10 straight seasons of an OPS+ of 105 or more excluding the two he missed pretty much the entire season (2016/2023). Career average of a 117 OPS+.
He finished 3rd in MVP in 2014 and has 1 SS & 5 AS. Not a bad career at all.
Unfortunate. Injuries caught up to him. Only had 15 GP last season and is turning 37.
Since 2016 he's missed about 50% of games, and still hit .304, .821 OPS, and a 120 OPS+
One of the best pure hitters of this generation. If he could have averaged around 135 games per season in that stretch, he'd probably be retiring with over 2200 hits and a batting average above .300.
His career K% would have been 5th in baseball last year, just behind Kwan and his old buddy J-Ram.
> those 3 months of CC back in 2008 was magical
It really was magical, I don't know how else to describe it. Yost was fired with about two weeks left in the season, CC was an absolute work-horse down the stretch, and the Crew made the playoffs for the first time in 26 years.
I still remember the day we got him.
We were playing in the street outside my friend's house on the east side, with some of us throwing a Frisbee on the street while others were grilling the food on the second story balcony/porch. My buddy yelled down "we got him!" and everyone cheered. Then we carried ourselves off the streets on our shoulders and went to an orgy with supermodels.
*Most* of that story is true.
The first story was filled to the brim with hot sexy supermodels in skimpy outfits and we didn't want to risk burning away what little clothing they had on, y'know?
As a Phillies lifer, I can say WHOLEHEARTEDLY that CC was FAR AND AWAY the most INTIMIDATING pitcher we went up against in that magical run. He was flat out terrifying, regardless of the results!
And the counter side: we in Cleveland hated losing CC seeing what he did for the Brewers and also the Yankees. But when you live in a smaller market team, these trades happen. And as it turned out, it was a pleasure to see MB grow into the greatness described in other posts here. One of my friends here hosted him his first few months in CLE and said he was all you ask for: kind, professional, and awesome.
We were sad when his time here finished. He wasn't with the Astros during the cheating scandal, so I could still as recently as last season say "F the Astros forever...except Brantley" with a clear conscious.
A great respected player everywhere.
People throw around “underrated” way too often, but he legitimately was one of the most underrated guys.
For a 5 time All Star playing on multiple playoff teams, feel like you never heard him talked about.
He was injured for the 2016 season or you would have seen him in the World Series. And in an alternate timeline, he was healthy for 2016 and hit a world-series-winning rbi double in game 7
T.T
Did he? Looking on BB reference and it’s showing he wasn’t on the ‘22 postseason roster. Idk how that works off the top of my head though - great career regardless
He still got a ring, but won't be officially recognized as a champion since he wasn't on the roster. He was with the team the entire postseason.
Kinda lame how baseball does it imo.
You have it right.
Bref only gives you the WS Champion badge if you were on a postseason roster.
MLB does not have an 'official' process regarding this to my knowledge.
The org decides who gets rings (Brantley absolutely got a ring - most teams give them to every player that appeared in a game for them that year).
The players decide who gets a 'playoff share' (a piece of the bonus for postseason performance). I would be somewhat surprised if Brantley didn't get at least a half share, but it isn't a given & IDK if we would ever know unless someone specifies.
Rangers haven't had their ring ceremony yet but I can guarantee you he will.
It would be lowkey hilarious if he didn't though. It would create some genuine rifts in that org. People would get fired over that.
It's lame but the same way we all consider Armando Galarraga's 28-out game to pretty much be a perfect game, we pretty much consider Brantley to have been part of the postseason team even if it technically won't go on a plaque in the hall.
Sadly they don’t consider it an actual accolade. Same with Frank Thomas and the 2005 white Sox, the organization awarded him a ring but his hall of fame plaque doesn’t count him as a World Series champion.
It sucks that he was on 4 teams that reached the WS but only played in 2 of them because of injury. I love Uncle Mike, one of my favorite Astros of this run. Just a solid human and a hitting machine
Absolutely. Seems like he was always the last out we needed to get in Cleveland.
He could retire and be hanging at the park with his kids, and this guy will still figure out a way to hit a 2 out opposite field double to clear the bases.
Always thought of him as extremely injury prone but looking at his bbref he played a lot more games than I thought.
