anyway, i'm back with the third and final piece of the Michael Brantley's career numbers with the Cleveland Indians series. this one is full of situational statistics--everyone's favorite, am i right? the layout of this blog mirrors that of my usual situational posts. here you will find Michael's batting averages and other numbers against right-handed and left-handing pitching, at home and on the road, with runners in scoring position, with runners on base, with the bases loaded, and with the bases empty. other stats included are his WAR, wRC+, BsR, UZR, and DRS. i also listed out Michael's numbers versus each AL Central Division team and every National League team he played against in his 10-year career. some of Michael's offensive league rankings and defensive league rankings have been archived as well. there's more miscellaneous stuff too, namely his season career highs, team leads, K rate, the types of outs he hit into, his best hitting streaks, and historical moments with the Indians. besides all that, i decided to add a few things i don't ordinarily highlight, those being
Michael's numbers in certain counts, per month, in each inning, in late & close games, in tie games, in different leverage situations, at night vs. during the day, on grass vs. turf, as a starter vs. substitute, and in wins and losses.
as i've mentioned in my previous Brantley career blog, i had to exclude a few categories that you'd normally find in a post such as this. that's because i did not personally document or calculate Michael's numbers from his first three big league seasons, consisting of 214 games from 2009-2011. not only that, but when i did begin to write his daily numbers down, i was very basic with my notes. over the years, i added more specific information in my documentation. but since i didn't track the same data every single season, i couldn't get totals for some of it. therefore, i regrettably had to leave out the following stats from this post:
--first at bat hits,
--runners left on base,
--number of times Michael reached base and was left stranded,
--which specific bases Michael stole and which specific bases he was caught stealing,
--the specifics of his strikeouts, and
--the specifics of reaching on errors.
i admit, in order for me to get a complete record of some of Michael's career numbers, i pulled info from his baseball-reference page. many thanks to that site.🙏
this is basically the report card that tells you whether or not a guy is a good player, and Michael has passed with flying colors, if i do say so myself.😉🎓
keep in mind: statistician Bill James considers a player to be "great" if his OPS is .900 or higher, "very good" if his OPS falls within the .833-.899 range, and "above average" if his OPS is at least .767. so remember that as you're reading through Michael's situational stats to see which areas he really excels in.💪
as a Cleveland Indian, Michael had 4,483 plate appearances and 4,055
at bats in 1,051 games (8,656.0 innings) over 10 years. in total, he had 1,195 hits, 354
extra base hits, 841 singles, 248 doubles, 19 triples, 87 home runs (2 grand
slams), 528 RBI, 40 sac flies, 543 runs, 351 walks, 31 intentional walks, 24 hit by pitches, 118 stolen
bases, 30 caught stealing, 12 sac bunts, 92 GIDP, 479
strikeouts, 1,742 total bases, 1,906 putouts, 56 assists, 12 errors, and 12 double plays.
Career batting average with the Indians: .295
(1,195-4,055)
OBP: .351
OBP: .351
SLG: .430
OPS: .781
Michael's .295 career batting average with the Cleveland Indians is the highest among 16 qualifying Tribe players in the last 10 years, per fangraphs.com. he finished six points ahead of Shin-Soo Choo, who registered a .289 average within that time frame.
in addition, Michael had the highest batting average on the team out of all the qualifying players during his 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2018 seasons. it's also important to note that those five years were the only ones when Michael played enough to be considered a qualifier, so he's held the best BA on the Indians in his last five consecutive qualifying campaigns.👏
as a Cleveland Indian, Michael achieved career highs in every category, obviously, since the Tribe was the lone team he'd ever played with in the majors from 2009-2018. the following are the career highs (and some lows) that he set in one season along with the year that he reached that benchmark:
200 hits (2014)
67 extra base hits (2014)
133 singles (2014)
45 doubles (2014 & 2015)
4 triples (2011 & 2012)
20 home runs (2014)
2 grand slams (2018)
97 RBI (2014)
8 sac flies (2013)
94 runs (2014)
60 walks (2015)
12 intentional walks (2012)
8 hit by pitches (2014)
23 stolen bases (2014)
1 caught stealing (2014 & 2015)
4 sac bunts (2010)
7 GIDP (2012)
51 strikeouts (2015)
309 total bases (2014)
676 plate appearances (2014)
611 at bats (2014)
156 games (2014)
.327 batting average (2014)
.385 OBP (2014)
.506 SLG (2014)
.890 OPS (2014)
1,304.1 innings (2014)
336 putouts (2012)
12 assists (2014)
0 errors (2013)
3 double plays (2012)
Team Leads
among 16 qualifying Indians players over the last 10 years, Michael led the team with 1,195 hits, 841 singles, 248 doubles, 4,055 at bats, and his .295 batting average. he was tied for the team lead with 40 sac flies. also, he had the lowest K rate at 10.7%.
Michael was 2nd on the Indians with 543 runs, 528 RBI, 31 intentional walks, 118 stolen bases, 4,483 plate appearances, and 1,051 games played. he was tied for 2nd with 19 triples.
Michael was 3rd on the team with 351 walks.
from 2009-2018, he led the outfielders with 1,906 putouts, 56 assists, 8,656.0 innings, and 1,003 games.
he led the left fielders with 1,104 putouts, 48 assists, 5,694.2 innings, and 672 games.
he led the center fielders with 802 putouts, 2,961.1 innings, and 356 games. he was 3rd with 8 assists.
[these stats all came courtesy of fangraphs.com.]
HR:RBI Ratio, K Rate, and Outs
Michael hit a total of 87 home runs in 1,051 games during his 10 years with the Indians. for someone not known as a power hitter and considering he missed time when he was out with injuries, that's not bad. anyone who's watched Michael over the years knows that's not his bread and butter anyway. he's a contact hitter, one of the best in the league, and has never needed to hit homers out of the park in order to be productive.
in his career with the Tribe, Michael collected 528 RBI. he's always been an above average clutch hitter and had much success with runners on base while he played for Cleveland. sure, there were some rare occasions when he struggled, but Michael's overall situational numbers, as you'll see in the subsequent section, are solid and prove that he's successful when it matters.
now let's check out Michael's HR:RBI ratio with the Indians. 52 of his 87 home runs were solo, 25 were 2-run bombs, eight were three-run homers, and two were grand slams. he tallied 134 ribbies with all the home runs he hit. therefore, 9.8% of his 528 RBI came from his solo homers, while 25.4% of his 528 RBI came from all 87 of his home runs. so about a quarter of his entire RBI total were thanks to his long balls, which again supports what i said about Michael not needing to be a 30-a-year home run hitter to drive runs in for his team.
Michael's K rate in 10 years with the Indians was 10.7% (479 K/4,483 PA), the lowest among all qualifiers within that time. he averaged 1 strikeout for every 9.4 plate appearances. as Michael developed as a hitter throughout the years, he became a high-contact, low-strikeout guy and now has one of the lowest K rates in all of baseball and is one of the hardest to K. Michael has such a good eye at the plate and he's such a smart hitter that it's hard for even the best pitchers to fool him when he's in the batter's box. god, i'm going to miss that.
in his Indians career, Michael had 1,347 groundouts versus 1,151 flyouts, lineouts, and pop outs combined versus 479 strikeouts. by far and away, Michael has been mostly a ground ball hitter over the last 10 years. even when he's not grounding out, he's capable of sneaking a grounder into the hole between 1st and 2nd base for a hit. but still, he doesn't hit balls in the air nearly as much as he keeps them on the ground. and looking at the strikeout total compared to the rest of his outs, well that makes it crystal clear as to why Michael is one of the best contact hitters in MLB because most of his outs are a result of swinging his bat and making contact with the ball.
note: i couldn't differentiate between flyouts, lineouts, and pop outs because i did not document Michael's outs early on in his career. aside from that, the sortable player stats section on indians.com (where i pulled this info from) tallies outs in a few ways that are dissimilar to how i like to do it. the site counts grounding into double plays as two groundouts for Michael, while i only count it as one since Michael's line for a GIDP is just 0-for-1. furthermore, it counts sac flies as flyouts, whereas i don't because it doesn't count against Michael's average, and, likewise, it counts sac bunts as groundouts, which i disagree with since they're not outs for Michael. but it is what it is.
