Brantley's 2017 All Star Game Experience & #s (w/ Pics & Quotes)

Michael Brantley took part in the 88th annual All Star Game on July 11, 2017, at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida. it was the second ASG of his career and i have all the details!

note: even after the announcement on July 2 that Michael was named to the 2017 AL All Star Team, he continued to be congratulated and spoke about his All Star nod several times in the days leading up to the Midsummer Classic. actually, a lot of things occurred in relation to the All Star Game prior to the event that i thought would be good to include here. therefore, this blog covers ASG-relevant information from July 6-11. enjoy!


Prior to the All Star Break

July 6: before the Cleveland Indians game versus the San Diego Padres, Michael was interviewed by Andre Knott, the team's in-game reporter for SportsTime Ohio, and an excerpt was uploaded to a youtube video on the FOX Sports Ohio channel.

Knott began by inquiring how satisfying it is that he made the All Star team after everything he's gone through. "it's

Brantley's First Half 2017 #s

hey everyone! can you believe we're already at the All Star Break? it's definitely needed, if you ask me. except, it won't be much of a break for some ballplayers, including Michael Brantley, who was selected as an American League OF reserve for this year's Midsummer Classic! so as Michael heads down to Miami, Florida, for the 88th annual All Star Game, let me share his first half numbers of 2017 with you. and keep in mind, even though teams have played more than 81 games--the technical halfway point in baseball--all games preceding the All Star Break are considered to be part of the "first half" of the sport.


so far in 2017, Michael has 278 plate appearances and 250 at bats in 66 games (551.0 innings). in total, he has 76 hits, 23 extra base hits, 53 singles, 17 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs, 37 RBI, 2 sac flies, 31 runs, 25 walks, 2 intentional walks, 1 hit by pitch, 8 stolen bases (6 - 2nd, 2 - 3rd), 1 caught stealing (2nd), 6 GIDP, 40 strikeouts (33 swinging, 7 looking), 18 first at bat hits, 110 total bases, 94 left on base, 103 putouts, 5 assists, and 1 error.


1st Half 2017 batting average:

Brantley Named to MLB's 2017 AL All Star Team!

for the second time in his career, Michael Brantley is an All Star!👏👏 that's right, Michael has been named as an American League outfield reserve and is headed to Marlins Park in Miami, Florida, for the 88th annual All Star Game on July 11, 2017!

photo courtesy of @Indians on twitter

tonight, on July 2, this year's Midsummer Classic rosters were unveiled in an Esurance All Star Selection Show on ESPN at 7 pm ET. the American League OF reveal was first and i knew better than to expect to see Michael in the top three. the starting outfielders include Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels, and George Springer of the Houston Astros. Trout is still on the disabled list due to a torn UCL in his left thumb that he had surgery for at the end of May. originally, no one thought he had a chance to be ready to play in this game, but evidently,

Brantley's 2017 #s Through June (+ All Star Ballot Results)

these first three months of Michael Brantley's 2017 baseball campaign haven't exactly gone off without a hitch. April was great for Dr. Smooth--his best month so far--which gave every Indians fan the impression that he was back to his old self. conversely, in May, he suffered a right ankle sprain and struggled in some offensive categories, making that month slightly pedestrian. then in June, Michael was unable to significantly add on to his overall stats because he not only spent time on the Paternity List after welcoming a new baby into his family, but was also on the disabled list while dealing with continued ankle soreness. combine that with a couple extra days off early in the season and Michael has missed more games than anticipated to this point.

still, it hasn't all been bad. i mean, his shoulder seems to be holding up quite well. (knock on wood.) and if his ankle issue is now in the past, i think we're going to see some vintage Brantley numbers coming in these last three months of the year. but before we get to that, let's recap what he's done through June.

this blog tallies Michael's 2017 regular season numbers and statistics from April 3 - June 30.


so far in 2017, Michael has 240 plate appearances and 216 at bats in 57 games (484.0 innings). in total, he has 66 hits, 20

Brantley's June 2017 #s

hey there, Brantley fans! it's time for another blog recounting Michael's performance over the past month. but let me first thank everyone who read my Brantley's May 2017 #s blog and Brantley's 2017 #s Through May blog. i did notice some new views from Nepal and Kazakhstan in June, so i also have to give a special welcome to my audience in South and Central Asia!👋 if anyone else is a fairly new reader here, tell me where you're from by shouting out your city/state/country/continent in the comments!

now without further ado, here is everything you need to know about Michael's month of June.


