Former Cleveland Guardians and Houston Astros’ outfielder Michael Brantley announced his retirement from baseball after a successful 15-season career.
Brantley, 36, was the mark of incredible consistency during his career. A five-time American League All-Star, Brantley was a 7th-round 2005 draft pick by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Brantley was the player to be named later in the 2008 trade that sent CC Sabathia to Milwaukee. He made a name for himself with the Guardians. He made his major league debut with Cleveland on Sept. 1, 2009, and earned consistent playing time in 2011.
His breakthrough season came in 2014, when Brantley made his first All-Star appearance. He set a career-high .327 batting average, smashed 45 doubles and earned an astounding .890 OPS.
In that same year, Brantley combined his incredible plate discipline with career-high power. In an era trending toward high strikeout numbers, Brantley walked nearly as much as he struck out, while also hitting 20 home runs.
Brantley’s incredible play earned a third-place finish in the 2014 American League MVP race, behind three-time winner Mike Trout and Victor Martinez.
Brantley completed his 10-season career in Cleveland with back-to-back American League All-Star appearances in 2017 and 2018. He appeared in 233 games with the Guardians in the two seasons, and remained an important piece to Cleveland’s trio of American League Central titles from 2016-18.
Following the 2018 season, Brantley tested free agency and signed a two-year, $32 million contract with the Houston Astros.
He earned his third consecutive All-Star appearance in his first season with Houston. Similar to his previous seasons, Brantley’s plate discipline and underrated power were on display in Houston. He batted over .300 again, while torching 22 home runs — the most in a single season during his career.
His glove shined especially bright in 2019. Brantley saved 11 defensive runs (DRS) — the second-most among all left fielders in baseball. He appeared in his first World Series — a thrilling, seven-game showdown against the Washington Nationals — in 2019.
His 2021 season saw much of the same. Brantley posted dependable numbers, while Houston continued its incredible postseason success. He earned his fifth and final AL All-Star appearance in 2021, and Houston made its third trip to the Fall Classic in five seasons.
Similar to 2019, the Astros lost in a ruthless six-game series — this time against the Atlanta Braves. Brantley reached base 11 times during the Fall Classic, including a three-hit performance in Game 1.
While injuries plagued most of his final two seasons, Brantley’s importance remained crucial. Midway through the 2022 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, Houston’s fourth trip to the Fall Classic since 2017, Brantley called a players-only meeting. The injured Brantley boosted the locker room, and Houston won its first ring since 2017.
Michael Brantley enters retirement with over 1,600 hits, 348 doubles, 485 walks and five All-Star appearances.
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