all new to him and more about the experience than the results. in his second Midsummer Classic last year, Michael got his first career ASG hit. and most recently, just yesterday in Michael's third affair, he acquired his first ever RBI in an All Star Game.👏👍

photo courtesy of @SportsTimeOhio on twitter

this blog combines Michael's stats from

Brantley's 2018 All Star Game Experience & #s (w/ Pics & Quotes)

Michael Brantley just played in his third career All Star Game⭐ tonight during the 89th annual affair on July 17, 2018, at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., and i've got all the details!😀

note: this blog contains All Star-related information from three days total, covering July 15-17.


Prior to the All Star Break 

July 15: before the game versus the New York Yankees, Michael and his other All Star teammates received their 2018 American League All Star workout jerseys, which you can watch in this video from mlb.com/indians. (Trevor Bauer was not there/photographed because he

Vote Brantley for MLB's 2018 All Star Game!

hello, Michael Brantley fans! get ready to input those captcha codes because it's time to once again vote for your 2018 MLB All Stars!⭐ the location for this year's game is Washington, D.C.!

photo courtesy of mlb.com

Michael has been an All Star twice now in his career. he was initially chosen to be an OF reserve for the American League team in 2014, marking his very first Midsummer Classic experience. Michael was also selected to the ASG a second time by his peers as an AL outfield reserve player last season. this is Michael's walk-year, meaning he will be a free agent at the end of 2018 and it's presumed that he won't be returning to the Tribe. so

Corey Kluber Wins BBWAA's 2017 AL Cy Young Award!

it's week two of the baseball awards and the Indians have yet another winner in their midst. this evening, on November 15, it was announced that Corey Kluber won Baseball Writers' Association of America's 2017 American League Cy Young Award! this is Kluber's second Cy Young of his career, having previously won it in 2014. congratulations, Klubes!👏

photo courtesy of @MLB on twitter

this year, Kluber was a Cy Young finalist along with Chris Sale of the Boston Red Sox and Luis Severino of the New York Yankees. he finished with

Lindor & Ramirez Win Louisville Slugger's 2017 Silver Slugger Awards!

baseball awards season is well underway and this evening, on November 9, it was revealed that two members of the Cleveland Indians won Silver Slugger Awards for the first time in their careers! Francisco Lindor won Louisville Slugger's 2017 American League Shortstop Silver Slugger Award & Jose Ramirez won Louisville Slugger's 2017 American League 3rd Baseman Silver Slugger Award! congratulations, boys!👏

photos courtesy of @Indians on twitter

Louisville Slugger's Silver Slugger Award is Major

The Indians Are the 2017 AL Central Division Champions!

hey there, Tribe fans, i've got good news! the Minnesota Twins were eliminated from the AL Central Division race and so the Cleveland Indians are now the 2017 American League Central Division Champions! this is the second consecutive season that the Tribe won the division, as they clinched it on September 26 last year, and first time they've won the AL Central in back-to-back years since their dominant stretch from 1995-1999. it's also the club's third division title since 2007 and ninth title overall in franchise history! congratulations, fellas!👏😀👊

photo courtesy of @indians on instagram

on the afternoon of September 16, the Indians

Brantley's Career All Star Game #s

Michael Brantley has been an All Star twice now in his career. his first All Star Game appearance came in 2014 and his second just took place this year in 2017. he was voted in by the players to be an outfield reserve both times.

photo courtesy of TribeVibe

i decided to combine all of his stats from the two games and create a Career ASG #s blog. here you will find Michael's numbers and situational statistics only. if you're interested in reading all the details about his Midsummer Classic experiences, then you can check out these blogs:
Brantley's 1st All Star Game Experience & ASG #s (July 15, 2014)
Brantley's 2017 All Star Game Experience & #s (w/ Pics & Quotes) (July 11, 2017)

Brantley's 2017 All Star Game Experience & #s (w/ Pics & Quotes)

Michael Brantley took part in the 88th annual All Star Game on July 11, 2017, at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida. it was the second ASG of his career and i have all the details!

note: even after the announcement on July 2 that Michael was named to the 2017 AL All Star Team, he continued to be congratulated and spoke about his All Star nod several times in the days leading up to the Midsummer Classic. actually, a lot of things occurred in relation to the All Star Game prior to the event that i thought would be good to include here. therefore, this blog covers ASG-relevant information from July 6-11. enjoy!


Prior to the All Star Break

July 6: before the Cleveland Indians game versus the San Diego Padres, Michael was interviewed by Andre Knott, the team's in-game reporter for SportsTime Ohio, and an excerpt was uploaded to a youtube video on the FOX Sports Ohio channel.

Knott began by inquiring how satisfying it is that he made the All Star team after everything he's gone through. "it's

Brantley Named to MLB's 2017 AL All Star Team!

for the second time in his career, Michael Brantley is an All Star!👏👏 that's right, Michael has been named as an American League outfield reserve and is headed to Marlins Park in Miami, Florida, for the 88th annual All Star Game on July 11, 2017!

photo courtesy of @Indians on twitter

tonight, on July 2, this year's Midsummer Classic rosters were unveiled in an Esurance All Star Selection Show on ESPN at 7 pm ET. the American League OF reveal was first and i knew better than to expect to see Michael in the top three. the starting outfielders include Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels, and George Springer of the Houston Astros. Trout is still on the disabled list due to a torn UCL in his left thumb that he had surgery for at the end of May. originally, no one thought he had a chance to be ready to play in this game, but evidently,

Vote Brantley for MLB's 2017 All Star Game!

calling all Michael Brantley fans! i hope you're ready to get your vote on because it's now officially time to start picking the 2017 MLB All Stars!

photo courtesy of mlb.com

Michael's first, last, and only appearance so far in an MLB All Star Game occurred in 2014 when he was selected to the American League team as a reserve player. he was not chosen to be part of the 2015 contest, and of course we all know that the 2016 ASG ended up being out of the question for him. (though i did push hard for fans to vote for Michael prior to his shoulder setback!) but with his injury issues finally out of the way, we need to get Dr. Smooth on the squad representing the Cleveland Indians this year.

after his first month of the regular season, Michael is currently batting

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

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

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

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

Vote Brantley For MLB's 2016 All Star Game!

hey there baseball and Michael Brantley fans! it's the last week of April and you know what that means--it's time to start voting for your 2016 MLB All Star players!

photo courtesy of @AllStarGame on twitter

there's a very high probability that Michael will be activated off the DL tomorrow, on April 25. and if not tomorrow, then certainly later this week. just because Michael spent all of April thus far on the disabled list, that's no reason not to vote him to the Midsummer Classic. sadly, he was not selected to the American League All Star team last year, but he did make the 2014 team as a reserve. let's get him back to the ASG for his second appearance in three years, shall we?

in my humble opinion, Michael should not be penalized because