Streaks
Michael had a hit in 774 of the 1,051 games he played in 10 seasons with the Cleveland Indians from 2009-2018 and reached base safely in 879 games. Michael had 323 multi-hit games, 86 three+ hit games, 12 four+ hits games (at least one in each season except 2017), and 112 multi-RBI games. he had at least 1 RBI in 369 games. in addition, he had 107 go-ahead hits. the Indians were 533-518 in games that Michael played in.
Michael had a few significant streaks in his 10-year career, including:
--a 19-game hitting streak, in which he bat .286, between August 30 - September 19, 2010.
--a 19-game on-base streak between August 30 - September 19, 2010.
--a career high 22-game hitting streak, in which he bat .337, between May 20 - June 15, 2012.
--a career high 29-game on-base streak between May 20 - June 23, 2012.
--a 28-game on-base streak between August 28 - September 24, 2014.
--a 19-game hitting streak, in which he bat .366, between May 9-30, 2018.
--a 21-game on-base streak between May 8-31, 2018.
--a 16-game hitting streak at home, in which he bat .394, between May 1 - June 6, 2018. it spanned over May 1-3 (including a doubleheader on May 3), May 11-13, May 24-30, and June 5-6.
--a career high 27-game on-base streak at home between May 1 - July 7, 2018. it spanned over May 1-3 (including a doubleheader on May 3), May 11-13, May 24-30, June 5-6, June 15-20, June 22-24, and July 6-7.
in addition, Michael ended his 2018 season with various streaks and will begin the 2019 campaign with the Houston Astros on a 9-game hitting streak on the road and 9-game on-base streak on the road (spanning over September 8-30, 2018), as well as a 9-game hitting streak and 9-game on-base streak (between September 20-30, 2018).
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| one of my notebooks with some of Brantley's situational statistics |
Situational Statistics
in his 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians, Michael bat .304 (840-for-2,767) against right-handed pitchers and .276 (355-for-1,288) against left-handed pitchers. it's weird because other than this past season, i don't remember Michael having trouble hitting southpaws. but after going back through his early years, he apparently struggled against lefties and is probably lucky the Tribe managers didn't platoon him back in the day lol no, but righties have never presented a problem for Michael and considering he doesn't face nearly as many left-handers as he does right, i still think he's a fine hitter against them.
Michael hit .307 (619-for-2,019) with 303 RBI at his Progressive Field home during his 10 years with the Indians. he totaled 125 doubles, 6 triples, and 53 home runs (184 extra base hits), along with 20 sac flies, 298 runs, 168 walks, 13 intentional walks, 11 hit by pitches, 77 stolen bases, 13 caught stealing, 15 reached on errors, 8 sac bunts, 44 GIDP, 237 strikeouts, and 915 total bases while playing 531 total home games. he also had a .360 OBP, .453 SLG, and .813 OPS. he knows this park so well that he'll always know how to get hits here. i cannot believe next year this will be a road ballpark for him.
Michael hit .283 (576-for-2,036) with 225 RBI away from Progressive Field as a Cleveland Indian. he totaled 123 doubles, 13 triples, and 34 home runs (170 extra base hits) on the road, along with 20 sac flies, 245 runs, 183 walks, 18 intentional walks, 13 hit by pitches, 41 stolen base, 17 caught stealing, 15 reached on errors, 4 sac bunts, 48 GIDP, 242 strikeouts, and 827 total bases while playing 520 total road games. he also had a .343 OBP, .406 SLG, and .749 OPS.
in 10 years with the Tribe, Michael bat .313 (299-for-954) with runners in scoring position and produced 419 RBI. for the most part, he's been a pretty clutch hitter in his career.
here are all of Michael's past batting averages with runners in scoring position since 2009:
2009: .474 BA. note: not a qualifier, first month in big leagues.
2010: .279 BA. note: not a qualifier, split season between Cleveland and Columbus.
2011: .294 BA. note: not a qualifier. Michael played for about a month and a half with right wrist pain before his season ended in August and he had surgery for a broken hamate bone.
2012: .265 BA, first year as a qualifier.
2013: .375 BA, ranked 3rd in the AL.
2014: .376 BA, team high and 1st in AL.
2015: .324 BA, 10th in AL. note: Michael dealt with a right shoulder ailment towards the end of this year and it affected his production.
2016: .385 BA. note: he barely played this year before being shut down with more right shoulder/biceps issues.
2017: .277 BA. note: not a qualifier, as he again missed a lot of time, this year with right ankle issues.
2018: .254 BA. note: first full campaign since 2015. for whatever reason, Michael had a hard time hitting with RISP after the first two months of the season.
Michael also hit .276 (117-for-424) with RISP and 2 outs when he was a member of the Indians for 10 years. according to my calculations, Michael began having troubles hitting with runners in scoring position and 2 outs in 2015 and that continued every season since.
Michael ended his 10-year career as an Indian batting .283 (399-for-1,408) with 0 outs in an inning, .314 (419-for-1,334) with 1 out in an inning, and .287 (377-for-1,313) with 2 outs in an inning. with 0 outs, he tallied 82 doubles, 5 triples, 35 home runs, 114 RBI, 87 walks, 9 hit by pitches, 11 reached on errors, and 187 strikeouts. with 1 out, he tallied 79 doubles, 6 triples, 30 home runs, 227 RBI, 126 walks, 7 hit by pitches, 11 reached on errors, and 151 strikeouts. with 2 outs, he tallied 87 doubles, 8 triples, 22 home runs, 187 RBI, 138 walks, 8 hit by pitches, 8 reached on errors, and 141 strikeouts. my past notebooks show that Michael has not done well with 2 outs since 2014. i remember writing in my blogs that it might be a situation where he puts more pressure on himself to keep the inning going and perhaps that change in mentality affects his performance somehow. i don't know.
additionally, Michael bat .320 (540-for-1,690) with 476 RBI with runners on base and .377 (29-for-77) with 87 RBI with the bases loaded for his Indians career in 10 seasons. those are both fantastic and another example of how Michael can come through when it's important.
furthermore, Michael hit .277 (655-for-2,365) with the bases empty in his 10 years with the Tribe. he acquired 143 doubles, 12 triples, 52 home runs, 52 RBI, 169 walks, 13 hit by pitches, 12 reached on errors, and 310 strikeouts when nobody was on base. he had some stinker seasons within his first five and that's why his career BA isn't that high.
finally, as an outfielder, Michael's 10-year career as an Indian resulted in a 19.5 fWAR (wins above replacement), a 114 wRC+ (weighted runs created plus--the ability to create runs compared to the league average), a 19.2 BsR (baserunning runs above average with stolen bases and caught stealings), a -23.7 UZR (ultimate zone rating), and a -6 DRS (defensive runs saved). his WAR ranked 13th, his BsR ranked 20th, and his wRC+ ranked tied for 24th among 115 qualifying American League outfielders between 2009-2018. [these stats all came courtesy of fangraphs.com.]
as a left fielder, Michael's career with the Indians yielded a 19.5 fWAR, a 114 wRC+, a 19.2 BsR, a 0.7 UZR, and a 16 DRS. his WAR ranked 4th, his BsR ranked 7th, and his wRC+ ranked tied for 8th among 56 qualifying American League left fielders between 2009-2018. [these stats all came courtesy of fangraphs.com.]
as a center fielder, Michael's Indians career produced a 19.5 fWAR, a 114 wRC+, a 19.2 BsR, a -24.3 UZR, and a -22 DRS. his wRC+ ranked 7th, his WAR ranked 8th, and his BsR ranked 17th among 44 qualifying American League center fielders between 2009-2018. [these stats all came courtesy of fangraphs.com.]
what do you think about these situational numbers from Michael's 10 seasons with the Tribe? let me know in a comment below!