June Overview

if you thought May wasn't Michael's greatest performance, then you might be indifferent to his June. he started the month out kind of slow, missed some time due to the birth of his child, and then was placed on the 10-Day DL with a right ankle sprain immediately following his paternity leave. upon his return, he had some early struggles, but then seemingly got back on a roll. when it was all said and done, Michael missed almost half the games on the Tribe's June schedule, playing just 13 of 27. so it's a small sample size that we're working with to critique and,

Brantley Ranked 81st in MLBRank's Top 100 Players Right Now

let me start this off by saying i am shocked that a list of this nature is coming out now when we are approaching the midway point of baseball season. i waited for Baseball Tonight's Top 100 to be released during spring training for weeks, to no avail. apparently, MLBRank's list is the replacement and i was not expecting it. out with the old, in with the new i guess. in any case, i apologize for the lateness of this post.

photo courtesy of ESPN.com

MLBRank's Top 100 countdown commenced today and will run through June 30. each morning, 20 players will be posted on ESPN.com, starting with #100-81 and going all the way down to #20-1. (previously, players were

Brantley Activated from 10-Day DL (w/ Right Ankle Updates)

today, on June 26, the Cleveland Indians activated Michael Brantley from the 10-Day DL. Brandon Guyer, who's been on the 10-Day DL since May 14 with a left wrist sprain, was activated as well. in order to clear spaces on the roster for both outfielders, Daniel Robertson and Shawn Armstrong were optioned to the Triple A Columbus Clippers.

Michael has been away from the club since June 15, when his wife gave birth to their newest baby, a boy named Maxwell. he was placed on the Paternity List on June 16 and was supposed to return to the team on June 19.

well, Michael did return on June 19, in a sense. he met up with the Tribe in Baltimore, but was placed on the 10-Day DL with a right ankle sprain (backdated to June 16), which stemmed from an injury he sustained in Kansas City while playing the Royals. however, it's not completely clear if his ankle never stopped barking after the initial sprain on May 7, or if he re-injured the ankle during the early June Kansas City series. if you read my aforementioned DL blog, then you understand the confusion. not only that, but on June 23, there was some conflicting information as to

Brantley Moved from Paternity List to 10-Day DL with Right Ankle Sprain

today, on June 19, the Cleveland Indians announced that Michael Brantley was removed from the Paternity List and placed on the 10-Day DL with a right ankle sprain, retroactive to June 16. he is eligible to return on June 26, as long as he receives clearance from the medical staff. this is Michael's first DL stint of the year.

screenshot cropped from a video on indians.com

Michael originally suffered a sprained right ankle in the game on

Brantley Placed on Paternity List

today, on June 16, the Cleveland Indians placed Michael Brantley on the Paternity List and recalled right-handed pitcher Adam Plutko from the Triple A Columbus Clippers to take his roster spot. a player can be absent from the team for up to three days once he's officially placed on this list.

Michael was not with the Tribe for their afternoon home game versus the Los Angeles Dodgers yesterday on June 15 because his wife, Melissa, began having contractions during the night. Terry Francona told the story of what happened in his postgame presser via a video on the FOX Sports Ohio youtube channel. "he had tried to line it up where she was gonna, whatever, at 4:30, however, induce i guess. but last night in the middle of the night, things started happening. so he texted me and i told him, i said, 'get, get over there with her.' you never want to miss something like that. or even go bat to at bat here and run over there. my goodness. he kinda deserves the right to be with his family and do that so... so we'll miss him for the weekend."

that means Michael will be gone for all four road games, including a doubleheader, against the Minnesota Twins. he is expected to rejoin the club on Monday, June 19 in Baltimore for the second leg of their trip, so said WTAM 1100 radio broadcaster Tom Hamilton.

Melissa gave birth to the new Brantley baby yesterday, a

Brantley's First Career Two-Assist Game

for the first time in his career, Michael Brantley threw out two baserunners in one game. the feat occurred on June 10, 2017, in the contest versus the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field. the last Indians player to acquire two outfield assists in the same game was Rajai Davis, and he did it almost exactly one year ago, on June 9, 2016, as the left fielder at Safeco Field in Seattle against the Mariners.

Michael's triumph began with the Indians already down, 4-0, in the top of the 2nd inning. Jose Abreu came to the plate to face Josh Tomlin with 2 outs and Melky Cabrera at 1st base. after a 1-1 count, Abreu sent a line drive double into left field. Michael retrieved the ball out of the corner, quickly spun around, and threw a laser to the cutoff man, shortstop Francisco Lindor. because Lindor knew Cabrera was on his way home, he made a relay throw to catcher Yan Gomes, who applied the tag on Cabrera to end the top half of the inning and also give Michael what would be his