Brantley's 2018 ALDS #s

hi, Brantley fans. so it would appear as though we have watched Michael play in a Cleveland uniform for what most likely was the last time. that's because yesterday, on October 8, the Cleveland Indians were eliminated from postseason play when they lost the American League Division Series to the Houston Astros in a very quick three-game series. i wish i could say i didn't see this coming, but i think a lot of us did. the only thing that surprised me is that the Tribe got swept. i really thought they'd make it a close series and go the full five games. i was at Game 3, the first and only game in Cleveland, so my blog is going up a day late. my apologies.

the format of this is much like a monthly post, except i've added some pre-ALDS news to start with. also, because i only had three games to cover, i went ahead and listed out all of Michael's at bats in my redesigned Game Talk, At-Bat Details, Pictures, and Quotes section.

while many want to say that the top of the order didn't perform well, i'm about to prove that Michael was actually one of the top performers and did

Brantley's 7th Career Walk-off!

Michael Brantley has done it again! during the game on September 22, just before the 11th hour, in the 11th inning, he hit his second walk-off of the season to help the Indians defeat the Boston Red Sox, 5-4!👏👏👏

 

photos courtesy of @Indians on twitter

let me first backtrack before i get into Michael's heroics. the Tribe had

Brantley's 6th Career Walk-off!

hello, Brantley fans! today, August 9, was a special day for our boy because Michael Brantley got his first walk-off hit of the 2018 season in the game versus the Minnesota Twins!👏👏👏

photos courtesy of @Indians on twitter

here's how it went down. the Indians held a 4-1 lead until

Brantley's Career High 24-Game On-Base Streak at Home!

hi, Brantley fans! i've got a quickie little blog for you today because this evening, on June 23, Michael set a new career high when he got on base in the game versus the Chicago White Sox, giving him a 24-game on-base streak at home! congratulations, Dr. Smooth!👏

the record materialized in his first plate appearance during the bottom of the 1st inning with Francisco Lindor at 1st base, no outs, and no score. left-handed pitcher Francisco Liriano, having just been activated from the disabled list, was on the mound for the White Sox and after a 3-1 count, Michael drew a walk. the pitch sequence went: ball,

Brantley's First Career Grand Slam!!!

there was one really big benchmark that Michael Brantley hadn't yet achieved in his Major League career. i've been waiting for it patiently and tonight, on May 1, 2018, during his 10th big league season, it happened--Michael finally hit his first career grand slam!😁

photo courtesy of Tony Dejak via Associated Press

let me set the scene. the Indians were playing the Texas Rangers at Progressive Field. Michael came to bat in the bottom of the 9th inning with 2 outs and the Tribe down, 6-2. he stepped into the batter's box to face right-handed closer Keone Kela with the bases loaded--Bradley Zimmer at 3rd, Francisco Lindor at 2nd, and Jason Kipnis at 1st. after an 0-2 count, Michael

RIP Walter Goldbach

i just want to take a minute to say rest in peace to Walter Goldbach, the creator of the Cleveland Indians' Chief Wahoo, and offer my condolences to his family. Goldbach died on Wednesday, December 13, at the age of 88, as was reported by wkyc.com yesterday. i am very sad to hear this. the Wahoo was partially what made me become an Indians fan 20-some years ago, so this is particularly upsetting for me.😢

photo courtesy of @wkyc on twitter

what's more upsetting is, as of right now, the Indians have not even

Brantley's First Career Two-Assist Game

for the first time in his career, Michael Brantley threw out two baserunners in one game. the feat occurred on June 10, 2017, in the contest versus the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field. the last Indians player to acquire two outfield assists in the same game was Rajai Davis, and he did it almost exactly one year ago, on June 9, 2016, as the left fielder at Safeco Field in Seattle against the Mariners.

Michael's triumph began with the Indians already down, 4-0, in the top of the 2nd inning. Jose Abreu came to the plate to face Josh Tomlin with 2 outs and Melky Cabrera at 1st base. after a 1-1 count, Abreu sent a line drive double into left field. Michael retrieved the ball out of the corner, quickly spun around, and threw a laser to the cutoff man, shortstop Francisco Lindor. because Lindor knew Cabrera was on his way home, he made a relay throw to catcher Yan Gomes, who applied the tag on Cabrera to end the top half of the inning and also give Michael what would be his

Brantley Wins the Indians' 2017 Home Opener with a Walk-off Double!

welcome back, Dr. Smooth! during the Cleveland Indians' Home Opener versus the Chicago White Sox on April 11, 2017, Michael Brantley reminded everybody just how vital a piece the Tribe was missing in 2016 when he won today's game at Progressive Field in walk-off fashion.

photo courtesy of @Indians on twitter

let me set the scene. the Indians took an early lead in the bottom of the 1st inning after Francisco Lindor hit a solo home run off James Shields. later, the White Sox evened the score in the top of the 5th inning on Todd Frazier's home run off Carlos Carrasco. from there, the game remained tied at 1 through 9, forcing the Tribe's first extra innings of the season.