Counts
after 10 years with the Cleveland Indians, Michael bat .369 (178-for-482) with 62 RBI on the first pitch of a count in an at bat. he totaled 40 doubles, 3 triples, and 14 home runs (57 extra base hits), along with 3 sac flies, 90 runs, 2 hit by pitches, 44 stolen bases, 8 caught stealing, 2 reached on errors, 5 sac bunts, 14 GIDP, and 266 total bases. furthermore, he had a .370 OBP, .552 SLG, and .921 OPS.
after 10 years with the Cleveland Indians, Michael bat .286 (99-for-346) with 51 RBI with a full count in an at bat. he totaled 22 doubles, 1 triple, and 8 home runs (31 extra base hits), along with 1 sac fly, 54 runs, 150 walks, 0 hit by pitches, 5 stolen bases, 5 caught stealing, 4 GIDP, 66 strikeouts, and 147 total bases. furthermore, he had a .501 OBP, .425 SLG, and .926 OPS.
after 10 years with the Cleveland Indians, Michael bat .294 (144-for-490) with 73 RBI with three balls in a count in an at bat. he totaled 36 doubles, 2 triples, and 11 home runs (49 extra base hits), along with 1 sac fly, 73 runs, 351 walks, 31 intentional walks, 1 hit by pitch, 8 stolen bases, 6 caught stealing, 1 reached on error, 1 sac bunt, 6 GIDP, 66 strikeouts, and 217 total bases. furthermore, he had a .588 OBP, .443 SLG, and 1.031 OPS.
after 10 years with the Cleveland Indians, Michael bat .231 (389-for-1,687) with 171 RBI with two strikes in a count in an at bat. he totaled 83 doubles, 3 triples, and 26 home runs (112 extra base hits), along with 14 sac flies, 176 runs, 150 walks, 11 hit by pitches, 30 stolen bases, 6 caught stealing, 10 reached on errors, 24 GIDP, 479 strikeouts, and 556 total bases. furthermore, he had a .295 OBP, .330 SLG, and .625 OPS.
after 10 years with the Cleveland Indians, Michael bat .316 (422-for-1,334) with 223 RBI when ahead in the count in an at bat. he totaled 92 doubles, 9 triples, and 39 home runs (140 extra base hits), along with 14 sac flies, 215 runs, 351 walks, 31 intentional walks, 4 hit by pitches, 28 stolen bases, 13 caught stealing, 12 reached on errors, 3 sac bunts, 30 GIDP, 66 strikeouts, and 649 total bases. furthermore, he had a .456 OBP, .487 SLG, and .943 OPS.
after 10 years with the Cleveland Indians, Michael bat .243 (304-for-1,253) with 131 RBI when behind in the count in an at bat. he totaled 65 doubles, 2 triples, and 12 home runs (79 extra base hits), along with 11 sac flies, 125 runs, 0 walks, 11 hit by pitches, 22 stolen bases, 7 caught stealing, 5 reached on errors, 3 sac bunts, 26 GIDP, 266 strikeouts, and 409 total bases. furthermore, he had a .247 OBP, .326 SLG, and .573 OPS.
after 10 years with the Cleveland Indians, Michael bat .319 (469-for-1,468) with 174 RBI with the count even in an at bat. he totaled 91 doubles, 8 triples, and 36 home runs (135 extra base hits), along with 15 sac flies, 203 runs, 0 walks, 9 hit by pitches, 68 stolen bases, 10 caught stealing, 13 reached on errors, 6 sac bunts, 36 GIDP, 147 strikeouts, and 684 total bases. furthermore, he had a .320 OBP, .466 SLG, and .786 OPS.
looks like Michael struggles most when he's behind in the count or in situations when there's two strikes. conversely, he's done exceptionally well when being aggressive and swinging at the first pitch. let know me if you have any thoughts about these specific count numbers below!
Calendar Months
during his Cleveland Indians career over the past 10 years, Michael hit .281 (172-for-612) with 81 RBI in 159 games in the month of March/April. he totaled 39 doubles, 3 triples, and 13 home runs (55 extra base hits), along with 4 sac flies, 79 runs, 54 walks, 5 intentional walks, 6 hit by pitches, 15 stolen bases, 6 caught stealing, 3 reached on errors, 2 sac bunts, 12 GIDP, 80 strikeouts, and 256 total bases. furthermore, he had a .343 OBP, .418 SLG, and .761 OPS.
over the past 10 years, Michael hit .307 (234-for-763) with 126 RBI in 196 games in the month of May. he totaled 46 doubles, 3 triples, and 20 home runs (69 extra base hits), along with 8 sac flies, 119 runs, 68 walks, 3 intentional walks, 4 hit by pitches, 29 stolen bases, 4 caught stealing, 4 reached on errors, 0 sac bunts, 23 GIDP, 83 strikeouts, and 346 total bases. furthermore, he had a .363 OBP, .453 SLG, and .816 OPS. maybe it's due to it being his birthday month, or simply that the temps start to warm up, but May is generally a very productive time of the season for Michael.
over the past 10 years, Michael hit .274 (172-for-627) with 71 RBI in 165 games in the month of June. he totaled 39 doubles, 3 triples, and 10 home runs (52 extra base hits), along with 9 sac flies, 71 runs, 56 walks, 4 intentional walks, 3 hit by pitches, 13 stolen bases, 5 caught stealing, 4 reached on errors, 0 sac bunts, 10 GIDP, 85 strikeouts, and 247 total bases. furthermore, he had a .332 OBP, .394 SLG, and .726 OPS. this particular month has been a bit of a stickler for Michael. he's played in June in seven of his ten years and four of those have not been kind to him.
over the past 10 years, Michael hit .287 (215-for-749) with 102 RBI in 193 games in the month of July. he totaled 48 doubles, 5 triples, and 18 home runs (71 extra base hits), along with 9 sac flies, 111 runs, 71 walks, 4 intentional walks, 3 hit by pitches, 21 stolen bases, 5 caught stealing, 3 reached on errors, 3 sac bunts, 21 GIDP, 75 strikeouts, and 327 total bases. furthermore, he had a .347 OBP, .437 SLG, and .784 OPS.
over the past 10 years, Michael hit .292 (193-for-660) with 85 RBI in 170 games in the month of August. he totaled 45 doubles, 3 triples, and 15 home runs (63 extra base hits), along with 8 sac flies, 87 runs, 52 walks, 4 intentional walks, 5 hit by pitches, 19 stolen bases, 5 caught stealing, 8 reached on errors, 3 sac bunts, 10 GIDP, 76 strikeouts, and 289 total bases. furthermore, he had a .345 OBP, .438 SLG, and .783 OPS.
over the past 10 years, Michael hit .325 (209-for-644) with 63 RBI in 168 games in the month of September/October. he totaled 31 doubles, 2 triples, and 11 home runs (44 extra base hits), along with 2 sac flies, 76 runs, 50 walks, 11 intentional walks, 3 hit by pitches, 21 stolen bases, 5 caught stealing, 8 reached on errors, 4 sac bunts, 16 GIDP, 80 strikeouts, and 277 total bases. furthermore, he had a .375 OBP, .430 SLG, and .805 OPS. when he's healthy, Michael typically finishes his seasons strong.