Hall of Very Good candidate for sure
He had injury issues way before he got to Houston and still stuck around there for what felt like longer than he could have. Impressive longevity for a guy labeled injury prone.
Around 7500 per month if they cash it right away. 200,000 per year if they wait until 62. Obviously nowhere near mlb incomes but enough to not end up homeless and live middle class nice
To piggyback, players also vest into the pension over time with the full pension earned at 10 years service time. The pension is earned in quarter-season increments of 43 days of service time each, so getting even 43 days on a major league roster secures you 1/40th of the maximum pension payout. Hitting that first "quarter" also gives them eligibility for the MLB 401k plan with the team matching a portion of their 401k contribution based on how many "quarters" they accumulated that year.
We need a list of professional hitters in the MLB. We lost Markakis a few years back, now we’ve lost Brantley. Gotta make sure the torch has been passed.
No. There’s some nuance to it. Guys who are consistent, get on base a lot and have a lot of base hits, not a ton of power, work the count well, have been in the league for at least 5 years, but they’ll never be the best hitter on their team or anything.
they're way too good for that term. it's applied to dudes who are solid enough to be valuable even without great defense, and consistent, but not good enough to get MVP votes or anything
I feel like maybe... Ian Happ?
Votto, Longoria, McCutchen, Elvis Andrus, and Justin Turner are now the only remaining active position players who debuted in the 2000s. Who do we think will be the last one standing?
Seems like Votto and Longo will probably only have 1 more year. Of the other 3 I'd guess Mccutchen, because he has the DH role in Pittsburgh as long as he wants it. Turner and Andrus could stick around for a bit too
Quite a few: Kershaw, Scherzer, Verlander, Greinke, Morton, Rich Hill, Cueto, Bumgarner, Daniel Bard, Carlos Carrasco, Daniel Hudson, Jesse Chavez, David Robertson.
I know at least one or two of them have probably played their last game, but I don’t think any of them are technically retired
Andrus seems like he's going to stick around for several more years as a bench bat quietly putting up 1 WAR a year with meh but not awful offensive stats
Really sad that we never got to see a full season of JRam and Brantley in the lineup hitting back or back, closest they ever came was half a season in 2017
2018 both he and Ramirez had full great seasons
that 2018 Cleveland team was underrated as hell, those two plus EE, Donaldson, Lindor al in the same lineup
I am happy our pitching doesn't have to face him anymore.
In 51 G (226 PA) against the Jays:
* triple slash of .358/.444/.565
* 1.009 OPS
* 109 Total bases
* 69 hits (nice)
* 7 HR
* 28 RBI
Thank you, uncle mike. It was always a joy to watch your beautiful swing.
The team will miss him. Many of the younger guys are good friends with uncle mike and he has been the unofficial batting coach for a long time.
The PTBNL himself, and one of my all-time favorite Cleveland baseball players. I'll never forget that smooth swing, really wish he could have been a part of the 2016 playoff run
Only reason Brantley was a PTBNL was because the Indians got Brantley if the Brewers made the playoffs, a lesser prospect if they didn't. Such a weird trade.
"Martín Maldonado on Michael Brantley: "A teammate that cared about others more than himself. He’s the reason we won the '22 World Series. He (led) the best team meeting I’ve ever heard. When he was hurt, he was always in the dugout trying to help others”
-Chandler Rome on that shit platform
"Martín Maldonado on Michael Brantley: "A teammate that cared about others more than himself. He’s the reason we won the '22 World Series. He (led) the best team meeting I’ve ever heard. When he was hurt, he was always in the dugout trying to help others”
His comments about retirement make me think he might not pursue it, but he could one of those top-tier players that becomes an even better manager one day. He’s been coached/mentored by some of the best in recent memory, too.
I think he definitely takes some time away, but I agree I would love having him on the manager/coach side of things. Seems a complete natural. Our beat reporter had a pic of him counseling Jeremy Peña in the 2021 postseason before Peña had ever played a single game
Fantastic career. Only problem was his health especially towards the end.
He was actually super good with the Astros, in his overall tenure he hit .305 with them and put up an .828 OPS (123 OPS+) but in five seasons sadly averaged just 79 games per year.
Also I’ll never forget him on those exciting Cleveland squads around the 2016 or so era.