Indians lefty reliever Boone Logan started off the top of the 10th inning by

Save the Chief! Revised

i posted a blog about this at the end of 2014, but because i didn't have a lot of viewers back then, not many people ever read it. now, after the January 27 announcement that the Cleveland Indians are set to host the 2019 All Star Game, fans are suspecting that the terms and conditions of the Tribe winning the bid were that they'll have to get rid of the Chief Wahoo prior to the event. so i figure this would be a good time to revisit this topic and write up a revised version of my initial post.

talks about the Wahoo are currently ongoing between the Indians' owner and MLB's commissioner. from Paul Hoynes' article on cleveland.com, Commissioner Rob Manfred said, "i think we'll produce a result that will be good for the Indians and good for baseball. but what exactly that is, i don't want to speculate." that certainly doesn't sound like he plans on just leaving the Wahoo alone. i'd guess there's a high probability that it be will completely abolished within the next two years. i strongly believe this change would be a mistake, however, and i'm going to support my pro-Wahoo position right now.

the following contains excerpts from my Where Are You, Chief Wahoo? Save The Chief! blog, published back on December 15, 2014, combined with corresponding thoughts and updates of how things are today in 2017. i've also included some brand new sections that address subjects that most people don't usually bring up when referring to this hot button issue.

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

Another Brantley Bobblehead Giveaway!

today, on January 24, the Indians unveiled their 2015 promotional schedule at the 3rd annual Tribe Fest at Progressive Field. and i am very happy to report that there is a Michael Brantley bobblehead giveaway on the schedule for the Saturday, August 8 game against the Minnesota Twins! the first 15,000 fans will receive this bobble. game time is 7:05 pm and there will also be a Rock 'N Blast fireworks show after the game. you know i'll be there!

so the first thing i thought after seeing this promo was "is this the same bobblehead that they're giving away during spring training this year on March 7? the Silver Slugger bobble? or is it going to be different, and maybe somehow represent Michael being an MVP finalist or first time All Star?" since the specifics of the bobblehead were not made clear on the promo sched, i asked this very question,

Brantley Confirmed For Tribe Fest 2015

it was announced today that Michael Brantley will be attending the 3rd annual Tribe Fest, presented by KeyBank, at Progressive Field on January 24 & 25, 2015.

photo cropped off Indians.com

tickets for this event are on sale now. adult tickets are $10 and children 12 and under are free as long as their tickets are "bought" in advance. the maximum is 2 free kid admissions per adult ticket. on the days of the event, a child ticket will cost $5. fans can purchase general admission tickets alone, or bundle them with an autograph ticket. there are three different autograph sessions to choose from: January 24 from 10 am - 2 pm, January 24 from 4 - 8 pm, and January 25 from 10 am - 3pm. while you cannot choose which specific player you will get an autograph from, you can pick between a current Indians player ($20 ticket) or an alumni player ($25).

the following players have also confirmed to appear at this year's Tribe Fest (although this is subject to change):
Cody Allen
Mike Aviles
Trevor Bauer
Michael Bourn
Carlos Carrasco
Lonnie Chisenhall
Yan Gomes
T.J. House
Jason Kipnis
Corey Kluber (just announced today, too)
Roberto Perez
Jose Ramirez
Marc Rzepczynski
Danny Salazar
Carlos Santana
Bryan Shaw
Nick Swisher

the alumni scheduled to attend are:
Sandy Alomar, Jr.
Paul Assenmacher
Dennis Martinez
Charles Nagy

John Adams, Tom Hamilton, Jim Rosenhaus, Mark Shapiro, and, of course, Terry Francona will be at this event as well.

aside from getting autographs, fans will have the opportunity to hit in the batting cages, tour the Indians clubhouse, and participate in Q&As with the players. additionally, fans can visit the Club Lounge for concessions. for more information, go to Indians.com/TribeFest.

Where Are You, Chief Wahoo? Save The Chief!

this is going to be my final planned blog for the year 2014 and then i'm taking a good 2+ months off from writing. i think i deserve it after the record-breaking amount of blogs i posted over the previous 12 months =D


have any of you Tribe fans noticed the gradual disappearance of the Cleveland Indians' Chief Wahoo? i'm sure you have. this has been a hot topic of debate for the last few years and i've kept my mouth shut long enough about it. i absolutely HATE how the Wahoo is being phased out in all aspects of baseball, including at Progressive Field, despite what the team states.

photo courtesy of didthetribewinlastnight.com

the Indians organization insists that they are not eliminating the Chief. but the truth is, they've scaled back their self-promotion of it quite a bit (more than i realized until i really thought about it), to the point where even the players themselves are rarely seen rockin' the Wahoo. in spring training, the Indians only wear the C on their jerseys and hats. during regular season batting practice, their shirts and hats, again, only display the C, and all bp gear sold to fans also features the C. as for the game uniforms, players wear the hats with the Wahoo on them with just their blue jerseys and white home jerseys. luckily, the left sleeve of all 4 jerseys still has the Chief, but who knows how long that will continue. their batting helmets recently dropped the Wahoo for the C. even the mini helmets they put the ice cream in at the ballpark concession stands now exclusively have the C on them in place of the Wahoo. come on.

photo courtesy of clevescene.com

photo courtesy of amazon.com

plus, all Indians personnel currently wear shirts with only the block C on them. that to me sends a big message to the world about how they want the Indians to be viewed, and it is NOT by the Wahoo anymore.

photo courtesy of fans247.com

photo courtesy of tribevibe.mlblogs.com

let me give you some more disturbing examples. on the scoreboard at the park, they no longer use the Wahoo in any capacity. looking back at the photos i've taken when i've gone to games over the last 5 years, i can say with confidence that this change happened just this past season, in 2014. now every time the Tribe is represented with a symbol, it's the "C," and the Chief is nowhere to be found.

photo courtesy of monkeywithahalo.com

moving outside of Progressive Field, you'll find the same thing on the TV sports shows and news. when they're talking about the Tribe, you don't see the Wahoo anymore; you see the C. on MLB Network, and probably ESPN too (idk cause i don't watch that channel), when they have their list of topics to discuss on the side, and the Indians are on the agenda, they're represented only by the C. even on the sports websites, the Tribe logo is the C. it may be the politically correct thing to do in the eyes of the media, but it actually came about because this C logo has unofficially become the Indians' primary logo, while the Wahoo has slipped down to its secondary. i say unofficially because the Indians have yet to formally announce this change in words, but these actions all speak loudly and clearly.