over the past 10 years, Michael hit .288 (676-for-2,346) with 339 RBI in 606 games in the 1st Half of baseball season. he totaled 142 doubles, 10 triples, and 54 home runs (206 extra base hits), along with 27 sac flies, 328 runs, 205 walks, 14 intentional walks, 14 hit by pitches, 66 stolen bases, 17 caught stealing, 13 reached on errors, 2 sac bunts, 55 GIDP, 277 strikeouts, and 1,000 total bases. furthermore, he had a .345 OBP, .426 SLG, and .772 OPS.
over the past 10 years, Michael hit .304 (519-for-1,709) with 189 RBI in 445 games in the 2nd Half of baseball season. he totaled 106 doubles, 9 triples, and 33 home runs (148 extra base hits), along with 13 sac flies, 215 runs, 146 walks, 17 intentional walks, 10 hit by pitches, 52 stolen bases, 13 caught stealing, 17 reached on errors, 10 sac bunts, 37 GIDP, 202 strikeouts, and 742 total bases. furthermore, he had a .359 OBP, .434 SLG, and .794 OPS. second halves always contain less games because that's how the MLB schedule is, so keep that in mind. that said, Michael, unlike some players who tend to tire out, has usually been a better hitter average-wise in the back half of the year throughout his career.
what are your thoughts about Michael's monthly splits? tell me in the comments!
Inning Splits
in 10 years as a Cleveland Indian, Michael bat .287 (210-for-732) with 82 RBI in 806 games in the 1st inning. he totaled 47 doubles, 4 triples, and 13 home runs (64 extra base hits), along with 5 sac flies, 99 runs, 67 walks, 1 intentional walk, 3 hit by pitches, 22 stolen bases, 4 caught stealing, 7 reached on errors, 1 sac bunt, 12 GIDP, 105 strikeouts, and 304 total bases. furthermore, he had a .347 OBP, .415 SLG, and .762 OPS. Michael was the Tribe's leadoff hitter and always batting in the 1st inning quite a bit in his first couple seasons, back when he wasn't the established hitter that he is now. so i'm sure that's why some of his numbers don't seem to be what i believe they should be. (i'm getting at that high strikeout total.)
in 10 years as a Cleveland Indian, Michael bat .275 (79-for-287) with 31 RBI in 307 games in the 2nd inning. he totaled 14 doubles, 1 triple, and 5 home runs (20 extra base hits), along with 40 runs, 20 walks, 7 stolen bases, 2 caught stealing, 1 reached on error, 6 GIDP, 34 strikeouts, and 110 total bases. furthermore, he had a .322 OBP, .383 SLG, and .706 OPS.
in 10 years as a Cleveland Indian, Michael hit .329 (164-for-499) with 78 RBI in 547 games in the 3rd inning. he totaled 39 doubles, 5 triples, and 6 home runs (50 extra base hits), along with 9 sac flies, 74 runs, 39 walks, 1 intentional walk, 2 hit by pitches, 14 stolen bases, 4 caught stealing, 3 reached on errors, 1 sac bunt, 15 GIDP, 41 strikeouts, and 231 total bases. furthermore, he had a .373 OBP, .463 SLG, and .836 OPS.
in 10 years as a Cleveland Indian, Michael hit .264 (115-for-436) with 50 RBI in 472 games in the 4th inning. he totaled 27 doubles, 2 triples, and 10 home runs (39 extra base hits), along with 3 sac flies, 51 runs, 31 walks, 3 hit by pitches, 10 stolen bases, 3 caught stealing, 2 reached on errors, 1 sac bunt, 16 GIDP, 38 strikeouts, and 176 total bases. furthermore, he had a .315 OBP, .404 SLG, and .719 OPS.
in 10 years as a Cleveland Indian, Michael hit .290 (121-for-417) with 78 RBI in 469 games in the 5th inning. he totaled 27 doubles, 4 triples, and 13 home runs (44 extra base hits), along with 8 sac flies, 63 runs, 40 walks, 2 intentional walks, 4 hit by pitches, 14 stolen bases, 4 caught stealing, 4 reached on errors, 12 GIDP, 44 strikeouts, and 195 total bases. furthermore, he had a .352 OBP, .468 SLG, and .819 OPS.
in 10 years as a Cleveland Indian, Michael hit .319 (150-for-470) with 63 RBI in 519 games in the 6th inning. he totaled 31 doubles, 2 triples, and 10 home runs (43 extra base hits), along with 4 sac flies, 66 runs, 35 walks, 2 intentional walks, 7 hit by pitches, 21 stolen bases, 5 caught stealing, 4 reached on errors, 1 sac bunt, 6 GIDP, 46 strikeouts, and 215 total bases. furthermore, he had a .372 OBP, .457 SLG, and .830 OPS.
in 10 years as a Cleveland Indian, Michael hit .283 (112-for-396) with 54 RBI in 438 games in the 7th inning. he totaled 22 doubles and 9 home runs (31 extra base hits), along with 6 sac flies, 45 runs, 31 walks, 2 intentional walks, 2 hit by pitches, 14 stolen bases, 4 caught stealing, 2 reached on errors, 5 sac bunts, 8 GIDP, 54 strikeouts, and 161 total bases. furthermore, he had a .333 OBP, .407 SLG, and .740 OPS.
in 10 years as a Cleveland Indian, Michael hit .300 (134-for-446) with 54 RBI in 492 games in the 8th inning. he totaled 21 doubles and 15 home runs (36 extra base hits), along with 3 sac flies, 62 runs, 38 walks, 7 intentional walks, 2 hit by pitches, 11 stolen bases, 1 caught stealing, 4 reached on errors, 12 GIDP, 62 strikeouts, and 200 total bases. furthermore, he had a .356 OBP, .448 SLG, and .804 OPS.
in 10 years as a Cleveland Indian, Michael hit .301 (87-for-289) with 29 RBI in 328 games in the 9th inning. he totaled 15 doubles, 1 triples, and 4 home runs (20 extra base hits), along with 1 sac fly, 32 runs, 35 walks, 11 intentional walks, 1 hit by pitch, 3 stolen bases, 3 caught stealing, 2 reached on errors, 2 sac bunts, 4 GIDP, 45 strikeouts, and 116 total bases. furthermore, he had a .377 OBP, .401 SLG, and .779 OPS.
in 10 years as a Cleveland Indian, Michael hit .277 (23-for-83) with 9 RBI in 72 games in extra innings. he totaled 5 doubles and 2 home runs (7 extra base hits), along with 1 sac fly, 11 runs, 15 walks, 5 intentional walks, 2 stolen bases, 1 reached on error, 1 sac bunt, 1 GIDP, 10 strikeouts, and 34 total bases. furthermore, he had a .384 OBP, .410 SLG, and .793 OPS.
so the 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th, and 9th innings appear to be Michael's best on paper.
now let's check out Michael's stats when grouping the game in 3rds.
in 10 years as a Cleveland Indian, Michael hit .298 (453-for-1,518) with 191 RBI in 1,018 games in innings 1-3. he totaled 100 doubles, 10 triples, and 24 home runs (134 extra base hits), along with 14 sac flies, 213 runs, 126 walks, 2 intentional walks, 5 hit by pitches, 43 stolen bases, 10 caught stealing, 11 reached on errors, 2 sac bunts, 33 GIDP, 180 strikeouts, and 645 total bases. furthermore, he had a .351 OBP, .425 SLG, and .776 OPS.
in 10 years as a Cleveland Indian, Michael hit .292 (386-for-1,323) with 191 RBI in 1,018 games in innings 4-6. he totaled 85 doubles, 8 triples, and 33 home runs (126 extra base hits), along with 15 sac flies, 180 runs, 106 walks, 4 intentional walks, 14 hit by pitches, 45 stolen bases, 12 caught stealing, 10 reached on errors, 2 sac bunts, 34 GIDP, 128 strikeouts, and 586 total bases. furthermore, he had a .347 OBP, .443 SLG, and .790 OPS.
in 10 years as a Cleveland Indian, Michael hit .294 (333-for-1,131) with 137 RBI in 989 games in innings 7-9. he totaled 58 doubles, 1 triple, and 28 home runs (87 extra base hits), along with 10 sac flies, 139 runs, 104 walks, 20 intentional walks, 5 hit by pitches, 28 stolen bases, 8 caught stealing, 8 reached on errors, 7 sac bunts, 24 GIDP, 161 strikeouts, and 477 total bases. furthermore, he had a .354 OBP, .422 SLG, and .775 OPS.
breaking it up like this, Michael can hit in any inning. at one point in his career, pitchers almost never liked to pitch to him late in games. that was mostly in his 2014 and 2015 seasons; definitely not last year when he was batting in front of Jose Ramirez though and probably not now that he's gonna be batting in the top 5 of the Astros' lineup either.
leave a comment with what you think about all these splits.
