In a season in which he has become the Indians' first American League MVP candidate in 15 years, here are 10 Michael Brantley moments from this past season that stood out:
April 2 - Mistake but redemption
After a rare error, Brantley atoned with a two-run single in the ninth to give the Indians the lead and a 6-4 win over Oakland during the second game of a day-night doubleheader.
In the seventh, Brantley dropped a fly ball in left-center that snapped a club-record streak of playing 247 games in the outfield without an error. Josh Donaldson reached second and later scored on a Brandon Moss single to give the Athletics a 4-3 lead.
With one out and the bases loaded in the ninth, Brantley singled off Jim Johnson to right to put the Tribe in the lead.
''They both called it at the same time,'' manager Terry Francona said after the game. ''Probably the most conscientious guy on the field is kicking himself. For him to get a hit like that was really great.''
May 19 - Walk-off HR against Detroit
Brantley helped the Tribe snap a four-game winning streak with a solo shot into the right-field bullpen during the 10th inning for a 5-4 win over Detroit to open a three-game series.
Brantley, who had been hit by a pitch on the previous at-bat, worked Tigers' reliever Al Albuquerque to a full count before lining a slider into the bullpen for the second walk-off homer of his career. It is also Brantley's second homer of the year against the Tigers as he was 2 for 4 on the night with an RBI.
Brantley did a nice job of flipping the bat as he got near first and had a couple fist pumps as he headed toward second. He was greeted at home plate by teammates with a water shower.
"I hit it kind of low but I was just trying to put a good swing on it," Brantley said. "Once the ball went out I didn't remember too much until my teammates started beating on me near home plate."
May 30 - Record night at Progressive Field
With a double in the fifth inning against the Rockies, Brantley extended his hitting streak at home to 19 games, which is a new record for an Indians batter since Progressive Field opened in 1994.
Kenny Lofton (1996) and Robbie Alomar (2000) shared the previous record of 18. The last Indians' home hit streak longer than 18 games was in 1984 when Julio Franco hit safely in 19 straight at Cleveland Stadium from June 8-July 22. The Indians won the game 5-2 but Brantley's hit streak would end the following day when he went 0 for 4.
Brantley batted .353 this season at Progressive Field, which was the third best home batting average in the American League. According to STATS LLC, it was the seventh-highest average by a Cleveland player who played 40 or more games in a season at the corner of Ontario and Carnegie.
June 9 - Club record-tying five runs scored in Texas
The storyline from the Indians 17-7 win over the Rangers was Lonnie Chisenhall becoming the first player in MLB history to have five hits, three home runs and nine RBI in five plate appearances. However, Brantley tied a club record with five runs scored, becoming the first player since Joe Carter in 1986 to do that.
In the game, Brantley was 3 for 3 with an RBI and two walks. His home run in the fifth inning was his 10th of the season to tie a career high.
June 27 - Fancy glove work
Brantley's 12 outfield assists were tied for fourth in the American League, but he had 10 during the first half of the season. One of the more dynamic ones happened in Seattle.
During the fourth inning of a 3-2 loss to the Mariners, Brantley made a leaping grab at the wall in left and had a twisting, one-handed grab to rob Mike Zunino of a hit. Brantley relayed the ball to shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, who doubled up Logan Morrison at first to complete the double play.
Indians starter Trevor Bauer told reporters of the play, which happened with the score tied at one: "You almost start expecting him to make plays like that, because he does it so often. I think it'd be easy to overlook exactly how difficult that play is and what a good play it was. It was a big play to keep us in it at that point."
July 1 - The Triple Play
Against the Dodgers during the fifth inning, Adrian Gonzalez flied out to Brantley in left with runners on first and third and none out. Dee Gordon, who is one of the fastest runners in the National League, tagged up but was thrown out at the plate on a perfect throw from Brantley, who got his 10th outfield assist of the season.
Catcher Yan Gomes hesitated for a second after tagging out Gordon, which allowed Yasiel Puig to tag up from first. Puig was originally called safe at second but replay showed that Jason Kipnis tagged Puig, who slid in headfirst as Kipnis tagged him before the hand touched the bag. That review lasted 89 seconds.
After Terry Francona won that challenge, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly challenged the call at the plate but that call stood after 94 seconds of deliberations.
The triple play, which was the first for the Tribe since April 3, 2011, against the White Sox, helped squelch a Dodgers' rally as the Indians hung on to a 5-3 lead at the end of the inning. They would go on to win 10-3.
"Just being a part of it is something special. It was fun, it's exciting and it was a big lift for the team," Brantley told reporters after the game.
July 15 - First All-Star Game appearance
A couple weeks after the triple play, Gordon would bend up getting a measure of revenge over Brantley.
Brantley appeared to have a single in the sixth inning in his first All-Star Game at-bat but the Dodgers' second baseman made a diving stop and fired it to Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman for the final out of the inning.
"He made a great play on the ball; he traveled a long way. I'm out, but at the same time, it doesn't matter. I got an at-bat, I put the ball in play, I was happy," Brantley said.
Brantley entered the game in the top of the sixth and played center. He had one putout in the American League's 5-3 win.
Added Brantley about the experience: "The excitement, the adrenalin, I was playing in my first All-Star Game. It's a feeling I kind of had during the playoffs, I was excited, a packed house, and something I'll never forget."
Francona was also at the All-Star Game as a bench coach and got to share in the moment. Francona talked about going out and watching Brantley during the AL's workout the day before the game.
"So I went out and stood behind him, he didn't know I was there, and I watched him for about 10 minutes. I was almost overwhelmed with pride," Francona said. "Then when he hit (in the sixth inning), I was almost emotional. Maybe I'm just getting old."
July 18 - Strong start after the break
In the first game after the All-Star Break, Brantley went 4 for 5 in the Tribe's 9-3 victory over the Tigers at Comerica Park.
When it came to facing the Tigers, Brantley had a lot of success against them this past season. Both of his four-hit games this season came against Detroit and he drove in four runs in a loss on April 17.
Against Detroit this season, Brantley went 32 for 79 with three home runs and 16 RBI. The .405 batting average was the fourth highest by an AL batter against the Tigers this season while the RBI were third and home runs tied for fifth.
Aug. 3 - Walk-off homer against Texas
In the 10th inning, Brantley was able to work to a full count against Phil Klein before depositing the seventh pitch of the at-bat into right field for a 4-3 win over the Rangers.
With that solo shot, Brantley became the first Cleveland player since Jim Thome in 2001 to have two walk-off homers in extra innings in a season.
"He can throw me anything with that count. I was just trying to put a good swing on a good pitch, and I was lucky enough to put a good swing and kind of lift it over the gate," Brantley said.
Sept. 27 - Milestone hit
With a fourth-inning single off Tampa Bay's Alex Colome on Fan Appreciation Night, Brantley entered into some pretty exclusive company.
He became the18th player in franchise history to get 200 hits in a season and the first since Kenny Lofton in 1996. Brantley though is the first Cleveland player to get 200 hits, 40 doubles, 20 home runs and steal 20 bases in the same season.
"You have to play every day. You have to play through a lot, because nobody is going to feel good," Francona said after the 2-0 loss. "The baserunning. The defensive play. This is just a nice even number that allows us to brag about him a little bit."
For someone who doesn't show his emotions that often, Brantley pointed to the sky after getting the hit as a gesture to his grandmother, Joan, who passed away due to cancer last year.
"She's still a part of me and that I'm the man I am today because of her," he said after the Indians' 2-0 loss.
