Early life

Brantley was born in Bellevue, Washington. His father, Mickey Brantley, played in Major League Baseball (MLB), and was a member of the Seattle Mariners at the time Michael was born. Michael was raised in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Starting at age seven, Brantley played in Southwestern Port St. Lucie Little League Baseball. When Mickey worked as the hitting coach for the New York Mets in 1999, Michael got to spend time around the Mets. Brantley attended Central High School in Fort Pierce, Florida, where he played for the baseball and golf teams. In his senior year for the baseball team, he had a .595 batting average, scored 22 runs, recorded 12 runs batted in and 32 stolen bases. Brantley signed a National Letter of Intent to play college baseball for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers after high school.

Professional career

Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers selected Brantley in the seventh round, with the 205th overall selection, of the 2005 MLB Draft. After he signed with the Brewers, Brantley played for their Rookie-level affiliates, the Helena Brewers of the Pioneer League and Arizona Brewers of the Arizona League. He batted .347 with 14 stolen bases in 44 games for Arizona, and .324 in 10 games for Helena.

The Brewers assigned Brantley to the West Virginia Power of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2006. He batted .300 with 24 stolen bases in 108 games for West Virginia. In 2007, Brantley began the season with West Virginia. After batting .335 in 56 games, the Brewers promoted Brantley to the Huntsville Stars of the Class AA Southern League, where he batted .251 in 59 games. Playing for Huntsville in 2008, Brantley had a .319 batting average with four home runs, 40 RBIs, and 28 stolen bases.

Cleveland Indians

The Brewers traded Brantley to the Cleveland Indians on October 3, 2008, as the player to be named later (PTBNL) in the July 7 transaction where the Brewers acquired C.C. Sabathia for Matt LaPorta, Zach Jackson, and Rob Bryson. The list of choices for the PTNBL was narrowed down to Brantley and Taylor Green. The Indians and Brewers agreed that if the Brewers reached the 2008 MLB postseason, the Indians could make the choice. Since the Brewers made the playoffs, the Indians got to choose, and they chose Brantley.

Brantley played for the Columbus Clippers of the Class AAA International League in 2009. He hit .267 for the Clippers. When major league rosters expanded on September 1, the Indians promoted Brantley to the major leagues. Brantley reached base safely in his first eight games. Near the end of the 2009 season, he replaced the injured Grady Sizemore in center field. In his time there, he hit .313 with 11 RBIs in 28 games. Due to an injury to Russell Branyan, Brantley opened the 2010 season with Cleveland, starting in left field on Opening Day. When the Indians activated Branyan on April 19, Brantley, who had batted 5-for-32, was optioned to Columbus. Brantley batted .315 in 59 games for Columbus, and was recalled to the major leagues on July 4 after an injury to Shin-Soo Choo. After batting 11-for-70 with one home run in 26 games in his second stint with the 2010 Indians, he was demoted to Columbus on July 27 to make room for Josh Tomlin. Manager Manny Acta said that Brantley would soon be back in Cleveland, and he was recalled to Cleveland on August 6, as the Indians' leadoff hitter. He batted .292 for the remainder of the season, and finished the season with a .242 batting average.

In 2011, Brantley batted .266 in 114 games. He hit seven home runs, recorded 46 RBIs, and stole 13 bases. After missing time due to tendinitis in his right wrist, Brantley's season ended prematurely when he required surgery on the hamate bone in his right hand in August. In 2012, Brantley shifted to center field to replace the injured Grady Sizemore. He had a career high 22-game hitting streak. Brantley has a patient approach to the plate that is followed by a short, compact swing. He rarely swings at the first pitch and will only do so if he has guessed the right location and type of pitch. In 2012 he was given the nickname "Dr. Smooth" by Cleveland Indians sports writer Dennis Manoloff for his smooth swing and approach at the plate. In 144 games, he batted .288 with a .348 on-base percentage, .402 slugging percentage, 37 doubles, and 60 RBIs: all setting new career highs.

After the 2012 season, Brantley had surgery to correct a sports hernia. Before the 2013 season, the Indians signed center fielder Michael Bourn as a free agent, and moved Brantley back to left field. The Indians discussed a contract extension with Brantley's representatives, but talks ended when the season began. In August 2013, Brantley set a new Indians' franchise record for games without an error by an outfielder with 213, passing Rocky Colavito. Brantley had a break-through season, batting .284 with 158 hits, 10 home runs, 73 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases. His errorless streak reached 245 at the end of the season.

Brantley was eligible for salary arbitration before the 2014 season. Rather than going through with arbitration, the Indians signed Brantley to a four year contract extension worth $25 million, with an option for a fifth season valued at $11 million and a $3.5 million signing bonus. In 2014, Brantley was selected to appear in the 2014 MLB All-Star Game after hitting .322 with 15 home runs and 63 RBIs during the first half of the season. On the final game of his 2014 season he picked up his 200th hit of the season making him the 18th player in Indians history to do so and first since Kenny Lofton reached the milestone in 1996. After the season, Brantley won the Silver Slugger Award. He was named a finalist for the American League Most Valuable Player Award and finished in third place in the balloting, behind winner Mike Trout and Victor Martínez.

Personal life

Brantley lives in Port St. Lucie, Florida, during the baseball offseason. He is married. His wife, Melissa, gave birth to their first child, daughter Mariah, in September 2013.

Brantley maintains a close relationship with his father. They speak every morning by phone to discuss his at bats from the previous game. Brantley's cousin, Justin, is a pitching prospect for the Indians.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]