Specific Game Situations
in his 10 years playing for the Cleveland Indians, Michael hit .291 (178-for-612) with 79 RBI in 509 late & close game situations. he totaled 27 doubles, 1 triple, and 15 home runs (43 extra base hits), along with 5 sac flies, 84 runs, 75 walks, 19 intentional walks, 2 hit by pitches, 19 stolen bases, 6 caught stealing, 8 reached on errors, 6 sac bunts, 11 GIDP, 83 strikeouts, and 252 total bases. furthermore, he had a .367 OBP, .412 SLG, and .779 OPS.
in his 10 years playing for the Cleveland Indians, Michael hit .281 (351-for-1,247) with 136 RBI in 846 tie game situations. he totaled 71 doubles, 7 triples, and 25 home runs (103 extra base hits), along with 10 sac flies, 143 runs, 118 walks, 13 intentional walks, 6 hit by pitches, 37 stolen bases, 11 caught stealing, 12 reached on errors, 3 sac bunts, 29 GIDP, 155 strikeouts, and 511 total bases. furthermore, he had a .344 OBP, .410 SLG, and .754 OPS.
in his 10 years playing for the Cleveland Indians, Michael hit .313 (240-for-766) with 233 RBI in 564 high leverage game situations. he totaled 39 doubles, 1 triple, and 21 home runs (61 extra base hits), along with 22 sac flies, 227 runs, 77 walks, 15 intentional walks, 4 hit by pitches, 41 stolen bases, 12 caught stealing, 10 reached on errors, 6 sac bunts, 31 GIDP, 79 strikeouts, and 344 total bases. furthermore, he had a .369 OBP, .449 SLG, and .818 OPS.
in his 10 years playing for the Cleveland Indians, Michael hit .290 (441-for-1,523) with 154 RBI in 876 medium leverage game situations. he totaled 97 doubles, 11 triples, and 21 home runs (129 extra base hits), along with 7 sac flies, 188 runs, 124 walks, 9 intentional walks, 6 hit by pitches, 55 stolen bases, 12 caught stealing, 13 reached on errors, 4 sac bunts, 36 GIDP, 180 strikeouts, and 623 total bases. furthermore, he had a .344 OBP, .409 SLG, and .753 OPS.
in his 10 years playing for the Cleveland Indians, Michael hit .292 (514-for-1,763) with 135 RBI in 894 low leverage game situations. he totaled 112 doubles, 7 triples, and 45 home runs (164 extra base hits), along with 7 sac flies, 124 runs, 150 walks, 7 intentional walks, 14 hit by pitches, 22 stolen bases, 6 caught stealing, 7 reached on errors, 2 sac bunts, 25 GIDP, 219 strikeouts, and 775 total bases. furthermore, he had a .351 OBP, .440 SLG, and .790 OPS.
the first three certainly go along with being a clutch hitter. would you want Michael coming to bat in these game situations? comment why below.
Night & Day
when Michael played with the Cleveland Indians over 10 years, he hit .294 (804-for-2,738) with 345 RBI in 708 night games. he totaled 168 doubles, 14 triples, and 58 home runs (240 extra base hits), along with 30 sac flies, 366 runs, 227 walks, 21 intentional walks, 15 hit by pitches, 80 stolen bases, 22 caught stealing, 20 reached on errors, 10 sac bunts, 69 GIDP, 317 strikeouts, and 1,174 total bases. furthermore, he had a .348 OBP, .429 SLG, and .776 OPS.
when Michael played with the Cleveland Indians over 10 years, he hit .297 (391-for-1,317) with 183 RBI in 343 day games. he totaled 80 doubles, 5 triples, and 29 home runs (114 extra base hits), along with 10 sac flies, 177 runs, 124 walks, 10 intentional walks, 9 hit by pitches, 38 stolen bases, 8 caught stealing, 10 reached on errors, 2 sac bunts, 23 GIDP, 162 strikeouts, and 568 total bases. furthermore, he had a .359 OBP, .431 SLG, and .790 OPS.
obviously, the stats are more plentiful at night because he played in more than double those games than afternooners during his career. but clearly, time of day has never affected his performance. he mastered how to play the outfield in the bright sun thanks to years of practice as well. do you prefer it when Michael plays night or day games? let me know in the comments!
Grass vs. Turf
throughout Michael's 10 years as a Cleveland Indian, he hit .295 (1,143-for-3,880) with 512 RBI in 1,007 games on grass. he totaled 239 doubles, 17 triples, and 81 home runs (337 extra base hits), along with 39 sac flies, 523 runs, 333 walks, 30 intentional walks, 23 hit by pitches, 117 stolen bases, 29 caught stealing, 29 reached on errors, 12 sac bunts, 88 GIDP, 454 strikeouts, and 1,659 total bases. furthermore, he had a .351 OBP, .428 SLG, and .778 OPS.
throughout Michael's 10 years as a Cleveland Indian, he hit .297 (52-for-175) with 16 RBI in 44 games on artificial turf. he totaled 9 doubles, 2 triples, and 6 home runs (17 extra base hits), along with 1 sac fly, 20 runs, 18 walks, 1 intentional walk, 1 hit by pitch, 1 stolen base, 1 caught stealing, 1 reached on error, 4 GIDP, 25 strikeouts, and 83 total bases. furthermore, he had a .364 OBP, .474 SLG, and .838 OPS.
as Michael got older, he began to get some scheduled days off when the Tribe would play on turf, specifically in Toronto at Rogers Centre and Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field, because astroturf can be tough on the body, especially if you're a position player in the field. offensively, aside from his early days in 2010, Michael actually had a tough time hitting on turf in what were arguably his best MLB seasons so far, in 2014 and 2015. otherwise, the turf didn't hurt his ability to hit.
what do you think about these splits? and do you like ballparks with turf? sound off in the comments below!
Starter vs. Substitute
during Michael's career with the Cleveland Indians over 10 years, he hit .294 (1,184-for-4,025) with 525 RBI in 1,018 games as a starter. he totaled 246 doubles, 19 triples, and 87 home runs (352 extra base hits), along with 40 sac flies, 538 runs, 346 walks, 29 intentional walks, 24 hit by pitches, 116 stolen bases, 30 caught stealing, 30 reached on errors, 92 GIDP, 474 strikeouts, and 1,729 total bases. furthermore, he had a .350 OBP, .457 SLG, and .780 OPS.
during Michael's career with the Cleveland Indians over 10 years, he hit .367 (11-for-30) with 3 RBI in 33 games as a substitute. he totaled 2 doubles (2 extra base hits), along with 5 runs, 5 walks, 2 intentional walks, 2 stolen bases, 5 strikeouts, and 13 total bases. furthermore, he had a .457 OBP, .433 SLG, and .890 OPS.
i believe it's much harder to come in off the bench as opposed to starting a game, but Michael can do well in either situation, don't you think? leave your thoughts in a comment.
