Brantley Reaches Milestone with 1,000th Career Hit!

today, on July 19, 2017, Michael Brantley reached a milestone in his Major League Career by collecting his 1,000th hit!🎊

photo courtesy of @Indians on twitter

it came in the game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park with 1 out in the top of the 8th inning and the Indians leading, 3-2. while facing left-handed pitcher Steven Okert, Michael sent a line drive double into the right field corner on an 0-1 count to give him hit #1,000!👏👏👏

Michael is just the 36th
player in franchise history with 1,000 hits, per Jordan Bastian. in addition, he's one of 87 active MLB players with 1,000 hits, as noted in Jonathan Hawthorne and Bastian's article on indians.com.

photo courtesy of @SportsTimeOhio on twitter

according to Jim Rosenhaus on the WTAM 1100 radio broadcast, the commemorative baseball was tossed into the Indians' dugout for Michael to have as a keepsake.⚾

this feat is particularly impressive not only because it was a lefty-lefty matchup, but because Michael achieved it during Interleague Play, one of the very few weaknesses on his baseball resume. with the exception of 2015, Michael has not typically performed well against National League teams in his career, which now spans nine seasons.

Michael got his first taste of the big leagues on September 1, 2009, after being called up when team rosters expanded. the club was on the road playing the Detroit Tigers and Michael went 2-for-4 in his Indians debut, quickly getting his first and second Major League hits out of the way. and 2,878 days later, he celebrates his 1,000th career hit in his 890th Major League game!🙌

Michael also amassed his 999th career hit in this game, too, finishing 2-for-4 at the plate. his initial base knock was a game-tying, 2-out ground ball RBI single to right field that put the Tribe on the board in the top of the 3rd inning. the single gave him a modest 5-game hitting streak to go along with an 11-game on-base streak as well. he was driven in the first two times he reached base by singles from Jose Ramirez and Carlos Santana, respectively, but was left stranded after drawing a walk--the 300th walk of his career, btw--in the top of the 9th. (sadly, the Indians lost the game by a final score of 5-4.)

so congratulations on an amazing accomplishment, Michael! and here's to many, many more hits throughout the rest of your career!😉

which milestone do you think Michael will reach next--500 RBI or 500 runs? (he currently has 440 RBI and 441 runs.) let me know in a comment below!


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