Michael Brantley, a five-time All-Star outfielder and pillar of the team during his five seasons with the Astros, announced his retirement on Friday after a 15-year major league career.
“Living my dream and wearing a Major League uniform for the last 15 years has been a huge honor,” Brantley wrote in a statement through his agency, Excel Sports. “It has been an incredible privilege to represent the Houston Astros and Cleveland Guardians.
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“I extend my heartfelt thanks to my parents, whose support inspired me to move forward. Thank you to my wife and children for their constant love and support throughout my career.”
Brantley, 36, left his future open after the 2023 season ended with Houston in the ALCS. It was a difficult year for Brantley, who suffered several setbacks in his attempt to return from shoulder surgery. After a 14-month absence, he rejoined the Astros in the final month of the season, and hit a home run in Game 4 of the ALDS as Houston won the series in Minnesota.
This is one of many memorable postseason moments in Brantley’s tenure with Houston. Brantley’s diving catch in the seventh inning of Game 6 of the 2019 ALCS started a double play and helped Houston secure a trip to the World Series. Although Brantley did not play in the 2022 World Series after undergoing shoulder surgery, his speech after the Game 3 loss became a talking point when the Astros defeated the Phillies in six games.
In his retirement statement, Brantley also thanked former Brewers scout Larry Pardo, “whose belief in me in 2005 changed everything.” Milwaukee drafted Brantley, the son of former big-league outfielder and hitting coach Mickey Brantley, in the seventh round in 2005 out of high school. In 2008, the Brewers sent Brantley to Cleveland as a player to be named later in a trade for the starter. CC Sabathia.
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Brantley played his first 10 major league seasons with Cleveland. He made his first All-Star team in 2014, a season in which he hit .327 with an .890 OPS and finished third in American League MVP voting. Brantley made two more All-Star teams with Cleveland before departing after the 2018 season and signing with the Astros in free agency.
In five seasons with Houston, Brantley compiled a .305 batting average, .365 on-base percentage and .463 slugging percentage. He made two more All-Star teams and batted .297 in 55 postseason games with the Astros. Utilityman Mauricio Dubon, who will join Houston in 2022, is among the Astros players who have credited Brantley with providing guidance.
“When he was rehabbing, every day me and him would talk about hitting in the tub, talk about what kind of player I am,” Dubon said last October. “I always admire him. …He is a true professional, and I hope he has a close career.”
Former Astros catcher Martin Maldonado, who like Brantley became a free agent after last season, posted a photo of the two from the postgame clubhouse celebration on Instagram Friday and captioned it: “Congratulations on your amazing careers. Best partner ever.”
Brantley did not have a World Series ring until 2022. Injury sidelined him for most of 2016, when Cleveland reached the World Series and lost to the Cubs, and the Astros lost to Washington in seven games in 2019 and to Atlanta in six games in 2021. Brantley on the field. Sidelined for the second half of 2022, Brantley was present in the Astros clubhouse during the playoffs and spoke after a 7–0 loss in Game 3 in Philadelphia.
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Brantley later said, “I just wanted to remind us how good we were and why we got there.”
Brantley returned in late 2023 to play in 15 regular season games and eight playoff games. He retired with a .298 batting average, .355 on-base percentage and .439 slugging percentage in 1,445 major league games. Among players with at least 6,000 plate appearances from 2010–23, Brantley was sixth in batting average and owned the lowest strikeout rate (10.6%).
“To my teammates, managers, coaches, medical staff, clubhouse attendants and front offices of both organizations, your guidance and camaraderie shaped my career,” Brantley wrote in his statement. “And to the fans, your passion and support has been my driving force. Until my time on the field is over, I will always carry these experiences with me and want to thank you all for being a part of this unforgettable chapter of my life.