Tribe Wins vs. Losses
as a Cleveland Indian for the past 10 years of his career, Michael hit .333 (694-for-2,081) with 367 RBI in 533 Tribe wins. he totaled 144 doubles, 13 triples, and 60 home runs (271 extra base hits), along with 29 sac flies, 387 runs, 204 walks, 27 intentional walks, 17 hit by pitches, 72 stolen bases, 16 caught stealing, 15 reached on errors, 45 GIDP, 231 strikeouts, and 1,044 total bases. furthermore, he had a .393 OBP, .502 SLG, and .894 OPS.
as a Cleveland Indian for the past 10 years of his career, Michael hit .254 (501-for-1,974) with 161 RBI in 518 Tribe losses. he totaled 104 doubles, 6 triples, and 27 home runs (137 extra base hits), along with 11 sac flies, 156 runs, 147 walks, 4 intentional walks, 7 hit by pitches, 46 stolen bases, 14 caught stealing, 15 reached on errors, 47 GIDP, 248 strikeouts, and 698 total bases. furthermore, he had a .306 OBP, .354 SLG, and .660 OPS.
wow, those are some drastic splits. as far as his numbers in the losses, Michael's best year was actually 2009, when he bat .300 in 22 games the Indians lost. otherwise, he never bat above .283 in a season in Tribe Ls.
why do you think Michael didn't do as well in team losses? was it simply good opposing pitching or something else? comment your theories below!
Versus AL Central Division Teams
note: because i did not document Michael's numbers against divisional teams early in his career, i had to completely eliminate his defensive info, specifics of being subbed out of games early, how many games he didn't play on the schedule, whether the games were at home or on the road, and the Indians' record when he played/didn't play.
vs. the Chicago White Sox, Michael bat .280 (124-for-443) in 116 games during his 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians. overall, Michael had 87 singles and 37 extra base hits, including 25 doubles and 12 home runs, as well as 59 RBI, 6 sac flies, 62 runs, 28 walks, 3 intentional walks, 5 hit by pitches, 12 stolen bases, 4 caught stealing, 2 reached on errors, 2 sac bunts, 12 GIDP, 70 strikeouts, and 185 total bases. furthermore, he had a .326 OBP, .418 SLG, and .743 OPS. at the beginning of his career, Michael struggled against Chicago, so that's why his BA is just average. his other stats are more than satisfactory, however.
vs. the Detroit Tigers, Michael bat .329 (161-for-489) in 125 games during his 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians. overall, Michael had 111 singles and 50 extra base hits, including 34 doubles, 5 triples, and 11 home runs, as well as 69 RBI, 3 sac flies, 67 runs, 39 walks, 6 intentional walks, 5 hit by pitches, 24 stolen bases, 3 caught stealing, 1 reached on error, 2 sac bunts, 9 GIDP, 44 strikeouts, and 238 total bases. furthermore, he had a .382 OBP, .487 SLG, and .869 OPS. Michael always seemed to have Detroit's number when he played them, even when Justin Verlander started. now, the two are teammates. go figure.
vs. the Kansas City Royals, Michael bat .324 (153-for-472) in 121 games during his 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians. overall, Michael had 113 singles and 40 extra base hits, including 29 doubles, 2 triples, and 9 home runs (1 being a grand slam), as well as 64 RBI, 7 sac flies, 75 runs, 43 walks, 5 intentional walks, 5 hit by pitches, 17 stolen bases, 3 caught stealing, 3 reached on errors, 14 GIDP, 51 strikeouts, and 213 total bases. furthermore, he had a .381 OBP, .451 SLG, and .833 OPS. this is another Central team Michael seemingly had no problem with in his career.
vs. the Minnesota Twins, Michael bat .284 (131-for-462) in 119 games during his 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians. overall, Michael had 99 singles and 32 extra base hits, including 21 doubles, 4 triples, and 7 home runs, as well as 54 RBI, 3 sac flies, 52 runs, 37 walks, 6 intentional walks, 2 hit by pitches, 12 stolen bases, 2 caught stealing, 5 reached on errors, 11 GIDP, 51 strikeouts, and 181 total bases. furthermore, he had a .337 OBP, .392 SLG, and .729 OPS. Michael's been up and down against the Twins, but he really had a difficult time with them last year. it was actually his worst full season of play against Minny since 2013. on the contrary, he did great in 2014, 2015, and 2017. still, this might be one team he'll be glad he won't have to see 19 times a year anymore.
despite Michael being in a different division now, i think he will continue to do well when he faces teams in the AL Central, even with the inevitable roster turnover. were you impressed with Michael's divisional numbers over the past decade? comment why or why not below.
i must admit though, it's going to be sad seeing him now also have to play against the Indians for the first time in his career. how do you think Michael's going to perform when Cleveland goes to Houston in late April? true, he knows all the pitches that the Tribe's starters have, but can he hit them?
Interleague Play
in 10 years with the Cleveland Indians, Michael played a total of 129 games against National League teams. overall, he bat .255 (124-for-487) in Interleague play in his career. that might be one reason why he did not want to switch leagues when he was looking for a new team in free agency. this has certainly been one of the few areas of weakness for Michael throughout his career. granted, he has better numbers against some NL teams more than others, but he played in IL games in eight of his 10 years with the Tribe and really only put up acceptable numbers in 2015 and 2018, when he actually excelled overall in IL play. maybe he can build off last year's success and use it as momentum going forward now.
note: because i did not document Michael's numbers against NL teams for the majority of his career, i had to completely eliminate his defensive info, specifics of being subbed out of games early, how many games he didn't play on the schedule, and the Indians' record when he played/didn't play.
vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field (no designated hitter allowed) and Progressive Field, Michael bat .211 (8-for-38) in 9 games--7 on the road and 2 at home--during his 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians. overall, Michael had 6 singles and 2 extra base hits, including 1 double and 1 home run, as well as 6 RBI, 5 runs, 5 walks, 1 stolen base, 1 reached on error, 2 GIDP, 7 strikeouts, and 12 total bases. furthermore, he had a .302 OBP, .316 SLG, and .618 OPS.
vs. the Atlanta Braves at (then) Turner Field (no designated hitter allowed), Michael bat .333 (4-for-12) in 3 games during his 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians. overall, Michael had 4 singles, 2 stolen bases, 1 GIDP, and 4 total bases. furthermore, he had a .333 OBP, .333 SLG, and .667 OPS.
vs. the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field (no designated hitter allowed) and Progressive Field, Michael bat .370 (10-for-27) in 7 games--4 on the road and 3 at home--during his 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians. overall, Michael had 8 singles and 2 extra base hits, including 2 doubles, as well as 3 RBI, 3 runs, 3 walks, 1 stolen base, 2 caught stealing, 2 strikeouts, and 12 total bases. furthermore, he had a .433 OBP, .444 SLG, and .878 OPS.
vs. the Cincinnati Reds at Progressive Field and Great American Ball Park (no designated hitter allowed), Michael bat .291 (39-for-134) in 35 games--17 at home and 18 on the road--during his 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians. overall, Michael had 25 singles and 14 extra base hits, including 12 doubles and 2 home runs, as well as 23 RBI, 3 sac flies, 22 runs, 14 walks, 5 stolen bases, 1 caught stealing, 3 reached on errors, 3 GIDP, 9 strikeouts, and 57 total bases. furthermore, he had a .351 OBP, .425 SLG, and .776 OPS.
vs. the Colorado Rockies at Progressive Field and Coors Field (no designated hitter allowed), Michael bat .161 (5-for-31) in 8 games--6 at home and 2 on the road--during his 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians. overall, Michael had 3 singles and 2 extra base hits, including 2 doubles, as well as 1 RBI, 6 runs, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, and 7 total bases. furthermore, he had a .188 OBP, .226 SLG, and .413 OPS.
vs. the Houston Astros* at Minute Maid Park (no designated hitter allowed), Michael bat .182 (2-for-11) in 3 games during his 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians. overall, Michael had 2 singles, 1 RBI, 1 walk, and 2 total bases. furthermore, he had a .250 OBP, .182 SLG, and .432 OPS.