photo courtesy of news.sportslogos.net

reflecting back to when the Indians first introduced that secondary C logo, i didn't think much of it. i certainly didn't think one day that would be taking over for the Chief. i'm sure a lot of people see those C hats on fans and have no clue who/what team that represents. C could mean so many different things. but with the Wahoo, you always knew what that was for; the Cleveland Indians were always recognizable by that. and let's face it, the Wahoo is way cuter than some dumb old block letter C lol

the Indians used to be one of 3 teams in baseball that didn't use a letter or letters as their primary logo. now there are just 2 teams left standing, both in the American League, that use actual non-letter symbols to represent them: the Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays. sigh. i suppose it could always be worse. i mean, we could be like the Minnesota Twins. i promise you that someone who's unfamiliar with baseball would never assume that the overlapped "TC" on their hats stands for "Twin Cities" and represents the Minnesota Twins. at least we aren't that confusing i guess.

so why did the C become more prominent in recent years? it's somewhat odd to me honestly, but more and more people have decided the Wahoo is racist and offensive to Native Americans. i always hear about the protesters coming out to Progressive Field before the Home Opener to bring more awareness to their cause. i've never seen them though because i get to the ballpark insanely early, early enough that i apparently avoid running into all that. anyways, it's obvious to me that the Indians are trying to appease the protesters by cutting down on their usage of the Wahoo.

photo courtesy of tattoopins.com

on the contrary, for every person who's against the Wahoo, there seems to be someone IN FAVOR OF the Chief.

photo courtesy of indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com

photo courtesy of usatoday.com

 
i don't know if that makes any real difference, but i deeply hope those people who are outwardly, openly, and proudly throwing their support to the Chief are enough to convince the organization not to entirely rid the Indians of the Wahoo.

this all just begs the question, why is the Chief so offensive now when it wasn't a century ago? smh. the first Chief Wahoo logo didn't appear until 1928. did different groups initially start getting riled up about it back then? or did it all begin when the image took on the present-day cartoon-like Wahoo? because, if anything, i would have thought the evolution into this caricature of a Chief detached it from the group of real life Native American Indians, and consequently wouldn't be offensive to them since it was no longer pictorially tied to those Indians. if you're up on your Cleveland Indians logo history, then you know the first couple of Chief Wahoos resembled an actual Indian. were people just as pissed about that? were they demanding a logo change then, too? cause that i would understand, but considering the design of the current Wahoo, i don't agree with the protesters' stance on the issue.

photo courtesy of thediehardnerd.com

look at all the Tribe logos--carefully. the Chief logo, once it started reflecting an Indian, was revised several times after the first one was revealed. as of 1946, the Wahoos have only contained 1 feather. Walter Goldbach, creator of the cartoonish character, stated that since then, technically, we have all been mistakenly referring to him as Chief Wahoo, when really he is not a Chief anymore because he's no longer sporting a full headdress. i feel like that fact only adds to my case about it being the opposite of offensive.

and can i also quickly address that the Chief isn't even the team's mascot, as some people incorrectly argue? we have Slider, who for all intents and purposes is a made-up kid-friendly fuchsia creature (not even a real animal, mind you), completely unrelated to ALL Indians--the Cleveland team AND the racial group. nobody is dressing up as a Native American parading around the ballpark as an official Tribe mascot. the Wahoo is simply a team symbol. so again i ask, what is all the vitriol about?!

photo courtesy of fathead.com

sadly, the issue isn't even solely with the Chief. he's half of the dispute, but the other half concerns the team name. a lot of people want a name change in addition to a logo change. in my opinion, that's too far. and i can't help but wonder if the protesters recall how the Indians name was established, because there's nothing disrespectful or inappropriate surrounding its formation.

for those fans who don't know the story of how the Indians got their name, i'll tell you. from 1903-1914, the Indians were called the Cleveland Naps after player-manager Napoleon Lajoie, even though he was widely referred to as Larry. after the 1914 season ended, owner Charles Somers was broke and the team needed to cut payroll. (some things never change, huh?) so Nap was traded to the Philadelphia Athletics, literally given away just so Somers wouldn't have to pay his then-expensive $9,000 contact. at that point, it was decided that they needed a new team name. Somers asked several writers from the Cleveland News, the Cleveland Press, and the Plain Dealer to run a contest to rename the team. once they got some names from the fans, they would all get together and make a decision. 30 different suggested names were chosen to mull over, but Indians wasn't one of them.