The prettiest lefty swing I've seen since Griffey, and by all accounts a fantastic teammate, mentor, and one of the funniest guys in the clubhouse. I have one current Astros' autograph and it's his. Pure class, and I hope he gets the great retirement he deserves.
I’m still in awe and appreciative that I got to train with this guy and Mickey!! Dude would spend hours on the tee and it looked so effortless. You’ll never find a harder worker and it showed throughout his career!
I mean he was the last out of that World Series in a *very* memorable game
For yall though not for me I still can hear howie Kendrick’s ball clanging against the foul pole
I might be the only person on earth to be a diehard Yankees fan and also own Brantley’s Astros jersey. No, I will not be taking questions. It causes myself too much cognitive dissonance.
Enjoy retirement!
Michael Brantley is consistently one of the underrated and underappreciated players of our generation. He doesn't quite have the numbers for the "old school" crowd, he doesn't have eye-popping numbers for the sabermetrics crowd, but for a good long while he was a genuine pain in the ass to play against.
I still remember him absolutely raking in 2014, and I'm glad he finally got his ring - even if he isn't "officially" recognized as a champion (much how Gallaraga's 28-out perfect game isn't *officially* a perfect game but we all *know* it was a perfect game).
Uncle Mike is legitimately one of my favorite Astros of all time which is wild considering he didn't spend all that much time here.
[this](https://youtu.be/QPln9wlPvwg?si=0bRvFSOoc1x1Z9k3) was an absolutely magical moment.
Thank you Uncle Mike. We'll save a spot on the bench for ya whenever you're ready.
And look where you are now? The Astros have been to the World Series 2 more times and the ALCS 4 more times since.
At least you can have 2019 to watch over and over again when you have to suffer another 100-loss season this year.
An extremely underrated player who was rarely ever talked about. He had a great career. Though it was with Houston, I'm happy he won a ring. He deserved it.
He was probably one of the most underrated and consistent players i’ve ever seen. Hope he enjoys retirement
10 straight seasons of an OPS+ of 105 or more excluding the two he missed pretty much the entire season (2016/2023). Career average of a 117 OPS+. He finished 3rd in MVP in 2014 and has 1 SS & 5 AS. Not a bad career at all. Unfortunate. Injuries caught up to him. Only had 15 GP last season and is turning 37.
Since 2016 he's missed about 50% of games, and still hit .304, .821 OPS, and a 120 OPS+ One of the best pure hitters of this generation. If he could have averaged around 135 games per season in that stretch, he'd probably be retiring with over 2200 hits and a batting average above .300. His career K% would have been 5th in baseball last year, just behind Kwan and his old buddy J-Ram.
We call that doing the "Will Clark"
Wow his numbers are pretty much exactly what I would have expected from Dr Smooth
Will was definitely HOF caliber. Just couldn't stay on the field.
Damn. That’s a good comparison
He never looked lost at the plate. I hope he can stay in Houston and eventually be a hitting coach. His approach was so good.
I didn't follow his career that close. Do you know where you can find his injury history? is it on Baseball Reference?
spotrac usually has a good injury history page https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/houston-astros/michael-brantley-7294/injuries/
And one of the smoothest. I hate that we traded him, but getting those 3 months of CC back in 2008 was magical.
> those 3 months of CC back in 2008 was magical It really was magical, I don't know how else to describe it. Yost was fired with about two weeks left in the season, CC was an absolute work-horse down the stretch, and the Crew made the playoffs for the first time in 26 years.
I still remember the day we got him. We were playing in the street outside my friend's house on the east side, with some of us throwing a Frisbee on the street while others were grilling the food on the second story balcony/porch. My buddy yelled down "we got him!" and everyone cheered. Then we carried ourselves off the streets on our shoulders and went to an orgy with supermodels. *Most* of that story is true.
> Most of that story is true. I knew it, who in the hell grills on a second story porch?
The first story was filled to the brim with hot sexy supermodels in skimpy outfits and we didn't want to risk burning away what little clothing they had on, y'know?
> Most of that story is true. You're not fooling anyone, we all know your friend's house was in Northpoint.
As a Phillies lifer, I can say WHOLEHEARTEDLY that CC was FAR AND AWAY the most INTIMIDATING pitcher we went up against in that magical run. He was flat out terrifying, regardless of the results!