*the Astros used to be a National League team from 1962-2012. Michael played against them on June 22-24 in 2012, so i had to include those stats here in the Interleague section.
vs. the Miami Marlins at Progressive Field and Marlins Park (no designated hitter allowed), Michael bat .091 (2-for-22) in 6 games--3 at home and 3 on the road--during his 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians. overall, Michael had 2 singles, 1 RBI, 2 runs, 1 stolen base, 2 GIDP, 1 strikeout, and 2 total bases. furthermore, he had a .091 OBP, .091 SLG, and .182 OPS.
vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium (no designated hitter allowed) and Progressive Field, Michael bat .294 (5-for-17) in 5 games--3 on the road and 2 at home--during his 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians. overall, Michael had 2 singles and 3 extra base hits, including 3 doubles, as well as 4 RBI, 1 sac fly, 3 runs, 3 walks, 1 stolen base, 1 reached on error, and 8 total bases. furthermore, he had a .381 OBP, .471 SLG, and .852 OPS.
vs. the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park (no designated hitter allowed) and Progressive Field, Michael bat .448 (13-for-29) in 8 games--4 on the road and 4 at home--during his 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians. overall, Michael had 8 singles and 5 extra base hits, including 2 doubles and 3 home runs, as well as 10 RBI, 7 runs, 6 walks, 1 stolen base, 1 reached on error, 1 GIDP, 1 strikeout, and 24 total bases. furthermore, he had a .543 OBP, .828 SLG, and 1.370 OPS.
vs. the Philadelphia Phillies at Progressive Field and Citizens Bank Park (no designated hitter allowed), Michael bat .261 (6-for-23) in 6 games--2 at home and 4 on the road--during his 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians. overall, Michael had 4 singles and 2 extra base hits, including 1 double and 1 home run, as well as 4 RBI, 3 runs, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, and 10 total bases. furthermore, he had a .292 OBP, .435 SLG, and .726 OPS.
vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates at Progressive Field and PNC Park (no designated hitter allowed), Michael bat .163 (7-for-43) in 12 games--9 at home and 3 on the road--during his 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians. overall, Michael had 5 singles and 2 extra base hits, including 2 doubles, as well as 4 RBI, 1 sac fly, 1 run, 3 walks, 1 sac bunt, 5 strikeouts, and 9 total bases. furthermore, he had a .213 OBP, .209 SLG, and .422 OPS.
vs. the San Diego Padres at Progressive Field, Michael bat .227 (5-for-22) in 6 games during his 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians. overall, Michael had 4 singles and 1 extra base hit, including 1 triple, as well as 1 RBI, 3 runs, 2 walks, 3 GIDP, 4 strikeouts, and 7 total bases. furthermore, he had a .292 OBP, .318 SLG, and .610 OPS.
vs. the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park (no designated hitter allowed), Michael bat .226 (7-for-31) in 9 games during his 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians. overall, Michael had 5 singles and 2 extra base hits, including 2 doubles, as well as 1 RBI, 3 runs, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts, and 9 total bases. furthermore, he had a .294 OBP, .290 SLG, and .584 OPS.
vs. the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium (no designated hitter allowed) and Progressive Field, Michael bat .278 (10-for-36) in 9 games--6 on the road and 3 at home--during his 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians. overall, Michael had 7 singles and 3 extra base hits, including 2 doubles and 1 home run, as well as 3 RBI, 5 runs, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts, and 15 total bases. furthermore, he had a .366 OBP, .417 SLG, and .783 OPS.
vs. the Washington Nationals at Progressive Field, Michael bat .091 (1-for-11) in 3 games during his 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians. overall, Michael had 1 extra base hit, including 1 double, as well as 2 RBI, 1 strikeout, and 2 total bases. furthermore, he had a .091 OBP, .182 SLG, and .273 OPS.
Michael has never faced the New York Mets in his 10-year career. during his time in the majors, he missed out on two opportunities to play them. the first occurred when the Indians played the Mets from September 6-8 in 2013 at Progressive Field, but Michael was back in Florida that weekend for the birth of his daughter. then Michael missed another chance when the Indians played the Mets from April 15-17 in 2016 at Progressive Field, but Michael was in the middle of his minor league rehab assignment with the Double A Akron RubberDucks after opening the season on the 15-Day DL while continuing to recover from offseason right shoulder surgery for a torn labrum. (for the record: the Indians also played the Mets from June 15-17, 2010, at Progressive Field, but Michael was down in Triple A with the Columbus Clippers at that time.)
did anything about Michael's IL play stand out to you? leave all your thoughts in the comment section!
League Rankings
for this section, i am comparing some of Michael's numbers from the last 10 years to other qualifying players in the American League and MLB who are either outfielders or left fielders. i'm not including center fielders since Michael played way more as a LF in his career with the Indians. and, as always, only the stats that rank within the Top 10 are included. so here they are (per fangraphs.com):
among qualifying left fielders in the American League, Michael ranked 2nd in batting average (.295), singles (841), and doubles (248); 3rd in RBI (528), intentional walks (31), and sac flies (40); tied for 3rd in hits (1,195); 4th in runs (543), walks (351), stolen bases (118), plate appearances (4,483), at bats (4,055), and OBP (.351); and 5th in games played (1,051). Michael also ranked 53rd out of 56 in K rate (10.7%), meaning he had the 4th lowest strikeout rate among qualifying AL LF in the last 10 years.
among qualifying outfielders in the American League, Michael was 4th in singles and doubles; tied for 5th in hits; 6th in batting average; 7th in intentional walks; 8th in sac flies; 9th in at bats; and 10th in RBI and plate appearances. besides that, he was 112th out of 115 players in K rate, giving him the 4th lowest strikeout rate among qualifying outfielders in the American League over his last 10 years.
among qualifying players in the American League, Michael ranked 279th in K rate out of 290 qualifying players, which was the 12th lowest strikeout rate in the AL in the last decade.
among all qualifying left fielders in the Major Leagues, Michael was 4th in sac flies and batting average; 6th in singles; 8th in doubles and RBI; 9th in hits, at bats, and plate appearances; 10th in runs and OBP; and tied for 10th in stolen bases. Michael was also 105th out of 109 in K rate, meaning he had the 5th lowest strikeout rate among qualifying left fielders in MLB in the last 10 years.
among all qualifying outfielders in the Major Leagues, Michael ranked 7th in batting average. he additionally ranked 228th out of 232 players in K rate, giving him the 5th lowest strikeout rate among qualifying outfielders in MLB over his last 10 years.
among all qualifying players in the Major Leagues, Michael was 540th in K rate out of 560 qualifying players, which was the 21st lowest strikeout rate in MLB in the last decade.
how do you feel about Michael's league rankings in 10 seasons of play? share your thoughts in the comment section.
