Five-time All-Star Brantley announces retirement
Published
Michael Brantley's days on the baseball field are at an end.
The five-time All-Star outfielder tells MLB Network's Jon Morosi that he's retiring after 15 big league seasons.
"It's time for me to be home 24/7, watch my kids grow up and not miss important milestones," Brantley told Morosi.
A native of Bellevue, WA, the 36-year-old Brantley is the son of former big leaguer Mickey Brantley, who appeared in 302 games for the Seattle Mariners in the late 1980s.
Brantley made his big league debut with Cleveland in 2009 and would spend the first 10 seasons of his career with the team before signing with the Houston Astros in 2019.
Widely considered to be one of the best pure hitters of his generation, Brantley hit better than .300 on seven occasions, including .327 in 2014 when he finished third in American League Most Valuable Player voting.
Hampered by injuries in later years, Brantley appeared in only 79 games across 2022 and 2023.
He finishes his career as a .298 hitter with 129 home runs, 1,656 hits, 720 runs batted in and an OPS of .794.