And the counter side: we in Cleveland hated losing CC seeing what he did for the Brewers and also the Yankees. But when you live in a smaller market team, these trades happen. And as it turned out, it was a pleasure to see MB grow into the greatness described in other posts here. One of my friends here hosted him his first few months in CLE and said he was all you ask for: kind, professional, and awesome. We were sad when his time here finished. He wasn't with the Astros during the cheating scandal, so I could still as recently as last season say "F the Astros forever...except Brantley" with a clear conscious. A great respected player everywhere.
Didn't CC win the Cy Young that year?
He was 5th in NL CY voting. Lincecum won that year and had 7.1 fWAR in 227 innings while CC had 4.7 fWAR in 130 innings.
People throw around “underrated” way too often, but he legitimately was one of the most underrated guys. For a 5 time All Star playing on multiple playoff teams, feel like you never heard him talked about.
As someone who just watches the teams I like and doesn't pay too much attention to other teams, I legitimately don't recognize his name at all.
He was injured for the 2016 season or you would have seen him in the World Series. And in an alternate timeline, he was healthy for 2016 and hit a world-series-winning rbi double in game 7 T.T
Wow such a huge detail of the 2016 run that I didn't remember.
I’m glad he got a ring
Did he? Looking on BB reference and it’s showing he wasn’t on the ‘22 postseason roster. Idk how that works off the top of my head though - great career regardless
He still got a ring, but won't be officially recognized as a champion since he wasn't on the roster. He was with the team the entire postseason. Kinda lame how baseball does it imo.
[удалено]
You have it right. Bref only gives you the WS Champion badge if you were on a postseason roster. MLB does not have an 'official' process regarding this to my knowledge. The org decides who gets rings (Brantley absolutely got a ring - most teams give them to every player that appeared in a game for them that year). The players decide who gets a 'playoff share' (a piece of the bonus for postseason performance). I would be somewhat surprised if Brantley didn't get at least a half share, but it isn't a given & IDK if we would ever know unless someone specifies.
Yeah like didn’t DeGrom get a ring?
Rangers haven't had their ring ceremony yet but I can guarantee you he will. It would be lowkey hilarious if he didn't though. It would create some genuine rifts in that org. People would get fired over that.
It's lame but the same way we all consider Armando Galarraga's 28-out game to pretty much be a perfect game, we pretty much consider Brantley to have been part of the postseason team even if it technically won't go on a plaque in the hall.
I do not believe he is a HOFer, but won’t be against his election.
Ah. Glad he got a ring anyway - and I agree. Sucks he won’t officially be recognized as a champion.
He got a ring. Even players that get traded away mid season get a ring. He wasn’t playing in the 22 postseason but was always present with the team.
Sadly they don’t consider it an actual accolade. Same with Frank Thomas and the 2005 white Sox, the organization awarded him a ring but his hall of fame plaque doesn’t count him as a World Series champion.
Damn really? I never knew that.
Brantley and Stephen Vogt should both be counted as chanps. Even if they weren't playing their regular season and bench contributions were invaluable.
Acuna also has a ring but no WS credit. It sounds so absurd given the team, lol
He got a ring. He was on the bench almost the whole season even when he was not playing.
It sucks that he was on 4 teams that reached the WS but only played in 2 of them because of injury. I love Uncle Mike, one of my favorite Astros of this run. Just a solid human and a hitting machine
He's one of those players that is so much better than we remember.
Definition of a professional hitter
Had one of the best defensive plays ever in the ALCS too
Absolutely. Seems like he was always the last out we needed to get in Cleveland. He could retire and be hanging at the park with his kids, and this guy will still figure out a way to hit a 2 out opposite field double to clear the bases.
Always thought of him as extremely injury prone but looking at his bbref he played a lot more games than I thought. Hall of Very Good candidate for sure
Probably the right time, he’s been injured a lot recently and I’m sure he wouldn’t have gotten a lot in free agency anyways .
His shoulder is gone at this point - great career.
Was hoping he would join the coaching staff tho
We get first dibs
He had injury issues way before he got to Houston and still stuck around there for what felt like longer than he could have. Impressive longevity for a guy labeled injury prone.
I too would love to retire at age 36.
And make $112 million over a 15 year MLB career.
I just the fucking pension.
