Brantley News from October 2017

hey, Brantley fans! the uncertainty surrounding Michael's future with the Tribe should be settled by the weekend, if not sooner, depending on when the World Series ends and whether or not the Indians wait the allotted three days after its conclusion to publicize their decision. (if the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight in Game 6 and become World Champions, the Indians have until Friday, November 3 to make/announce their decision. however, if the Dodgers win and the Series goes to a Game 7, then the "deadline" is Saturday, November 4.)

normally, i would prefer to accumulate more news before posting a blog such as this, but because we're about to find out the status of Michael's contract, i thought i would give y'all what i have as of right now real quick. so here is everything i've heard about Michael--with a focus on his $12 million club option for 2018--since the Indians were eliminated by the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the American League Division Series on October 11. 


October 13: Indians manager Terry Francona, President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti, and General Manager Mike Chernoff got together for an hour long sit-down to answer questions about the 2017 season, the playoffs, and the offseason.

Wrapping Up Brantley's 2017 Season + Postseason

this is gonna be the last blog wrapping up Michael Brantley's 2017 season. it includes some of his final numbers, but focuses mostly on things like my favorite memories and highlights from his year, comparisons to past seasons, consequences of missing so many games, and how my preseason predictions did not pan out. and please be sure to read the end of this post because i took a minute to say thank you to every person whose articles may have contributed to portions of my content, as well as all of the people who visited my blog this year!🖐

if you want to see or re-read the previous trio of wrap up blogs i wrote about Brantley's 2017, which consist of his daily game lines, BOP breakdowns, and his situational numbers and league rankings, please refer to these posts:
Brantley's 2017 Game-by-Game Numbers & Notes
Brantley's 2017 Batting Order Position & LF/PH/DH #s
Brantley's 2017 Situational #s & Statistics

i know things have gone up a little out of order and later than i would have liked, but i got backed up when i went to the Indians' final homestand from September 29 - October 1 and then lost another day of writing when i went to Game 1 of the American League Division Series on October 5. then i also had to write a few unexpected blogs because the Indians

Brantley Undergoes Right Ankle Surgery, Recovery Will Take 4-5 Months

i am so sorry to have to report this to my Brantley fans, but today, the Indians announced in a Press Release that Michael Brantley had surgery on his right ankle yesterday, on Wednesday, October 18, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dr. Robert Anderson performed an arthroscopic surgery to stabilize ligaments in the joint. Michael will require four to five months to recover, and then he can resume full baseball activity.😟😭

photo cropped off indians.com

four months takes us to February 18, 2018, which Jordan Bastian estimated

Brantley's 2017 Situational #s & Statistics

this is part three in my series of Michael Brantley season wrap up blogs. the situational numbers and statistics you're going to find here feature Michael's batting averages against right-handed pitchers and left-handed pitchers, at home and away, with runners in scoring position, with runners on base, with the bases loaded, and with the bases empty. you will also see his WAR, wRC+, BsR, and UZR for the year, as well as his K rate, number of times he reached base, and number of times he was left stranded. other topics include things like his team highs, offensive league rankings, and outfield assist league rankings. additionally, i have updated and supplied his final numbers versus each AL Central team and every National League team the Indians played this season. there's much more in this post, too, so keep on reading and enjoy!😀


in 2017, Michael had 375 plate appearances and 338 at bats in 90 games (731.0 innings). in total, he had 101 hits, 30 extra base hits, 71 singles, 20 doubles, 1 triple, 9 home runs, 52 RBI, 4 sac flies, 47 runs, 31 walks, 3 intentional walks, 2 hit by pitches, 11 stolen bases (9 - 2nd, 2 - 3rd), 1 caught stealing (2nd), 8 GIDP, 50 strikeouts (40 swinging, 10 looking), 24 first at bat hits, 150 total bases, 139 left on base, 135 putouts, 8 assists, 1 error, and 1 double play.

2017 batting average:

What Went Wrong for the Cleveland Indians in the 2017 ALDS

it's all over but the crying. i think i've already used that as a lede in one of my older blogs, but it sure is appropriate again now. last night, the Cleveland Indians lost to the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series and were eliminated from postseason play. so what's next? the grieving period.😭 before anyone can look ahead, we must accept the reality and mourn what just happened if need be. part of that process for me involves going back over everything in my head and wondering why certain moves were or were not made.

