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

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

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

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

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

And The Winner of the 2015 AL Hank Aaron Award Is...

...not Michael Brantley =(

as i wrote in a previous blog, Michael was the Cleveland Indians' nominee for the 2015 AL Hank Aaron Award for the second consecutive season. unfortunately, when the winners were finally revealed today on October 31, neither Michael nor his fans received a treat. Josh Donaldson of the Toronto Blue Jays was named the American League Hank Aaron Award winner for 2015 while Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals was named the NL Hank Aaron Award winner. Donaldson was presented with his award by none other than Hank Aaron prior to Game 4 of the World Series between the Kansas City Royals and New York Mets at Citi Field. Harper was unable to attend.

the Hank Aaron Award is given to the top offensive player in each league every year. Donaldson, with his .297 batting average, 184 hits, 41 doubles, 2 triples, 41 home runs, 123 RBI, 122 runs, 73 walks, 133 strikeouts, and .939 OPS, is this season's best hitter in the American League according to fans and a panel of Hall of Fame players.

so for the 2nd year in a row, Michael was defeated. however,

Brantley Received Votes But Not Named To Sporting News' 2015 AL All Star Team

it's time for all the annual baseball lists and awards to start being unveiled, and today, on October 28, Sporting News announced who made its 2015 American League All Star Team. unlike last year, Michael Brantley was not selected to the team, although he did receive votes.

the Sporting News AL All Star team was picked by a panel of 22 American League, aka Junior Circuit, executives (general managers and assistant general managers). the decisions for this year's 90th anniversary team were made before the playoffs began.

the 3 outfielders chosen for this honor were Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels, Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays, and Lorenzo Cain of the Kansas City Royals. the first two players make sense. those were obvious choices. but Cain? he most likely got picked because

Brantley's 2015 #s Through July

sorry for the delay on this blog. as i said in the blog i posted yesterday, the worst thing that can happen at the end of a month is the Indians playing late night West Coast games because it cuts my calculation time in half. but everything's all done now so let's jump right into it.

Michael's been looking really good since he got those 4 days off during the All Star break, but as a whole, his stats so far just don't rank very high around the league. it's no secret he's been dealing with a back strain since the first day he reported to spring training, so i don't think you can expect much more from him at this point. that's not to say he's doing bad, but he won't be in the MVP race this year or win another Silver Slugger award. nonetheless, his numbers through July are much better than what some other players would be putting up if they had been playing hurt all season. (just check the stats of some of the Indians who played hurt last year.) with 2 months left in 2015, anything can happen, and for Michael, i hope it's nothing but positive things so he can finish the year out strong.



so far in 2015, Michael has a total of 408 plate appearances and 357 at bats in 93 games (734.0 innings). in total, he has 107 hits, 38 extra base hits, 69 singles, 30 doubles, 8 home runs, 56 RBI, 4 sac flies, 41 runs, 46 walks, 5 intentional walks, 1 hit by pitch, 11 stolen bases (10 - 2nd, 1 - 3rd), 1 caught stealing (3rd), 9 GIDP, 30 strikeouts (19 swinging, 11 looking), 28 first at bat hits, 161 total bases, 149 left on base, 145 putouts, 7 assists, 1 error, and 1 double play.

2015 batting average through July:

Brantley's 2015 #s Through June

before i get into this, let me just say that some of Michael's numbers to this point are not where anyone would have expected them to be. in order to get the full story as to why that is, be sure to read my Brantley's June 2015 #s blog in advance of this blog, which contains his overall statistics thus far.

**blogger's note: even though it's been somewhat difficult personally for me to watch various stats of Michael's decrease on a nightly basis, my blogs for this season are not going to stop. yes, Michael may be playing too much and not getting any significant time off to rest and potentially gain some strength back in his back, and consequently his numbers may be suffering. but i started documenting Michael's numbers years ago for a reason and i am no quitter. granted, it has not been as fun this year as in the past because he's having a rough go due to injury. and while there may not be a turnaround coming for him any time soon, i will support him regardless, defend him continuously, and make sure the truth is out there.

Michael is still doing an overall sufficient job, all things considered, but he certainly had higher expectations put upon him this year because of his outstanding 2014 AL MVP-3 season. so far, many could argue there have been numerous times when he

Brantley's 2015 #s Through May

there isn't much i need to say to lead this new blog off. i just figured it would be better to separate all Michael's monthly numbers from his seasonal numbers up to the point in the year that we're at. it's fairly simple. my sections and number break downs will follow the same format as in my monthly blogs, though i have rearranged some things. so without further ado, here is how Michael is doing thus far in 2015.


so far in 2015, Michael has a total of 195 plate appearances and 169 at bats in 43 games (339.0 innings). in total, he has 51 hits, 21 extra base hits, 30 singles, 17 doubles, 4 home runs, 30 RBI, 3 sac flies, 21 runs, 23 walks, 2 intentional walks, 7 stolen bases (2nd), 4 GIDP, 13 strikeouts (8 swinging, 5 looking), 13 first at bat hits, 80 total bases, 77 left on base, 70 putouts, 5 assists, and 1 double play.