Somers and the writers couldn't get over the big story of 1914, how the "Miracle" Boston Braves went from last place on July 4 to winning the World Series after sweeping the Phillies. clearly, they couldn't name the team the Braves, but they could name them the Indians. it was remembered that the team was briefly called the Indians back when Louis Sockalexis played on the team from 1897-99. so the Indians name presumably paid homage to the old National League Club of the late 19th century in hopes that the team could be like their National League opponents in turning themselves around. in some fans' eyes, it may also be in honor of Sockalexis and a time when Cleveland's baseball team was really good. and so the decision was made. however, when each newspaper announced the new name as Indians in 1914, they all stated it was a temporary nickname. yet here we are, 100 years later, still called the Cleveland Indians. =D

(btw, if you want even more details about this and the Indians' previous names, i suggest you read Terry Pluto's book "Our Tribe." it's a fantastic read and that is indeed how i learned the true story behind the Tribe's name/naming.)

the intentions behind the name were pure and in no way defamatory. the name was supposed to be an inspiration to the players to play hard and never give up. besides, if some people see it as a tribute to Native American Sockalexis, then how can Native Americans today be upset by that? i am going to be fuming if one day the Indians decide they have to change their name due to all this controversy. i'd seriously be sick.

so with the team name Indians, what other kind of logo would you expect? yes, Cleveland started out with the C, but it needed to be updated. and now that you know how the Indians got their name, you know it was never meant to be offensive and, as a result, neither was the Wahoo logo.

i feel like some people are trying to make way more out of this whole issue than is necessary because they may not have been fully aware of the history regarding the name.

photo courtesy of lefthookjournal.wordpress.com

and once again, how is it that people loved the name Indians back in 1914, but not in 2014? as time passes, we are supposed to be making progress in the area of racism and be more open-minded about things. in spite of this, there are people who remain more sensitive than ever about topics such as this. so i'm confused. are you telling me that a hundred years ago, people were more tolerant than people in the world today? at this point i'm like, everyone who's pissed now can take it up with the people who started this thing in 1914. oh wait, that's not possible.

i cannot and will not tell any group of people how to feel about this subject. i can't change your mind any more than you could change mine. but i can provide strong reasons to back up my feelings. i'll also suggest that maybe all those opposed could try to see the other side and not take the Indians' name and logo so literally to the point of offense. they were never meant to represent the entire group of Native Americans. therefore, is it really something for people to get offended over and protest against?

if you don't agree with that, consider this. by now, the Cleveland Indians have already succumbed to some of the desires of the angry Native Americans and other groups. the Wahoo logo is not nearly promoted as much as it used to be. the protesters have practically already "won" half of their battle. can't we now just leave it be? i wish =(

i personally love the Chief and its attachment to the Indians team. the smiling Wahoo is part of what originally drew me in to becoming a fan (in 1996). i don't think i would have gotten that same warm feeling watching the guys on TV if their logo had simply been C. and i look good in red, white, and Wahoos, so i'm definitely gonna continue to buy and wear as much Tribe merchandise with the Wahoo on it as i can. i do fear that one day all that stuff will be discontinued and not made or sold by the Indians anymore. because as much as they claim the Wahoo isn't going anywhere, i've got news for you--it already has =/

Brantley's 2014 Career Highs, Career Firsts, & Franchise Records

because Michael had a personal best season, he set a lot of new career highs for himself, and had some career firsts as well. and if that wasn't enough, he also made Indians history a few times this year. therefore, i thought it would be a good idea to group all of those special moments together in one place. yes, i already wrote blogs about these momentous occasions, with all their finite details. so to make this blog different, i've included a short summary of each occurrence and then a link to the appropriate blog where much more information can be found. don't be afraid to click them to see pictures and videos of these events.

now without further ado, here are Michael Brantley's 20 career highs, 1 career low, 9 career firsts, and 3 franchise records from his 2014 campaign.

on April 2, Michael achieved a new franchise record of 247 consecutive errorless games as an outfielder. in Game 2 of a doubleheader against the Oakland Athletics, Michael was switched from left field to center and Ryan Raburn went from PH to left field in the bottom of the 6th inning. in the bottom of the 7th inning, Raburn did not hear Michael call for Josh Donaldson's fly ball. so his glove banged into Michael's, and neither outfielder caught the ball. Michael was then charged with an error, ending his errorless streak in the outfield at 247 straight games. my blog with all the details about this is here.

on May 19, Michael hit his first career walk-off home run in a game against the Detroit Tigers. it came on a full count with 2 outs and no one on in the bottom of the 10th inning against Al Alburquerque. my blog with all the details about this is here. Michael finished the year with 2 walk-off home runs.

on May 30, Michael achieved a new franchise record 19-game home hitting streak. it happened in the game against the Colorado Rockies, when he hit a 1-out double to deep center field after a 1-0 count in the bottom of the 5th inning against Juan Nicasio. sadly, his historical streak ended the following day when he went 0-for-4. my blog with all the details about this is here.

on June 10, Michael set a new career high of 5 hit by pitches--his first career high of the season--when he was hit by 2 pitches in a game against the Kansas City Royals. he first got hit by Jason Vargas with 1 out in the top of the 6th inning on an 0-2 pitch. then he was hit for a second time by Vargas after an 0-1 count with 2 outs and Asdrubal Cabrera on 1st base in the top of the 8th inning. his previous career high was 4, set in 2013. i actually did not write a separate blog highlighting this occasion, because i just didn't think a career high in HBP was all that exciting or really worth blogging about. i regret that now. however, i did acknowledge it in Michael's June #s blog here. Michael finished the year with 8 hit by pitches.

on June 15, Michael set a new career high of 11 home runs. he was facing Brandon Workman of the Boston Red Sox in the top of the 1st inning, and on the 7th pitch of a 2-2 count, Michael hit a 2-out home run to deep right field. his previous career high was 10, set in 2013. my blog with all the details about this is here. Michael finished the year with 20 home runs, which is also a new Brantley family record.

on June 16, Michael was given his first career American League Player of the Week honor for June 9-15. Michael bat .538 (14-for-26) with 3 doubles, 2 homers, 3 RBI, 9 runs scored, and 3 walks during this time period. he led all major league hitters in batting average, runs scored, and OBP (.665), and led all AL hitters in hits (14), total bases (23), and times on base (20). my blog with all the details about this is here.

