Houston Astros outfielder Michael Brantley retired at the age of 36 on Friday. The veteran outfielder from Bellevue, Washington spent 15 years in the Major Leagues. He was with the Cleveland Guardians from 2009 to 2018, and then spent five seasons with the Astros from 2019 to 2023.
Shoulder injury in 2023
Brantley only played in 15 games during the regular season in 2023 because of a shoulder injury. As a result of the ailment, he only played his first game of the season on August 29. In 54 at bats and 57 plate appearances, Brantley scored seven runs and had 15 hits, two doubles, two home runs, seven runs batted in, two walks, one sacrifice fly, a batting average of .278, and an on base percentage of .298, and a slugging percentage of .426.
Brantley’s two doubles, two walks and one sacrifice fly came in Astros wins. The doubles were in a 7-4 Houston win over the Boston Red Sox on August 30, and in an 8-3 Houston win over the Seattle Mariners on September 27. The walks came in a 12-2 Astros win over the San Diego Padres on September 10 and in an 8-1 Astros win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on October 1. The sacrifice fly came in a 12-3 Astros win over the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers on September 6.
Brantley’s Career Statistics
Brantley batted .298 with 129 home runs and 720 runs batted in. During 1445 games, 5566 at bats, and 6149 plate appearances, he scored 758 runs, and had 1656 hits, 348 doubles, 25 triples, 125 stolen bases, 485 walks, 2441 total bases, 13 sacrifice bunts, and 47 sacrifice flies, to go along with a .355 on base percentage and .439 slugging percentage.
Other Accolades
Brantley led Major League Baseball in doubles while with Cleveland in 2015. He was an All-Star with Cleveland in 2014, 2017 and 2018, and then with Houston in 2019 and 2021. Brantley also won the American League Silver Slugger Award for the outfield in 2014, and won a World Series with the Astros in 2022, despite not playing a postseason game because of the shoulder injury.
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