In Indians History📕
after looking back through Michael's 10 years as a Cleveland Indian, he made history numerous times. here are some of the things that i'll never forget that have forever put Michael in the Tribe's record books:
Michael set a new franchise record when he hit a double in the game on May 30, 2014, versus the Colorado Rockies to give him a 19-game home hitting streak. per Jordan Bastian and Alec Shirkey's article on mlb.com/indians, Michael was the 1st player in Indians history with a hitting streak that long at Progressive Field. i included much more information about this milestone in my separate Brantley Sets Another Franchise Record with 19-Game Home Hitting Streak blog post. (note: this record was later broken by Jason Kipnis in 2015 when he hit in 29 consecutive home games between May 1 and July 6.)
on September 27, 2014 versus the Tampa Bay Rays, Michael registered his career-high 200th hit and achieved a new franchise record. that monumental base knock made him the 1st player in Indians history to total a minimum of 200 hits, 40 doubles, 20 home runs, and 20 stolen bases in one season. furthermore, Michael became the 2nd player in Indians history to hit .320 or above with at least 40 doubles, 20 home runs, 90 RBI, and 20 stolen bases as well. Zack Meisel wrote about historic numbers in his book, 100 Things Indians Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.
when Michael collected his 150th hit of 2015 on September 4, 2015, against the Detroit Tigers, it gave him 4 straight seasons with at least 150 hits (2012-2015), making him 1st Tribesman to accomplish this since Grady Sizemore did it from 2005-2008, Bastian tweeted.
Michael hit his 45th double of 2015 versus the Chicago White Sox on September 20. that tied a career high from 2014, giving him consecutive seasons with 45 doubles, and also made him the 4th player in Indians history with back-to-back years hitting 45 doubles or more, as cited by the Indians' twitter account.
in addition, Michael led every player in Major League Baseball in 2015 with his 45 doubles and was the 3rd player in Indians history who led the AL in doubles, per a TribeVibe article.
on September 27, 2015, Michael stole his 15th base of the season against the Kansas City Royals. in doing that, he became the 2nd player in Indians history to boast back-to-back seasons of at least 150 hits, 45 doubles, 15 home runs, and 15 stolen bases, according to Bastian's article on mlb.com/indians.
in addition, once Michael ended his 2015 campaign with a .310 batting average, he represented not only the 1st player in Indians history, but also the 1st player in Major League history with back-to-back seasons of at least 150 hits, 45 doubles, 15 home runs, 15 stolen bases, and a .300 batting average, per Bastian.
when Michael got his fourth hit in the game versus the Tigers on May 5, 2016, he acquired his eighth consecutive season of recording at least one four-hit game. from Chris Assenheimer's article on chronicle.northcoastnow.com, that made Michael the 4th player in Indians history to accomplish this.
when Michael hit a line drive double on July 19, 2017, against the San Francisco Giants, he became the 36th Indians player in franchise history to acquire 1,000 hits, per Bastian. also at that time, he was one of just 87 active MLB players with 1,000 career hits, as was noted in Bastian and Jonathan Hawthorne's article on mlb.com/indians. more details about the momentous occasion can be found in my separate Brantley Reaches Milestone with 1,000th Career Hit! blog post.
Michael became the first Indian to hit two consecutive home runs in the form of grand slams since Ben Broussard did it in 2004, according to Joe Noga's article on cleveland.com, when he hit two in 2018, one on May 1 and another on May 11. Michael was also the first Indian with two slams in the same month since 2006, when Travis Hafner hit two in both May and July of that season. in addition, Pronk and Shin-Soo Choo were the last Indians to hit at least two grannies in one season (2006) before Michael's two in 2018.💪💪
when Michael played against the Tigers on July 28, 2018, he became the 30th Indians player in franchise history to play 1,000 MLB games with the club, per WTAM 1100 radio broadcaster Tom Hamilton. all the details about the milestone can be found in my special separate Brantley's 1,000th Major League Game! blog post.
one additional franchise record is listed in the next section.
what do you think about all these historical moments from Michael's career with the Tribe? do you remember them and/or were you at any of these games? leave your stories in a comment!
In The Field
defensively, Michael has never played anywhere other than the outfield for the Cleveland Indians in 10 years. that might be about to change in 2019 with his new team, the Houston Astros. but for now, i'm going to talk about some of his numbers as an OF.
he made his Major League debut in left field in 2009, but played a lot more center field over his first four years. in 2013 and 2014, Michael was the team's main left fielder, though still saw time in center when needed. by 2015, however, he only played left when he was in the field.
Michael recorded 1,906 putouts in 1,003 games as an outfielder during his 10-year career with the Tribe. he also totaled 56 outfield assists, 12 errors (9 fielding vs. 3 throwing), and 12 double plays in 1,974 total chances, yielding a .994 fielding percentage in 8,656.0 innings.
as the left fielder, Michael had 1,104 putouts, 48 assists, 6 errors, and 9 double plays in 1,158 total chances, and a .995 fielding percentage in 5,694.2 innings and 672 games during his 10-year career with the Tribe.
as the center fielder, Michael had 802 putouts, 8 assists, 6 errors, and 3 double plays in 816 total chances, and a .993 fielding percentage in 2,961.1 innings and 356 games during his 10-year career with the Tribe.
Michael's most significant milestone as an outfielder occurred when he set an Indians franchise record and career high by playing 247 consecutive errorless games in the outfield, spanning over June 5, 2012 - April 2, 2014, in which he played a mix of both center and left field. he came close to breaking his record and achieving a new career high until he committed a fielding error in left field on June 29, 2015, ending his streak at 202 perfect games played in the outfield. good luck to the next Tribe OF who tries to surpass Michael's record--it's a lot harder to do than it seems and right now i don't think we even have any outfielder who's on track to do it.
Defensive League Rankings
now here are the league rankings of Michael's defensive stats over the past 10 years, courtesy of fangraphs.com:
among AL outfielders, Michael's 56 assists rank 9th. Alex Gordon of the Kansas City Royals has the most assists with 91 between 2009-2018. Michael also played the 7th most innings (8,656.0) of all AL OF.
among all MLB outfielders, Michael's 56 assists rank tied for 24th (with Curtis Granderson). he also played the 30th most innings of all MLB OF.
among AL left fielders, Michael's 48 assists rank 3rd. Gordon has the most assists with 91 between 2009-2018. Michael also played the 3rd most games (672) and 3rd most innings (5,694.2) of all AL LF.
among all MLB left fielders, Michael's 48 assists rank 7th. he also played the 8th most games and 8th most innings of all MLB LF.
among AL center fielders, Michael's 8 assists rank tied for 39th with 3 other players. Adam Jones of the Baltimore Orioles has the most assists with 87 between 2009-2018. Michael also played the 23rd most games (356) and 20th most innings (2,961.1) of all AL CF.
among all MLB center fielders, Michael's 8 assists rank tied for 78th with 8 other players. he also played the 47th most games and 45th most innings of all MLB CF.
the MLB OF assist leader between 2009-2018 is Gerardo Parra with 99.
i know there are other numbers out there that say Michael is not a good defender and a lot of fans have been rallying for him to move to 1st base or be a DH, but i'm not on that train. Michael might not have the legs he once did, but nobody worked the angles on that left field wall at Progressive Field better than him. and he still has a damn good arm and can throw strikes to the infield. so i want to see him continue to play left field because i know he's got some good years left in him. don't agree? tell me your argument in a comment!
phew, that was a lot, but i think that about covers everything. is there some type of situational stat that i didn't include here? i tried to focus on the most important ones, but if i left a stat out, please leave it in the comments below and i can go back and add it in. and let me know what you think about any of Michael's numbers from any section in this post!💭💻
ICYMI: here are the two previous posts in my Brantley's Career #s as an Indian series:
Part 1: Brantley's Career Game-by-Game Numbers & Notes as an Indian
Part 2: Brantley's Career Batting Order Position & LF/CF/PH/DH #s as an Indian
so that's it, guys. gosh, i can't believe this was the final Brantley's numbers blog that i'm going to put together/post. i'm hoping to get my last blog of 2018 published on New Year's Eve, so stay tuned because a major change is coming up. or you can subscribe to my email list to be notified when my blog goes live. just enter your email address in the box underneath the Blog Archive sidebar over on the upper right side of this page and you'll be all set.📧
feel free to follow me on twitter @clevelandgirl23, too! see you again real soon.☮
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