on the same day, Michael suffered what would be diagnosed as his first career mild concussion. hey, a career first is a career first, good or bad lol in the bottom of the 3rd inning of the game against the Los Angeles Angels, Michael took a blow to the head/neck area from John McDonald's knee as he slid into 2nd base while trying to break up Jason Kipnis' inning ending double play. he played the top of the 4th inning, but was taken out of the game before the top of the 5th inning as a precaution. on June 17, he said his neck felt stiff and he felt pressure in his head. the Indians sent him to the Cleveland Clinic for more evaluation and, on June 18, it came out that he had a mild concussion. the Indians believed he would progress quickly and would not need to go on the 7-day concussion DL. my blog with all the details about this is here.

on July 1, Michael was involved in his first career triple play when he got his 10th outfield assist of the season. in the bottom of the 4th inning of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Dee Gordon was on 3rd base and Yasiel Puig was on 1st. after 1-2 count from Kyle Crockett, Adrian Gonzalez hit a fly ball to left field. Michael caught it and threw out Gordon at home when Yan Gomes applied the tag. then Gomes caught Puig trying to go to 2nd base on the play at the plate, so Gomes threw the ball to Kipnis, who then got Puig out at 2nd base. after 2 manager's challenges, one from Terry Francona and one from Don Mattingly, the triple play became official. my blog with all the details about this is here.

on July 15, Michael played in his first career All Star Game. this year it took place at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Michael was a defensive substitute in center field, playing 4 innings from the top of the 6th inning to the top of the 9th. he went 0-for-1 in his only at bat of the game in the bottom of the 6th inning, grounding out to 2nd base. he also recorded 1 putout in the top of the 9th inning. my blog with all the details about this is here.

on July 21, Michael set a new career high of 67 runs scored. he came in to pinch hit for Ryan Raburn in the top of the 8th inning in a game against the Minnesota Twins, and hit a 1-out double against Casey Fien after a 2-0 count. Michael advanced to 3rd base on Nick Swisher's groundout to 1st, then scored on Roberto Perez's 2-out single to center field. his previous career high was 66, set in 2013. my blog with all the details about this is here. Michael finished the year with 94 runs scored.

on July 22, Michael was named the Indians recipient of his first career MLBPAA Heart & Hustle Award for 2014. one player from every team in the league is chosen for this preliminary honor and then one final winner is picked, through voting. the winner should be announced sometime in mid-November. my blog with all the details about this is here.

on August 7, Michael set a new career high of 48 extra base hits. he hit a 2-out double to right field after a 1-0 count in the top of 1st inning in the game against Homer Bailey and the Cincinnati Reds. his previous career high was 47, set in 2012. my blog with all the details about this is here. Michael finished the year with 67 extra base hits.

on August 8, Michael set a new career high of 223 total bases. he hit a leadoff double after an 0-1 count in the top of the 6th inning against former Cleveland Indians pitcher, David Huff, now of the New York Yankees. his previous career high was 222, set in 2012. my blog with all the details about this is here. Michael finished the year with 309 total bases.

on August 9, Michael set a new career high of 74 RBI. he hit a solo home run off the top of the right field foul pole in the top of the 8th inning. it came against Yankee pitcher Chase Whitley after a 1-1 count. so he drove himself in to achieve the new career high lol his previous career high was 73, set in 2013. my blog with all the details about this is here. Michael finished the year with 97 RBI.

on September 1, Michael was celebrated by the Indians with his first career bobblehead giveaway. it was given out to fans at the Labor Day game against the Tigers. i of course went to the game and later did a very thorough review of the bobble. my blog with all the details about this is here.

on September 2, Michael set a new career high of 160 hits. his first hit of the game against the Tigers was a 2-out single to right field off Kyle Lobstein after a 3-2 count. his previous career high was 159, set in 2012. my blog with all the details about this is here. Michael finished the year with 200 hits.

on September 4, Michael set a new career high of 38 doubles. in the game against the Tigers, Michael hit a leadoff double to center field off Max Scherzer's first pitch in the bottom of the 4th inning. his previous career high was 37, set in 2012. my blog with all the details about this is here. Michael finished the year with 45 doubles.

on September 5, Michael set a new career high of 18 stolen bases. he stole 2nd base in the bottom of the 1st inning against Chicago White Sox pitcher Chris Sale. Michael initially got on base with a 2-out single to left field on the 5th pitch of a 1-2 count. then he took off for 2nd when Sale threw ball 2 to Carlos Santana after a 1-2 count. Michael made it safely to 2nd, and then advanced to 3rd base on catcher Tyler Flowers' throwing error. his previous career high was 17, set in 2013. my blog with all the details about this is here. Michael finished the year with 23 stolen bases.

on September 11, Michael set a new career high of 12 outfield assists in Game 2 of the doubleheader against the Twins. with Chris Parmelee at 1st base in the top of the 3rd inning, Brian Dozier flew out to left field and Michael made the catch for the 2nd out of the inning. but Parmelee was already at 2nd base by this time and got doubled off 1st when Michael threw the ball to shortstop Jose Ramirez, who threw it to 1st baseman Chris Gimenez. Michael was also credited with a double play, his 2nd of the year. his previous career high was 11, set in 2013. my blog with all the details about this is here. this was Michael's final outfield assist of the year.

on September 12, Michael set a new career high of 612 plate appearances. in the game against the Tigers, he hit a 2-out single to left field in his first at bat (as the DH) against David Price in the top of the 1st inning after a 1-2 count. that hit of course counted as an official plate appearance, allowing him to set the new record. his previous career high was 611, set in 2013. my blog with all the details about this is here. Michael finished the year with 676 plate appearances.