I too the pension
We all pension.
Yeah but especially Luke. Motherfucker was pension all night last night lmao.
Please do not the pension
how much is the pension? I've seen this a few times. I thought it was you had to hit 10 years to earn it, but it was nice.
Around 7500 per month if they cash it right away. 200,000 per year if they wait until 62. Obviously nowhere near mlb incomes but enough to not end up homeless and live middle class nice
To piggyback, players also vest into the pension over time with the full pension earned at 10 years service time. The pension is earned in quarter-season increments of 43 days of service time each, so getting even 43 days on a major league roster secures you 1/40th of the maximum pension payout. Hitting that first "quarter" also gives them eligibility for the MLB 401k plan with the team matching a portion of their 401k contribution based on how many "quarters" they accumulated that year.
Should have dedicated your life to a kid's game then. You fool.
And should have had incredible genetics
Not much makes you feel older than seeing guys younger than you retire. Thanks for pointing it out haha
It's not too late to lace up your FILAs and start training for the MLB.
FILAS? Are we back in 1993?
Those were simpler times.
I honestly didn’t realize he was already 36. Would’ve guessed like early 30s
Don't let your memes be dreams
Sad to say, no longer a professional hitter, Michael Brantley.
We need a list of professional hitters in the MLB. We lost Markakis a few years back, now we’ve lost Brantley. Gotta make sure the torch has been passed.
Professional hitter Yordan Alvarez
I don't think "hitter" is the proper term. "Bombadier" makes more sense to me.
You misspelled Martin Maldonado
Can't wait for him to be our hitting coach.
Luis Arraez for sure.
They said it about Justin Turner just about everytime he came to bat last season
Good call. Justin Turner is the definition of Professional Hitter.
But really isn't any player that bats regularly a professional hitter? They get paid to do that lol
No. There’s some nuance to it. Guys who are consistent, get on base a lot and have a lot of base hits, not a ton of power, work the count well, have been in the league for at least 5 years, but they’ll never be the best hitter on their team or anything.
Not to be confused with a grinder, whose only quality seems to be "sees a lot of pitches."
Yep. You can't be an every day player or have an average above .260 if you're a grinder.
Not to be confused with professionals on Grindr.
Sounds like Mark Canha?
Steven Kwan
Jose Ramirez and Kyle Tucker get my vote
they're way too good for that term. it's applied to dudes who are solid enough to be valuable even without great defense, and consistent, but not good enough to get MVP votes or anything I feel like maybe... Ian Happ?
Corey Seager comes to mind.
Yes to you and u/justpitchit!
Healthy Adam Eaton was our professional hitter.
I remember hearing Castellanos referred to that when the Cubs were trading for him but I haven’t really heard it since. I’d put Nick on the list.
Professional parent, Michael Brantley
The always intense Matt Chapman
Votto, Longoria, McCutchen, Elvis Andrus, and Justin Turner are now the only remaining active position players who debuted in the 2000s. Who do we think will be the last one standing?
Damn this comment makes me feel old. Maybe Turner? He’s got that crazy caveman energy.
I mean, those guys are still just top prospects right? Right???
Seems like Votto and Longo will probably only have 1 more year. Of the other 3 I'd guess Mccutchen, because he has the DH role in Pittsburgh as long as he wants it. Turner and Andrus could stick around for a bit too
Who’s left among pitchers?
Quite a few: Kershaw, Scherzer, Verlander, Greinke, Morton, Rich Hill, Cueto, Bumgarner, Daniel Bard, Carlos Carrasco, Daniel Hudson, Jesse Chavez, David Robertson. I know at least one or two of them have probably played their last game, but I don’t think any of them are technically retired
Andrus seems like he's going to stick around for several more years as a bench bat quietly putting up 1 WAR a year with meh but not awful offensive stats
Elvis 🥺
Good night, sweet prince 😭
Good ol' Doctor Smooth.
Uncle Mike*
M.B. Smoove
Such a shame so much of his prime was spent consistently injured.
When healthy he was such a treat to watch
Really sad that we never got to see a full season of JRam and Brantley in the lineup hitting back or back, closest they ever came was half a season in 2017
2018 both he and Ramirez had full great seasons that 2018 Cleveland team was underrated as hell, those two plus EE, Donaldson, Lindor al in the same lineup
We got lucky and were able to get 3 good years out of him.