typically, when things don't go the way we want them to, there's gonna be a scapegoat. and i know a lot of people are currently pointing their finger at the guy leading the charge, much to the players' dismay. the most i've ever criticized Terry Francona since he's been the manager here is by conceding that he can be too loyal to his players at times, particularly when they are struggling. i've never harshly gone in on him before, but i'm going in on him now.😠

photo courtesy of John Kuntz via The Plain Dealer

Tito had all the

Brantley's 2017 ALDS #s

it is with a heavy heart that i post this blog. even though Michael Brantley finally got to be a part of the Cleveland Indians' postseason as an active player, the team's playoff appearance was very short-lived, taking practically everyone by surprise. earlier tonight, on October 11, the New York Yankees eliminated the Tribe in the American League Division Series by beating them, 3 games to 2. if you need a minute to cry, go ahead; then keep reading. believe me, i'm right there with you.😭

i had originally planned on posting separate blogs for each series that the Indians played in but... this is it. the format here consists of sections from both the Brantley's 2016 Postseason blog and my monthly Brantley blogs. i've also changed some things around a bit because i felt like it made a little more sense for such a short series.

now without further ado, let's relive the last 10 days.😟


Pre-American League Division Series News

October 2: the Indians held an optional workout on Monday and Michael

Brantley's 2017 Batting Order Position & LF/PH/DH #s

let's keep this series of wrap up blogs going with my breakdowns of Michael Brantley's BOP numbers for 2017.

not one Cleveland Indians player bat in the same spot in the lineup for the entire year, but Michael sure came close. when he was healthy, he owned the 3rd spot--at least until the end of the season, that is. Terry Francona really liked Michael batting in the 3 hole, so much so that he repeatedly defended his choice to critics. the guys hitting in front of and behind Michael, however, changed numerous times throughout the 2017 campaign.

Carlos Santana was batting leadoff for the team when the season got underway. Francisco Lindor bat 2nd ahead of Michael, with Edwin Encarnacion batting cleanup and Jose Ramirez hitting in the 5th spot. Yandy Diaz, Lonnie Chisenhall, and Jason Kipnis all got their turns batting 6th in April.

in May, Tito settled on a lineup with Kip leading off, and Lindor, Brant, Santana, Encarnacion, and Ramirez batting consecutively after him. June's main lineup was similar to what it was in May until Michael went

Brantley's 2017 Game-by-Game Numbers & Notes

hey, Brantley fans! the final numbers are in! well actually, they've been in, but i've had such a busy schedule lately that couldn't write much until now. my apologies!😳

if you're a long-time reader of All Things Brantley, All Things Tribe, then you know that i like to post a series of wrap up blogs when presenting Michael's yearly numbers. i prefer to do it this way in order to keep things more organized and cut down on the length, because my posts can get pretty long and wordy.🕮

as usual, i'm starting with a blog that mainly focuses on Michael's 2017 Game-by-Game numbers and notes.🖩📓


coming into 2017, the biggest question on everyone's mind was if Michael's right shoulder and biceps were going to be okay. the second biggest question was if Michael could get back to being the player he was in 2014 and 2015. happily, the answers to those inquiries were yes and yes! Michael was a little behind in spring training while he continued to finish his rehab work and progressions following his biceps tenodesis (surgery) from August 2016, but he did manage to

Brantley's Second Half 2017 #s

before i start rolling out all my upcoming Michael Brantley's 2017 final #s blogs, it's time to review his second half #s and stats. in this portion of the season, the Indians played 75 games. Michael, however, did not play nearly that much following the All Star Break, so let's see how he did in limited action on the field.


post-All Star Break in 2017, Michael had a total of 97 plate appearances and 88 at bats in 24 games (180.0 innings). in total, he had 25 hits, 7 extra base hits, 18 singles, 3 doubles, 4 home runs, 15 RBI, 2 sac flies, 16 runs, 6 walks, 1 intentional walk, 1 hit by pitch, 3 stolen bases (2nd), 2 GIDP, 10 strikeouts (7 swinging, 3 looking), 6 first at bat hits, 40 total bases, 45 left on base, 32 putouts, 3 assists, and 1 double play.

2nd Half 2017 batting average: .284 (25-88)

OBP: .330

SLG: .455

OPS: .784


2nd Half of July BA:

Brantley's September/October 2017 #s

hi there, Brantley fans! i want to thank everyone who took the time to read my Brantley's August 2017 #s (w/ DL Updates) blog and Brantley's 2017 #s Through August blog. i know they weren't the most interesting because he did not play much in August, so i really appreciate the views. speaking of, i got more new readers this past month from South Africa, specifically in Angola, and also Thailand! welcome and i hope you enjoy my posts on Mr. Michael Brantley!👋


notes: here's where i take a minute to remind everyone that when regular season games stretch into October, September and October are considered to be one month. it's exactly like when the season starts at the end of March, and March and April are combined as one month. this is done because there's not much point in having just one or two days of stats recognized by themselves in a regular season baseball month. therefore, when you see me write "the/this month" throughout this blog, i am referencing to both September and October as one month. i also used the "September/October" label in each section of this post, regardless of if the topic i'm discussing only occurred in one of the two months and not the other, to remain consistent.

i also want to address that, once again, i will be blogging about the postseason! i am going write about each