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

Brantley's Career High 74 RBI

Michael Brantley is in the midst of a career year, and for the 3rd day in a row, he broke a personal record. in this afternoon's game against the New York Yankees, he set another new career high for himself. Michael now has 74 RBI in a season for the first time in his career. and it's only August 9!

the Indians were leading the game, 2-0, in the top of the 8th inning at Yankee Stadium when Michael faced right-handed relief pitcher Chase Whitley. Michael was DHing in the game because Terry Francona wanted to give his legs a rest from playing in the outfield, but still keep his bat in the lineup. and it's a good thing he did because after a 1-1 count, Michael hit a home run high and deep to right field off the top of the foul pole. i mean really, is there a better way to acquire your new career high RBI total than by driving yourself in with a home run? that was career high home run #17, and RBI #74 for Michael.

photo courtesy of The Plain Dealer

photo courtesy of The Plain Dealer

 

screenshots cropped from 2 different videos on Indians.com

Hammy and Rosey interviewed Michael on the radio after the game, which the Indians won, 3-0, and here is some of what he had to say. "my mom and dad are from New York, so i had family in the stands watching. it was exciting. hopefully they had fun watching."

on the home run that hit off the top of the foul pole: "it wasn't a bad pitch. it was more of a reaction type swing. luckily it stayed fair."

on how he's been handling being the DH the last 2 games: "i try to stay warm, do a lot of jogging in the tunnel, and hit off the tee. it's an adjustment period that i'm going through, but i'm learning from it."


last season, Michael got his 73rd RBI on September 26, and that was where his career high/RBI total for 2013 topped out. i was really happy with that number and thought it was great to see him excel at the plate with runners on base. now that he's already beat that previous career high, i am very excited to see how many more RBI he can add to this new career total in these last 45 games of the season. he's on pace to drive in between 90-100 runners. my mind is seriously being blown at just how amazing a year Michael is putting together. i have cried so many tears of joy, it's almost ridiculous lol #soproudofmyboy


and if you're keeping track, Michael has now set career highs this season in the following categories:
hit by pitches, 6/10 (currently has 6)
home runs, 6/15 (currently has 17)
runs scored, 7/21 (currently has 77)
extra base hits, 8/7 (currently has 50)
total bases, 8/8 (currently has 229)
RBI, 8/9 (currently has 74)

Brantley's Career High 67 Runs Scored

this is going to be a season of career highs for Michael, as he just set another career high in the runs scored category. his previous high was 66 runs, and tonight on July 21, he broke that record. here's how it happened.

Michael was in dire need of a day off, so Terry Francona did not put him in the starting lineup against the Minnesota Twins. but when the Indians were down 3-2 in the top of the 8th inning, Tito decided to pinch hit Michael for Ryan Raburn in the 5th spot in the order. with 1 out already in the inning, Michael came on to face right-handed pitcher Casey Fien. after a 2-0 count, Michael hit a double to deep right-center field. he advanced to 3rd base on Nick Swisher's groundout to 1st, then scored a run when Roberto Perez hit a 2-out single to center field. that tied the game at 3, and Michael got his 67th run, a new career high.

screenshots cropped from a video on Indians.com

but, for the record, the Indians ended up losing the game, 4-3, after Bryan Shaw gave up a home run in the bottom of the 8th inning to Josh Willingham.

now i know some people may not think this is a big deal category, and i think those people are kinda right. this is not necessarily a facet of the game that oneself can control. the number of runs a player scores is mainly dependent upon how well the hitters behind him do, in order to drive him in. but of course it's also important that a hitter get himself on base for the chance to score a lot of runs. so it's good to see that despite some of his teammates' offensive struggles, Michael was still able to set this new career high. and to do it with 2+ months left in the season is pretty phenomenal. every other run he scores from tomorrow until the end of the year will only add to his new career high. at this rate, i think he might finish up with close to 90 runs scored. wow!

so what career high will Michael achieve next? it's almost like a race now, so i don't know for sure lol but one thing is certain--he's most definitely setting the bar high this season.