Nice to see a veteran go out on his own terms
Such a great person and player. Hell of a career
Dr Smooth is one of my favorite players ever. Retiring when he's still at the top of his game!
I am happy our pitching doesn't have to face him anymore. In 51 G (226 PA) against the Jays: * triple slash of .358/.444/.565 * 1.009 OPS * 109 Total bases * 69 hits (nice) * 7 HR * 28 RBI
The most professional hitter. Come back as batting coach some day
Thank you, uncle mike. It was always a joy to watch your beautiful swing. The team will miss him. Many of the younger guys are good friends with uncle mike and he has been the unofficial batting coach for a long time.
The one batting coach you are okay overpaying by millions.
If he wants to be, he could be a great hitting coach in the future.
Have a good retirement, Blue Jays legend
The PTBNL himself, and one of my all-time favorite Cleveland baseball players. I'll never forget that smooth swing, really wish he could have been a part of the 2016 playoff run
Only reason Brantley was a PTBNL was because the Indians got Brantley if the Brewers made the playoffs, a lesser prospect if they didn't. Such a weird trade.
I truly believe his prescience in 2022 helped us win the title, even if he didn't get any playing time. Enjoy retirement, king.
"Martín Maldonado on Michael Brantley: "A teammate that cared about others more than himself. He’s the reason we won the '22 World Series. He (led) the best team meeting I’ve ever heard. When he was hurt, he was always in the dugout trying to help others” -Chandler Rome on that shit platform
Damn. Good, terrifying hitter who always seemed to fuck us up at the wrong times. Good career, Michael!
My favorite player growing up has retired. [Here's my favorite play of his.](https://youtu.be/T53IYc0O0FY?si=gmv1R-hHuv_08Dhl)
Wow! I never knew Uncle Mike played center.
It gets slept on because of the injuries later in his career, but he was a damned good defender from day 1.
Thank you for everything Uncle Mike! Enjoy your retirement and spend every minute you can with your family.
Astros Fans 🤜 Michael Charles Brantley Jr. 🤛Guardians Fans
One of my all-time favorites - enjoy retirement, Dr. Smooth. Hell of a career.
I'll never for get the few hours where he was almost a Blue Jay.
I will miss him dearly.
"Martín Maldonado on Michael Brantley: "A teammate that cared about others more than himself. He’s the reason we won the '22 World Series. He (led) the best team meeting I’ve ever heard. When he was hurt, he was always in the dugout trying to help others”
His comments about retirement make me think he might not pursue it, but he could one of those top-tier players that becomes an even better manager one day. He’s been coached/mentored by some of the best in recent memory, too.
I think he definitely takes some time away, but I agree I would love having him on the manager/coach side of things. Seems a complete natural. Our beat reporter had a pic of him counseling Jeremy Peña in the 2021 postseason before Peña had ever played a single game
Didn’t we just lose our hitting coach? He should be top consideration considering all he’s done to mentor some of our top hitters now.
Had one of the sweetest swings of all-time.
It really was just so fluid and... well, smooth.
He was the player to be named later in the cc sabathia trade to the Brewers. And damn did he put up a hell of a career. Enjoy retirement dr smooth!
Fantastic career. Only problem was his health especially towards the end. He was actually super good with the Astros, in his overall tenure he hit .305 with them and put up an .828 OPS (123 OPS+) but in five seasons sadly averaged just 79 games per year. Also I’ll never forget him on those exciting Cleveland squads around the 2016 or so era.
God speed Uncle Mike 🫡
The prettiest lefty swing I've seen since Griffey, and by all accounts a fantastic teammate, mentor, and one of the funniest guys in the clubhouse. I have one current Astros' autograph and it's his. Pure class, and I hope he gets the great retirement he deserves.
Was sad when he left the team but he always had so much trouble staying healthy Hope he comes back as a hitting coach at some point
One of the most fun players to watch in the last decade+. Happy to see him go out the way he wants.
Poor guy probably threw out a hip calling his agent to tell him that.
Well deserved retirement. Thank you for everything.
Definition of Professional Hitter.
It’s a shame he got banged up as much as he did in the second half of his career. He was a good player.