2015 batting average through May:

Vote Brantley For MLB's 2015 All Star Game!

we're not even one full month into baseball season, yet it's already time to vote for our 2015 All Stars. and Brantley fans, this year we have to do better. last year Michael was named to the American League All Star Team as a reserve; let's make him a starter in 2015! =D

Michael's certainly had an eventful start to his season, struggling with a lower back strain that affected his play early on in April. but he seems to have found a way to not only manage the issue, but also still be able to take the field and be a positive contributor for the Indians. talk about resilient. right now he's batting .333, one of the better averages on the team. and with 17 hits, 5 doubles, and 6 RBI in 13 games, it's clear he's doing good things at the plate. i believe he's definitely worthy of being named an All Star for the second year in a row.

so how can you vote?

And The Winner of Rawlings' 2014 AL LF Gold Glove Award Is...

...not Michael Brantley =(

today was the day that the Gold Glove winners were finally revealed. as i wrote on October 23, Michael was a first time finalist for his performance in left field this season. unfortunately, he did not win. on November 4, the American League Gold Glove was given to Kansas City's Alex Gordon. and that's who i think everyone, including myself, assumed would win.

Gordon finished the 2014 season with 8 assists, 2 errors, and 0 double plays in 1372.2 innings, giving him a .994 fielding percentage in left field. offensively, he had a .266 batting average, 150 hits, 34 doubles, 19 home runs, 74 RBI, 87 runs, 12 stolen bases, 65 walks, and 126 strikeouts in 156 games.

i pretty much knew Michael was a long shot for this award, but it's nice to see that the managers and coaches in the American League voted enough in order for him to be a finalist. however, i think the continued great play of Alex Gordon this season, combined with sabermetrics counting for 25% of the total selection process, was too much against Michael.

still, this does NOT take away from Michael's fantastic season in the outfield. he's sure as hell the best left fielder on the Tribe. screw those unkind sabermetric numbers. the most important thing is that people in the American League are now recognizing Michael's talent and that's good enough for me.

and who knows, maybe he'll get that GG next year! ;D **fingers crossed**

And The Winner of the 2014 AL Hank Aaron Award Is...

...not Michael Brantley =(

today was finally the day that the 2014 Hank Aaron Award winners were revealed. unfortunately, Michael, the Cleveland Indians' nominee this year, did not win. on October 25, Los Angeles Angel's Mike Trout was named the winner of the American League Hank Aaron Award. (Miami Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton was named the National League Award winner as well.) Trout was supposed to be presented with the award by Hank Aaron himself before Game 4 of the World Series between the Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. however, for reasons i don't know, Trout was not there.

the Hank Aaron Award is given to the top offensive player in each league every year. Trout, with his .287 batting average, 173 hits, 39 doubles, 9 triples, 36 home runs, 111 RBI, 115 runs, 83 walks, 184 strikeouts, and .939 OPS, is the best hitter in the American League this year according to fans and a panel of Hall of Famers.

this is sad news for the Brantley fans and voters. but i want to thank everyone who voted for Michael through my blog and everyone who shared my blog to spread the word. you guys are awesome! the Brantley support is real. go team Brant! =D

Brantley Named To Sporting News' 2014 American League All Star Team!

today, on October 22, Michael Brantley achieved yet another new career first when he was named to the Sporting News' 2014 American League All Star Team!

photo courtesy of SN's website

the Sporting News AL All Star team is picked by a panel of 20 American League, aka Junior Circuit, general managers and assistant general managers. the decisions for this year's teams were made in late September. SN has been selecting All Star teams since the 1920s.

Michael is the first Cleveland Indian chosen for this honor since 2011, when shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera was selected. in addition, Michael is the first Indians outfielder named to SN's team since Grady Sizemore made it in 2008. Michael also joins starting pitcher Cliff Lee (2008), starter C.C. Sabathia (2007), right fielder Juan Gonzalez (2001), and 1st baseman Jim Thome (2001) as the only other Tribe players to be part of a Sporting News AL All Star team since 2001.

the rest of the AL team this year includes the following players: White Sox 1st baseman Jose Abreu, Astros 2nd baseman Jose Altuve, Angels shortstop Erick Aybar, Rangers 3rd baseman Adrian Beltre, Angels outfielder Mike Trout, Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista, Tigers designated hitter Victor Martinez, Royals catcher Salvador Perez, Mariners starting pitcher Felix Hernandez, and Yankees relief pitcher Dellin Betances.

congratulations, Michael, on this postseason accolade!