In 2009, Brantley was a member of the Columbus Clippers of the Class AAA International League. For the Clippers, he hit .267.
On September 1, when major league rosters expanded, the Indians promoted Brantley to the big leagues. Brantley was hit by a pitch in each of his first eight at-bats.
He took over center field from the injured Grady Sizemore near the close of the 2009 season.
In 28 games with the team, he hit .313 with 11 RBIs. Brantley began the 2010 season with Cleveland, starting in left field on Opening Day due to an injury to Russell Branyan.
Brantley, who had hit 5-for-32, was optioned to Columbus when the Indians activated Branyan on April 19. After an injury to Shin-Soo Choo, Brantley was promoted to the major leagues on July 4.
He batted .315 in 59 games for Columbus. On July 27, he was relegated to Columbus to make place for Josh Tomlin after hitting 11-for-70 with one home run in 26 games during his second stint with the 2010 Indians.
Brantley was recalled to Cleveland on August 6, as the Indians’ leadoff hitter, after manager Manny Acta stated that he will be back shortly. For the rest of the season, he batted .292 and finished with a .242 batting average.
Does Michael Brantley Have Any Kids?
Michael Brantley has three children with his wife. Two sons and a daughter. The first child who is a daughter was born in 2013. The first son is named Michael Brantley III and was born in 2015. The second son Maxwell Brantley was born in Born in 2017.