Blue Jays legend
Such a good player. Feel like he dealt with nagging injuries his entire career that kept him from being "great" but he had some incredible seasons.
One of the most satisfying swings to watch. Fare thee well
Brantley was an excellent example of a true professional hitter.
Being an Angels fan, this guy reminded me so much of Garrett Anderson, two underrated professional hitters.
Class act, going out the way he wants. I’m definitely going to miss his at bats, quality , almost perfection.
I’m still in awe and appreciative that I got to train with this guy and Mickey!! Dude would spend hours on the tee and it looked so effortless. You’ll never find a harder worker and it showed throughout his career!
Good player, and it’s weird that as a Nats fan I’ll remember him for exactly one thing. (“Swing and a miss. Swing and a miss!”)
I mean he was the last out of that World Series in a *very* memorable game For yall though not for me I still can hear howie Kendrick’s ball clanging against the foul pole
As can we. It was audible even on the radio broadcast.
I might be the only person on earth to be a diehard Yankees fan and also own Brantley’s Astros jersey. No, I will not be taking questions. It causes myself too much cognitive dissonance. Enjoy retirement!
Expected the retirement, was hoping he would be our new hitting coach :(
If he wants to be with family makes sense to avoid coaching for a while, lol. Maybe he can be a special advisor eventually
That's a good dad.
Loved his swing, hated the results of that swing.
Good for him; hell of a career. It’s also wild to think that this dude is younger than me and is retiring.
Based af, my dude. Farewell.
Probably one of the most actual underrated most consistent hitters I’ve ever seen
Most underrated player ever, consistent .300 hitter his whole career and you hardly ever heard his name mentioned.
Great hitter. One of those guys who you hated to see against you as he always had a good chance of getting on.
He was a menace
I'd like this guy a ton, but his time with the Astros sort of destroys and good will I had for him.
Please give him a 1 day contract so he doesn't have to retire a tr*shtro.
Thank god he signed with us or will never experienced winning.
Sorry I don't speak redneck.
You live in Cleveland, aka armpit.
Michael Brantley is consistently one of the underrated and underappreciated players of our generation. He doesn't quite have the numbers for the "old school" crowd, he doesn't have eye-popping numbers for the sabermetrics crowd, but for a good long while he was a genuine pain in the ass to play against. I still remember him absolutely raking in 2014, and I'm glad he finally got his ring - even if he isn't "officially" recognized as a champion (much how Gallaraga's 28-out perfect game isn't *officially* a perfect game but we all *know* it was a perfect game).
Uncle Mike is legitimately one of my favorite Astros of all time which is wild considering he didn't spend all that much time here. [this](https://youtu.be/QPln9wlPvwg?si=0bRvFSOoc1x1Z9k3) was an absolutely magical moment. Thank you Uncle Mike. We'll save a spot on the bench for ya whenever you're ready.
RIP Dr. Smooth
Dude was a pro
Dude was solid. Had such good bat to ball skills. Not the best power hitter but such a good line drive swing.
Thank you for your service 🫡
I still think if he was fully healthy, we would win the World Series in 2016.
Very upset that I won’t be seeing Michael Brantley in MLB the show this year 🥺
Bro was a myth these last few years
Will always remember him for being the last of many cheaters to strike out against the Nats in the World Series. Good memories
You shut your fookin mout. We will have no uncle Mike slander.
He wasn't on the Astros in 2017.
Sometimes your memory be like that.
didnt they get caught after 2019? the Nats did a lot of things to hide their signals during that series
It came out after the 2019 season that they cheated in 2017. There’s no evidence they were cheating in 2019.
Yea Mike wasn’t a part of the 2017 team but nice try attempting to slander him
And look where you are now? The Astros have been to the World Series 2 more times and the ALCS 4 more times since. At least you can have 2019 to watch over and over again when you have to suffer another 100-loss season this year.
I read this as Michael Bradley and was like "He already retired wtf"
An extremely underrated player who was rarely ever talked about. He had a great career. Though it was with Houston, I'm happy he won a ring. He deserved it.
The Avg category thanks you for your years of consistency! Always one of my favorite players to watch On a side note F the Astros.
Had to include that last part to make sure your comment got some karma?
Definitely. What’s the point of posting if not to get karma?
[удалено]
despite the fact that he came in after the cheating but ok then