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:
.231 (9-39)
OBP: .279
SLG: .282
OPS: .561
Michael's .231 batting average obviously did not rank among his teammates because he did not play enough to be considered a qualifying player, averaging a mere 0.3 plate appearances per game this season. and with that, his reign as the team leader in batting average for four years running is no more.
Jose Ramirez ended up with the highest batting average (.312) on the team out of all the qualifiers in 2016. (and if you predicted that at the beginning of the season, then please contact me so we can do a psychic reading about my future.) for most of the year it looked like Francisco Lindor would claim that title, but after a September slump, he fell out of the race and finished 11 points behind Ramirez.
Season Overview
due to unforeseen circumstances, Michael's season was cut short. and i mean very short. very, very short. honestly, 2016 hardly resembled a baseball season for him and because of persistent biceps discomfort, his year was virtually over before it really even got started.
to recap, Michael began the 2016 season on the 15-Day DL, still rehabbing from his offseason right labral tear surgery and later playing in seven minor league games. once he was activated on April 25, he played in 11 games over 15 days. during that span, the Indians had two days off and Michael was additionally given two planned off days to rest. following his 11th game, word came out that his shoulder wasn't bouncing back like they had hoped. he was put back on the 15-Day DL on May 14 with right shoulder inflammation. he received an anti-inflammatory injection for a subacromial impingement on May 17 and took a week off from hitting.
one month later, Michael started having shoulder discomfort again as his rehab progressed. he went for an MRI on June 20, then went to Dallas, Texas, for a second opinion on June 21. in Dallas, he was diagnosed with right biceps tendinitis and given a cortisone shot. after a five-day shutdown, Michael took up hitting activities beginning with hitting off a tee and eventually advancing to full batting practice in July. in a pure paper move, he was also transferred to the 60-Day DL on July 3.
Michael started his second minor league rehab assignment on July 11, right when Major League Baseball's All Star Break commenced. he played four games before experiencing another setback--pain in the follow-through of his swing. he had an MRI on July 20 and another on July 21 prior to undergoing a hydrodissection procedure to break up scar tissue along the biceps tendon. by July 25, he was back to work and hitting off a pitching machine indoors. on August 3, he graduated to hitting off live pitching on the field.
just when it looked like he might soon resume his rehab assignment, he felt pain in his extension again. he saw a specialist in NYC on August 8 who confirmed Michael had chronic right biceps tendinitis. on August 13, it was decided that Michael would need to have corrective surgery and on August 15, he underwent season-ending biceps tenodesis in Dallas. the doctors claim his recovery will take four months and that he should be ready for a regular spring training in 2017.
there was nothing more Michael could have done this year in his ample attempts to rejoin the Tribe. he did everything he was told and did not push himself any harder than he was allowed. and while questions remain as to why Michael played so many games in such a short period of time after he was activated from the DL in April (re-read the "MY THOUGHTS" section at the bottom of this blog where i touch on the topic of him playing four games from May 3-6), it's probably unlikely that that caused his biceps pain. odds are that was going to happen either way after his labral tear surgery. hopefully his most recent surgery in August will be the last one he needs and he can continue on with what was evolving into an amazing baseball career next spring.
so because Michael was unable to play a full (or even a half) season this year, there aren't a lot of stats (and definitely no exciting stats) in this blog. i kept documenting them anyway and have presented all the usual categories here. i did my best to make things as interesting as possible, though it was no easy task.
and now, without further ado, here are numerous sections of Michael's situational numbers and statistics, some of which feature my analysis as well.
Team Leads and Career Highsdue to unforeseen circumstances, Michael's season was cut short. and i mean very short. very, very short. honestly, 2016 hardly resembled a baseball season for him and because of persistent biceps discomfort, his year was virtually over before it really even got started.
to recap, Michael began the 2016 season on the 15-Day DL, still rehabbing from his offseason right labral tear surgery and later playing in seven minor league games. once he was activated on April 25, he played in 11 games over 15 days. during that span, the Indians had two days off and Michael was additionally given two planned off days to rest. following his 11th game, word came out that his shoulder wasn't bouncing back like they had hoped. he was put back on the 15-Day DL on May 14 with right shoulder inflammation. he received an anti-inflammatory injection for a subacromial impingement on May 17 and took a week off from hitting.
one month later, Michael started having shoulder discomfort again as his rehab progressed. he went for an MRI on June 20, then went to Dallas, Texas, for a second opinion on June 21. in Dallas, he was diagnosed with right biceps tendinitis and given a cortisone shot. after a five-day shutdown, Michael took up hitting activities beginning with hitting off a tee and eventually advancing to full batting practice in July. in a pure paper move, he was also transferred to the 60-Day DL on July 3.