on September 13, Michael set a new career high of 557 at bats. with 2 outs and Mike Aviles at 2nd base in the top of the 5th inning against the Tigers' Kyle Lobstein, Michael hit a line drive to right field after a 1-0 count. Torii Hunter recorded the out, but it was still an official AB, marking the new high. his previous career high was 556, set in 2013. my blog with all the details about this is here. Michael finished the year with 611 at bats.

on September 14, Michael set a new career high of 120 singles. he led off the top of the 9th inning against Tigers' closer Joe Nathan. after a 2-2 count, Michael sent a liner to right field for a base hit. his previous career high was 119, set in 2013. my blog with all the details about this is here. Michael finished the year with 133 singles.

on September 19, Michael achieved his first career 20-20 season when he hit his 20th home run of the year. it came when he led off the top of the 6th inning against Phil Hughes in the game against the Twins at Target Field. he was DHing and the game was tied at 2. on the first pitch, he hit a bomb past the seats in right field and onto the concourse area, securing himself a spot in Indians history as the 9th player to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases in one season. my blog with all the details about this is here.

on September 22, Michael set a new career high of 152 games played as soon as the game against the Royals started. it was pretty simple to achieve, he didn't even need to have an official at bat. his previous career high was 151, set in 2013. my blog with all the details about this is here. Michael finished the year with 156 games played.

on September 27, Michael set a new career high of 1297.2 innings played. in the top of the 3rd inning, Carlos Carrasco was facing Tampa Bay Rays catcher, Ryan Hanigan. on the first pitch, Hanigan flew out to center field for out #1, and that 1 out gave Michael his new career high. his previous career high was 1297.1 innings, set in 2013. my blog with all the details about this is here. Michael finished the year with 1304.1 innings.

later in that same game, Michael achieved a new franchise record with 200 hits, 40 doubles, 20 home runs, and 20 stolen bases in one season, becoming the 1st Indians player in club history to do this. it happened in the bottom of the 4th inning, when Michael came to bat against Alex Colome with 1 out and the Tribe down, 1-0. after a 1-0 count, he hit a single into center field. that single represented hit #200 for Michael, along with a (re-set) new career high, career first, and new Indians record. my blog with all the details about this is here.

on September 28, Francona opted not to play Michael in the season finale game against the Rays. that meant his 2014 season was officially complete, giving him new career highs with a .327 batting average, .385 OBP, .506 SLG, and .890 OPS. these numbers were established after Michael's final at bat of the year on September 27 in the game against the Rays. he led off the bottom of the 9th inning against Jake McGee with the Tribe down, 2-0. after a 1-2 count, Michael struck out on a foul tip, and that is how he ended his career year. his previous career highs were .288 BA, .348 OBP, .402 SLG, and .750 OPS, set in 2012. my blog with all the details about this is here.

additionally, once Michael's season was finalized, he set a new career low of 1 caught stealing. as a result, that also gave him a new career high with a 23:1 stolen base:caught stealing ratio. the only time Michael got caught this year was during Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Tigers on July 19, and his final successful stolen base came on September 22 in the game against the Royals. his previous career highs were 4 caught stealing and a 17:4 SB:CS, set in 2013. my blog with all the details about this is here.

lastly, yesterday on September 29, Michael received his first career Hank Aaron Award Nomination for 2014. one player from every team is nominated and the award goes to one player from each league. the winners are chosen based on fan voting and a panel of Hall of Famers. voting closes on October 5 at 11:59 pm EST. the winners will be presented with the award sometime during the World Series, which begins on October 21. my blog with all the details about this is here.


next up: a blog with all of Michael's game-by-game numbers and notes from 2014.

Brantley Sets Franchise Record with 200th Hit

i couldn't let this momentous occasion go by without taking a few minutes to acknowledge it. everyone's been on "Smooth200" watch for a while, and tonight, just over one hour into the game on September 27, Michael got his 200th hit of the season and made Cleveland Indians history.

he was facing right-handed starter Alex Colome of the Tampa Bay Rays in the bottom of the 4th inning. after a 1-0 count, he hit a 1-out single to center field.

photo courtesy of @Indians twitter

photo courtesy of The Plain Dealer (Chuck Crow)

photo courtesy of The Plain Dealer (Chuck Crow)

photo courtesy of @Indians twitter

photo courtesy of The Plain Dealer (Chuck Crow)

 

screenshots cropped from a video on Indians.com

and after Michael got that hit, it made him the first Cleveland Indian in franchise history with 200 hits, 20+ home runs, 40+ doubles, and 20+ stolen bases in one season. omg! =D

(this is the 3rd franchise record Michael has set this year, btw. the first was his 247 consecutive games in the outfield without an error, and the second was his 19-game home hitting streak.)

additionally, Michael is the 18th Indians hitter in franchise history with 200 hits, something that's only been done 28 times overall, and he's the first Cleveland Indian to record 200 hits in a season in 18 years. the last player who had at least 200 hits was Kenny Lofton in 1996 when he finished the year with 210.

screenshot cropped from a video on Indians.com

since 1950, the only other Indians players with 200-hit seasons are Carlos Baerga in 1992 and 1993, Joe Carter in 1986, and Al Rosen in 1953. the franchise record for hits is currently held by "Shoeless" Joe Jackson who had 233 hits back in 1911.

screenshots cropped from a video on Indians.com

Michael is also just the 2nd player in the major leagues this year to reach 200 hits. Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros leads the MLB with a current total of 223 hits.

after the game, Michael had this to say about the at bat: "it's better than i guess an infield hit or a broken bat. middle of the field is kinda where i live. i try to hit the ball back up the middle, stay in the gaps. it took forever, i think, to get back up the middle. off the bat i was looking at it and it looked like it was going in slow motion, i didn't know if it was going to make it or not. after i got it into the outfield, i knew i had a single and there was a lot of relief."

but it was also an emotional moment for Michael, who put his hands to his mouth and then blew a kiss up to the sky after his base hit.

screenshots cropped from a video on Indians.com

screenshot cropped from a video on Cleveland.com

"it's a little gesture to my grandmother. i know she's up there watching me. i lost her about a year and a half back to some cancer and i wanted to let her know that she's a part of me. she's a big reason why i am the man that i am today."