Michael started his second minor league rehab assignment on July 11, right when Major League Baseball's All Star Break commenced. he played four games before experiencing another setback--pain in the follow-through of his swing. he had an MRI on July 20 and another on July 21 prior to undergoing a hydrodissection procedure to break up scar tissue along the biceps tendon. by July 25, he was back to work and hitting off a pitching machine indoors. on August 3, he graduated to hitting off live pitching on the field.
just when it looked like he might soon resume his rehab assignment, he felt pain in his extension again. he saw a specialist in NYC on August 8 who confirmed Michael had chronic right biceps tendinitis. on August 13, it was decided that Michael would need to have corrective surgery and on August 15, he underwent season-ending biceps tenodesis in Dallas. the doctors claim his recovery will take four months and that he should be ready for a regular spring training in 2017.
there was nothing more Michael could have done this year in his ample attempts to rejoin the Tribe. he did everything he was told and did not push himself any harder than he was allowed. and while questions remain as to why Michael played so many games in such a short period of time after he was activated from the DL in April (re-read the "MY THOUGHTS" section at the bottom of this blog where i touch on the topic of him playing four games from May 3-6), it's probably unlikely that that caused his biceps pain. odds are that was going to happen either way after his labral tear surgery. hopefully his most recent surgery in August will be the last one he needs and he can continue on with what was evolving into an amazing baseball career next spring.
so because Michael was unable to play a full (or even a half) season this year, there aren't a lot of stats (and definitely no exciting stats) in this blog. i kept documenting them anyway and have presented all the usual categories here. i did my best to make things as interesting as possible, though it was no easy task.
and now, without further ado, here are numerous sections of Michael's situational numbers and statistics, some of which feature my analysis as well.
in 2016, Michael did not have any team leads.
however, defensively, he was tied for 2nd with 1 assist among Tribe left fielders.
Michael did not have any career highs in 2016.
(if i wanted to be somewhat humorous, i could point out that he did set a career high with 148 games missed due to injury and a career low with 11 games played overall this season.)
HR, RBI, K Rate, LOB, and Outs
it didn't come as much of a surprise that Michael totaled 0 home runs this year. he was clearly still trying to get himself back to normal after having been down for so long from his offseason surgery, and simply didn't have power in the first (and only) 11 games he played in 2016.
Michael tallied 7 RBI in his shortened season. while most people wouldn't bat an eyelash at that, i maintain that it's very impressive for someone to acquire that many when playing no more than 11 games (10 complete). considering that Michael wasn't even fully healthy, especially in his last few games, that can be viewed as a great accomplishment. so kudos to him for that. and he actually could have tripled his RBI total because he had several chances to drive in runners, but left 14 men on base. i also have to comment that i firmly believe there's no way team RBI leader Mike Napoli would have finished his year with 100+ RBI had Michael bat in front of him and played all year. you owe Michael a thank you, Nap! =P
Michael's K rate in 2016 was 14.0% (6 K/43 PA). he averaged 1 strikeout per 7.2 plate appearances in his limited time this season.
no matter how much he played, Michael made contact with the ball more often than not. for the year, he had 11 groundouts, 5 flyouts, 7 lineouts, and 1 pop out versus 6 strikeouts.
Situational Statistics
Michael had a hit in 6 of the 11 games he played in 2016 and reached base safely in 7 games. he had 5 hitless games, but still reached base in 1 of those. Michael had 1 multi-hit game, 1 three+ hit game, and 1 multi-RBI game. he had at least 1 RBI in 5 games. in addition, he had 2 go-ahead hits and 2 go-ahead RBI. the Indians were 6-5 in games that Michael played in and 88-62 in the games he sat out/missed.
in 2016, Michael bat .219 (7-for-32) against right-handed pitchers and .286 (2-for-7) against left-handed pitchers. both of these averages are not true representations of Michael's ability to hit against either type of pitcher, but rather the result of a player returning from an injury and playing minimally this year.
Michael hit .389 (7-for-18) with 6 RBI at home on the season. he totaled 1 double (1 extra base hit) at Progressive Field, along with 4 runs, 2 walks, 1 GIDP, 2 strikeouts (1 looking, 1 swinging), and 8 total bases while playing 5 out of 81 total home games. he hit safely in 4 of the 5 home games he played in and safely reached base in all 5 of them. he had 1 hitless game at home, but still reached base in it.
away from Progressive Field, Michael hit .095 (2-for-21) with 1 RBI. he had 1 double (1 extra base hit) on the road, along with 1 sac fly, 1 run, 1 walk (intentional), 1 stolen base (3rd), 4 strikeouts (2 swinging, 2 looking), and 3 total bases while playing 6 out of 80* total road games. he hit safely in 2 of the 6 road games he played in and safely reached base in 2 of them. he had 4 hitless games away from home, reaching base in none.
(*1 road game in September was postponed due to rain. MLB rescheduled it for the day after the regular season ended, but it was only to be played if the game would have any postseason implications. because the Indians won and the Boston Red Sox lost on the final day of the regular season, that secured the Indians home field advantage in the ALDS, AND also because the Detroit Tigers lost and were eliminated from the AL Wild Card race on the final day of the regular season, the PPD game became unnecessary and was officially cancelled.)
for the year, Michael bat .385 (5-for-13) with runners in scoring position and produced 7 RBI. breaking it down, he hit 1.000 (1-for-1) with RISP and 0 outs, .429 (3-for-7) with RISP and 1 out, and .200 (1-for-5) with RISP and 2 outs. his 2-out difficulties from last season (.208 BA) seem to have spilled over into 2016.
when healthy, Michael has proven himself to be one of the best clutch hitters in the league. in 2013, he finished with a .375 batting average with RISP, ranking 3rd in the American League. in 2014, his .376 batting average was not only the highest on the Indians, but also ranked 1st in the AL. on the contrary, his .324 batting average in 2015 was a drop, bringing him down to 10th in the AL. but his struggles towards the end of that year due to the beginning of his shoulder problem were the cause of that dip. this year in 2016, even with such limited opportunities and while working his way back from surgery, Michael's knack for coming through in the clutch and batting for a high average remained. some things never change.
Michael ended his 2016 campaign batting .154 (2-for-13) with 2 outs in an inning. he tallied 2 doubles, 2 RBI, 1 walk (intentional), and 4 strikeouts (3 swinging, 1 looking). whether anyone was in scoring position or not, he continued to fall short with 2 outs, much like in 2015. it's a small sample size, but this is undoubtedly something he can aim to improve on next year.
additionally, Michael bat .333 (5-for-15) with 7 RBI with runners on base and did not come to bat at all with the bases loaded on the year. no complaints about his performance here at all.
furthermore, Michael hit .167 (4-for-24) with the bases empty in 2016. he acquired 1 double and 4 strikeouts (2 swinging, 2 looking) when nobody was on base this season. sadly, he was highly ineffective in these instances.
finally, Michael's 2016 season resulted in a 0.0 fWAR (wins above replacement), a 42 wRC+ (weighted runs created plus--the ability to create runs compared to the league average), a 0.4 BsR (baserunning runs above average with stolen bases and caught stealings), and a 1.2 UZR (ultimate zone rating). despite not playing, his UZR went down 0.1 from the end of August due to the league average of that stat having changed. none of these numbers rank among qualifying AL left fielders because Michael was not a qualifier this year. [these stats all came courtesy of fangraphs.com.]