Michael had already heard from his father, Mickey, when he met with the media for his postgame interview. "he just said congratulations and keep swinging it, keep going. you've still got more stuff to do."

Michael's teammates, however, did not employ such a tough love attitude lol the dugout exploded when they saw the ball roll past the infielders and into center field. "you could see the way our dugout reacted, just how pleased everybody was, that Michael got it," said Terry Francona. "it's a pretty big milestone. to get that number, it's very nice that he gets the recognition of all that work."

Jason Kipnis agreed. "it's been one of the best all-around seasons i've ever seen as a teammate. sure, i've seen other guys. you'll have the Mike Trouts, the Victor Martinez's. those guys will have their incredible years. but, as a teammate, playing alongside someone, it's been one of the better seasons i've ever seen."

my personal favorite reaction was from the fan favorite former Indian, Kenny Lofton, who tweeted "congrats to Michael Brantley for his #200 hits for the season a great accomplishment..great job my brotha..!!"

prior to Michael's at bat, some of the fans were chanting, "M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!" as he stepped into the batter's box. "that's a remarkable feeling. i want to thank the fans for that. it's not something you hear very often. it's not something that's just thrown around. my hat's off to them. i can't thank them enough. i appreciate it." the crowd of over 33,000 also gave Michael a standing ovation after his at bat resulted in his 200th hit. and i was happy to be there and a part of it =D

now let's get into some more historical statistics about Michael's amazing feat. he is just the 2nd player in franchise history to have at least 200 hits, 20 home runs, and 20 stolen bases in a season. the first was Joe Carter, who had 200 hits, 29 home runs, and 29 stolen bases 28 years ago in 1986.

take away the home runs, and Michael becomes the 7th player in Cleveland Indians history to have at least 200 hits and 20 stolen bases in a season. he joins Kenny Lofton (1996) and Joe Carter (1986), as well as Charlie Jamieson (1924), Tris Speaker (1916), Joe Jackson (1911 and 1912), and Nap Lajoie (1904, 1906, and 1910.) (thank you to Jordan Bastian for this info.)

with a little help from his teammate, Corey Kluber, Michael and Corey became the 1st Indians duo in franchise history with at least 200 hits and 250 strikeouts in a season. that hasn't been done in the major leagues since 1999, when Luis Gonzalez and left-handed pitcher Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks had 206 hits and 364 strikeouts, respectively.

in the history of major league baseball, Michael is the 11th player to have a stat line of at least 200 hits/20 home runs/40 doubles/20 stolen bases. he joins the record books with Jacoby Ellsbury of the Boston Red Sox in 2011, Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins in 2007, Alfonso Soriano of the New York Yankees in 2002, Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros in 1998, Larry Walker of the Colorado Rockies in 1997, Nomar Garciaparra of the Boston Red Sox in 1997, Ellis Burks of the Colorado Rockies in 1996, Vada Pinson of the Cincinnati Redlegs in 1959, Chuck Klein of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1932, and Babe Herman of the Brooklyn Robins in 1929. (more thanks to Bastian for this.)

remove the National League players from that list, and Michael becomes the 4th player in American League history with a minimum of 200 hits, 20 home runs, 40 doubles, and 20 stolen bases. in addition to those numbers, Michael will assuredly be the only other AL player in that group besides Ellsbury to also finish the season with 90 RBI and a .320 batting average. (more Bast stats.)

now if we bring the NL back into it, Michael is one day away from becoming the 6th player in major league history with at least 200 hits, 20 home runs, 40 doubles, 90 RBI, 20 stolen bases, and a .320 batting average. the 5 guys who previously achieved that are Jacoby Ellsbury in 2011, Larry Walker in 1997, Ellis Burks in 1996, Chuck Klein in 1932, and Babe Herman in 1929. (hi again to my stat man Bastian.)

so what are Michael's feelings about the big 200 and his historical season? "it's gonna mean a lot. it's gonna mean a lot on Monday when i kinda sit back and reflect on, you know, kinda what went on. i'll take more time to think about it and kinda digest it all. we have a great group of guys in that locker room. and every one of them was pulling for me. they were all over me, making sure that i wasn't giving up, making sure i was doing it the right way. it was fun. it was fun to do it in front of these great fans tonight. it's fun to do it in front of this team and uh, like i said before, it's a great group of guys in that locker room."

while i like to believe Michael is just now hitting his prime and will continue to hit like this for years to come, you just never know. unforeseen circumstances could occur next season or beyond and this landmark may not happen again, so it's important to recognize it and celebrate it now. i remember when Michael got his new career high 160th hit earlier this month, and i admit i never saw this coming. 200! wow! i'm so freakin' proud of my boy! congratulations! #MCB4MVP

Brantley's Career High 1297.2 Innings Played

with only 2 games left to play during the last series of the year, Michael just had to go and set one more career high, didn't he? and it's probably not one that many people are aware of, so let me take the liberty of telling you.