Versus AL Central Division Teams
vs. the Detroit Tigers, Michael bat .500 (6-for-12) in 3 games in 2016. (he missed 15 games/5 series against this team. he missed 3 games while on the 15-Day DL recovering from offseason right shoulder surgery/out on a minor league rehab assignment with the Columbus Clippers; he missed 3 games while on the 15-Day DL with right biceps tendinitis and was shut down from baseball activities due to the cortisone shot he'd recently received; he missed 3 games while on the 60-Day DL with right biceps tendinitis, but had just started taking batting practice on the field; and he missed 6 games/2 series while on the 60-Day DL with chronic right biceps tendinitis and recovering from season-ending biceps tenodesis (surgery). also, 1 game in the final series was postponed and not made up.) he had 5 singles, 1 double, 5 RBI, 2 runs, 7 total bases, and 2 men left on base. in the field, Michael played 27 innings in left and recorded 5 putouts.
final thoughts: Michael always does well against the Tigers and this year was shaping up to be no different. i really wish i could have seen him play them more. regardless, five RBI in three games is top-notch. i'm sure Brad Ausmus and his pitching staff were more than relieved to only have to face Michael in one series this season.
vs. the Kansas City Royals, Michael bat .167 (1-for-6) in 2 games in 2016. (he missed 16 games in 5 series against this team. he missed 4 games while on the 15-Day DL with right shoulder inflammation/a subacromial impingement and was hitting off a tee; he missed 3 games while on the 15-Day DL with right shoulder inflammation/a subacromial impingement and was doing soft toss; he missed 3 games while on the 60-Day DL with right biceps tendinitis and went for an MRI after his minor league rehab assignment had just been put on hold due to him feeling right shoulder discomfort in the follow-through of his swing; and he missed 6 games/2 series while on the 60-Day DL with chronic right biceps tendinitis and recovering from season-ending biceps tenodesis. he had 1 scheduled off day.) his lone hit was a single, but he also had 1 RBI, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 1 total base. he grounded into 1 double play, had 2 strikeouts (1 looking, 1 swinging), and stranded 3 runners. defensively, Michael played 18 innings in left field, recorded 3 putouts, and acquired 1 outfield assist.
final thoughts: it goes without saying that this is not a true depiction of how Michael normally plays against the Royals. look at his career numbers and you know for certain he performs better when he's healthy.
vs. the Minnesota Twins, Michael bat .125 (1-for-8) in 3 games in 2016. (he missed 16 games/5 series against this team. he missed 1 game because of right shoulder fatigue and had an MRI; he missed 2 games after just being put on the 15-Day DL with right shoulder inflammation; he missed 3 games while on the 60-Day DL with right biceps tendinitis/out on a minor league rehab assignment with the Akron RubberDucks; he missed 4 games while on the 60-Day DL with right biceps tendinitis and was hitting off a pitching machine before advancing to hitting live pitching on the field; and he missed 6 games/2 series while on the 60-Day DL with chronic right biceps tendinitis and recovering from season-ending biceps tenodesis.) he had 1 single, 1 RBI, 1 sac fly, 1 run, 1 walk (intentional), 1 stolen base (3rd), and 1 total base. he also had 2 strikeouts (1 swinging, 1 looking) and 4 left on base. in left field, he played 18.1 innings and recorded 5 putouts. (he was a PH in 1 game, then played 1 inning in LF after a defensive switch.)
final thoughts: this is not enough at bats to really draw any conclusions. he played against the Twins immediately after being activated from the DL in April and was struggling to find his timing at the plate. to be frank, he wasn't fully healthy when he faced this team, so there's nothing else to say about it.
when the Indians played the Chicago White Sox, Michael was on the disabled list and missed all 19 games/6 series against this team in 2016. he missed 2 games in the first series while on the 15-Day DL still recovering from offseason right shoulder surgery; he missed 4 games in the second series while on the 15-Day DL with right shoulder inflammation/a subacromial impingement and had just begun some light swinging; he missed 3 games in the third series while on the 15-Day DL with right shoulder inflammation/a subacromial impingement and was doing soft toss; and he missed 10 games in the final three series (3 games/4 games/3 games per series) while on the 60-Day DL with chronic right biceps tendinitis and recovering from season-ending biceps tenodesis.
final thoughts: it's unfortunate that Michael did not get to face the White Sox at all this year, but i bet they weren't particularly sad about it. all things considered, i suppose it's lucky that he even played three of the four division teams in any capacity in order for me to be able to provide some stats for this section.
Interleague Play
the Indians played a total of 20 games against National League opponents this year, but Michael played in only two games. overall, he bat .111 (1-for-9) in Interleague Play in 2016.
when the Indians played the New York Mets at Progressive Field, Michael was on the 15-Day DL recovering from offseason right shoulder surgery/out on a minor league rehab assignment with the Akron RubberDucks. he missed all 3 games of their series in 2016.
vs. the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park (no designated hitter allowed), Michael bat .111 (1-for-9) in 2 games in 2016. (he had 1 scheduled off day.) he had 1 double equaling 2 total bases. he also struck out twice (1 swinging, 1 looking) and stranded 4 runners. in the field, Michael played 18 innings in left and recorded 5 putouts.
when the Indians played the Cincinnati Reds at both Progressive Field and Great American Ball Park (no designated hitter allowed in the latter), Michael was on the 15-Day DL with right shoulder inflammation and a subacromial impingement, for which he received an anti-inflammatory shot. he missed all 4 games in the home-and-home set of series in 2016.
when the Indians played the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field (no designated hitter allowed), Michael was still on the 15-Day DL with right biceps tendinitis and had just resumed hitting activities after being shut down for five days. he missed all 3 games in this series in 2016.
when the Indians played the Washington Nationals at Progressive Field and Nationals Park (no designated hitter allowed in the latter), Michael was on the 60-Day DL and missed all 4 games/2 series in 2016. he missed 2 games in the first (July) series with right biceps tendinitis and had just resumed swinging in the indoor cage after a hydrodissection procedure and three-day shutdown period. he also missed 2 games in the second (August) series with a recent diagnosis of chronic right biceps tendinitis and had been shut down from his rehabilitation.
when the Indians played the Miami Marlins at Progressive Field, Michael was still on the 60-Day DL with chronic right biceps tendinitis and recovering from season-ending biceps tenodesis (surgery). he missed all 3 games in this series in 2016.
League Rankings
only two of Michael's statistics ever ranked in the Top 10 around the league in 2016, those being his one sacrifice fly and his one intentional walk. after all the time of him not playing past May 9 while other players continued racking up their stats, Michael was fortunate to finish with one. it's a far cry from what we're used to seeing from Michael and isn't very noteworthy, but here is his final rank of the year:
among left fielders in the American League, Michael ranked tied for 9th in intentional walks (1).
at the end of April, his one IBB was tied for 2nd among AL left fielders, and apparently those players didn't get walked intentionally too frequently between May and September/October. i didn't think he'd finish with anything in the Top 10 among any group of players so congrats, Michael! lol
In The Field
when Michael played the field this year, his position was strictly left field. he had 18 putouts, 1 assist, 0 errors, and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 11 games. it wasn't much, but the few excellent catches that he made along with his strong, accurate throw into the infield for an assist is exactly what we've grown accustomed to from Michael.
since i can't post any rankings of his assist totals, let me take a minute to highlight his defense. Michael boasted two remarkable catches in two consecutive games at home in May versus the Detroit Tigers. one was a running knee-high catch on a ball that had a lot of side spin, and the other came with his arm outstretched and resulted in Michael sprawled out on the warning track. his outfield assist occurred at home in May as well. in the game versus the Kansas City Royals, Michael caught a ball off the bounce of the left field wall and then threw a runner out at 2nd base who was trying to stretch a single into a double. for all the specific details of his defensive prowess, refer back to the In The Field section of my Brantley's May 2016 #s blog.
the last thing i want to mention is that going into 2017, Michael will open with a 30-game errorless streak in the outfield. his club record of 247 errorless games in the outfield from 2014 currently stands, and i'm confident he'll make a run at breaking that record in the future.
up next: i have two more blogs planned--one last blog wrapping up Brantley's season and a postseason Brantley/Indians blog. at this time, however, i am not sure which blog i will post first. i guess it will be dependent upon how far the Indians make it in the playoffs and if i want to include Michael's [lack of] postseason play in with the final season wrap-up post. either way, there will not be a new blog post tomorrow. i'm going to Game 1 of the ALDS in Cleveland tomorrow and then taking a break from writing for a couple of days.
previous blogs:
Brantley's 2016 Game-by-Game Numbers & Notes
Brantley's 2016 Batting Order Position & LF/PH #s
I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THESE LATEST THREE BLOGS WHILE THE INDIANS HEAD OFF AND PREPARED FOR THE PLAYOFFS! THANK YOU FOR READING!
follow me on twitter @clevelandgirl23 for any updates and news that come out about Michael during the postseason and offseason. and if you like email alerts, then be sure to sign up for my subscription list for notifications every time i publish a new blog!
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