today, on September 27 in the game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Michael was playing left field. the game was scoreless in the top of the 3rd inning as Rays catcher Ryan Hanigan led off to face Carlos Carrasco. Hanigan lined out to center field on the first pitch and once that out was officially recorded, it gave Michael a total of 1297.2 innings played this season, a new career high. Michael's previous career high in innings was 1297.1 and it came last year. i didn't even wait until the full top half of the inning ended, i just went right for the 1st out to report the new record LOL

lucky for me (and my blog readers), i was at the game and able to take video of this record setting moment. i sat in Section 171, Row A at Progressive Field and, of course, the infamous Tom Hamilton is on the radio in the background.

now you might be thinking, if Michael's already played more games this season than he did last season, then how did it take so long for him to best his old innings played record? well that's mainly because Michael played 8 games as the DH this year compared to 0 last year. plus, he didn't play complete games every time he played this year. he was subbed out on a few occasions after the game had turned into a blowout or if the Tribe was being blown out. not to mention he left 3 games early with injury and also appeared in 2 games as a pinch hitter. all those things combined took away innings from his total and that's why it took extra time for him to achieve this record.

if Michael plays in the season finale game tomorrow, then he could have a potential total of 1313.1 innings played. however, if he gets the day off because Francona opts to play some of the kids/bench guys, then Michael will finish the 2014 season with 1304.1 innings played. based on the fact that the Indians are now out of the postseason chase, it's probable that Michael may have played in his final game of the year tonight. (and what a way to go!)

so congrats AGAIN, Michael, on another new career high during your remarkable career year!

Brantley's Career High 152 Games Played

Michael set another career high tonight, this time simply by being in the lineup. when the September 22 game against the Kansas City Royals officially got underway at Progressive Field, and Carlos Carrasco threw the first pitch to Alcides Escobar in the top of the 1st inning, it marked Michael's new career high of 152 games played in one season. his old career high of 151 games played occurred just last year.

2013 was the first real full season that Michael played in the big leagues. he got his occasional days off, but had no major injuries to speak of. well, aside from that lacerated left forearm in spring training, which he clearly recovered completely from.

in 2012, he missed several games towards the end of the season due to injury issues, including a sore pectoral muscle and also a sore groin, which turned out to be a sports hernia that required offseason surgery. and in 2011, he played for a month and a half fighting a sore wrist and then had to be shut down because of a broken hamate bone. prior to that, Michael was still just a rookie, spending time between Cleveland and Columbus in 2010.

this season he was lucky though, only having minor issues. he had a very small and manageable problem when the Indians played on astroturf for 2 straight series in May and Michael developed some lower back tightness. but that only required him to sit out 1 game.

then he suffered a mild concussion in the middle of June. however, it wasn't necessary for him to go on the 7-day concussion list and he ended up missing just 2 full games. how? well, he left the initial game after 4 innings with concussion-like symptoms, then missed the next game. after that there was a rainout, followed by the second game he missed. then the Indians had an off day, followed by Michael making a pinch hit appearance on his 4th day of "rest" before being written back into the starting lineup the next day.

the other issue Michael had this year was this recent late season leg soreness. Francona's been using Michael as a DH on and off when he can in order to balance the team's need for Michael's bat in the lineup and give his legs as much extra rest as possible. that strategy hasn't negatively impacted Michael in any way, as he's put up very good numbers this year as a designated hitter.

so congrats to Michael on playing another (mostly healthy) full season in the big leagues and setting this new personal best. and if he plays in the final 5 games of the season, then his new career high will be re-set to 157 games played. his current 152 leads the team, and it's basically a given that he'll finish with the team high, too.

to play this many games and acquire all the numbers that Michael has is not an easy thing to do. his work ethic and dedication to his craft really show and i am so, so, SO happy for everything that he's accomplished. it's been a hell of a year, one for the record books. and no matter what happens in the future, this is a season that can always be looked back on fondly and never taken away from him.

Well Wishes For Bob Tayek

i thought something didn't sound right. literally. it was during the Arizona Diamondbacks versus Cleveland Indians game on August 12, before the rain delay/postponement, that i watched a video from my GameDay. and i could tell that the announcer in the background was not Bob, but i didn't think much of it at the time. he gets games off sometimes, it's not a big deal. shortly before 8 pm, the game was delayed due to rain. after a very long 3 hours and 40 minutes, they finally announced that the game would be postponed and it was rescheduled as part of a traditional doubleheader the next day.

so today, on August 13, before Game 1 of the doubleheader vs. the D-backs, i saw Hoynsie tweet that Bob Tayek would be out for the rest of the season due to personal reasons. and immediately i thought back to the video i watched last night and how that wasn't Bob's voice. that explains it.

but i'm thinking, there's still about 7 weeks left in this season. what kind of personal reason would keep someone out of their job for THAT long? can't be a death in the family. so my mind went right to health issues. and i really hope it's not cancer. now don't misread that, i have no inside scoop on his condition, it's just a process of elimination guess on my part. i tend to fear the worst in these situations, and the big C is definitely one of the worst things a person could encounter in life. maybe he needs to have a surgery that will take him a few months to fully heal from. i don't know, and i'm not going to pretend to know.

i think Bob is a guy who can sometimes be forgotten or taken for granted as part of our Tribe family. but he is very appreciated, as no other replacement voice can quite satisfy and due justice the way his can. so whatever the personal reason, i wish Bob all the best. i hope that the issue gets taken care of with ease and that he fully recovers, if a recovery process is necessary. here's hoping he'll be back at Progressive Field next year and ready to go for Opening Day 2015. til then, we'll miss you.