Springer bonds with Brantley to bring forth the best in both
CLEVELAND — George Springer will stand on the first-base line for Tuesday night’s All-Star Game introductions at Progressive Field, take out his iPhone and record Michael Brantley’s face. The left fielder will bat seventh for the American League and be reintroduced to the ballpark where his career was born.
Brantley does not invite the spotlight, though it will shine squarely upon him in that moment. The quietest Astro was once the most beloved Indian, a model of consistency in a Cleveland clubhouse that misses him more than many can fathom.
“That’s going to be a very, very special moment for him,” said Springer, who will play right field and lead off for the AL. “It should be pretty cool. I know he was here for his whole career. He played well here. I’m looking forward to it for him, even though he might try to play it off.
“Internally, he will (get emotional). He should. I hope the fans greet him with nothing but love. He deserves it. I know he’s excited to be here. I’m looking forward to it.”
Since leaving last offseason, Brantley has evolved from father figure to a playful uncle. His voice is unimposing, and his mood does not fluctuate. Springer holds the key to unlocking whatever emotion is buried inside the beloved 32-year-old he has dubbed “Uncle Mike.”
The two created headlines by changing a tire before an earlyseason home game. Now, they mimic the mechanical work with a post-home run handshake utilized often in Springer’s superb season.
Springer struck 18 home runs in the first half, and if not for a hamstring injury, the number surely would exceed 25. His .589 slugging percentage and .973 OPS leave him on pace for a career season, his first as Brantley’s teammate.
“He’s a special player,” Brantley said. “I tell him all the time just how special he is, because sometimes he forgets it.”
When the Astros signed Brantley, his production was almost a secondary factor. Sure, the team loves a lefthanded, contact-crazy bat atop its righthanded-heavy order. Brantley has delivered precisely what the club craved, ranking second in the American League with a .324 batting average while totaling 108 hits, 12 home runs and 46 RBIs.
Perhaps his biggest contribution, though, is in the clubhouse. His influence on Springer is evident, maybe more so than on anyone else in the room.
“George and him have gotten really close,” All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman said. “I think George would tell you that having Mike around has been incredible for everybody. It’s been fun to have him on our squad. Hopefully, he can win his first ring this year.”
The two are lockermates in the Astros clubhouse and talk endlessly. For the first time in Springer’s six-year career, he has a
sounding board, someone in whom he can confide or vent.
“There’s guys who have been here that aren’t here that have been unbelievably helpful to me personally. I think Mike so far has really kind of been the guy,” Springer said recently.
Players relish the routine-oriented approach Brantley brings to the ballpark and seek to replicate it, if such success is even possible. Springer has sought to carry that consistency in his own everyday regimen.
By his own admission, Springer’s first five seasons contained too many momentum swings. He’d carry an unsuccessful at-bat into the next one. A bad day at the plate promised a defensive mistake, some of which didn’t show up in the box score.
“I want to be successful all the time. And when stuff doesn’t go my way — or our way — it’s not for me. It’s because I want to succeed for the team,” Springer said.
“When I fail, I feel like I’m letting the team down. Mike has kind of provided a lot of in-depth of ‘You didn’t let the guys down. Just go play the game. There’s a lot more game to play. Go be who you are and make sure you don’t let a pitch, a play or an at-bat spiral into the next one.’ ”
Though he deflects all credit, Brantley does relish the responsibility of being a clubhouse leader. Respect for the game and for his teammates are of utmost importance to Brantley, who displays both in spades.
“He has taught me so many different things,” Indians All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “My hitting approach, my mentality in the box. Just how to prepare, work ethic. I learned so much from him. I probably can’t name them all.
“Hopefully, he’s my lockermate (for the All-Star Game). I’ll give him half my locker if he wants to be on my side.”
Lindor likened Brantley to his father. When Cleveland summoned Lindor to the major leagues in 2015, he gravitated to Brantley, to whom he asked “all the right questions.”
“He’s one of the most genuinely respectful players that I’ve ever been around, and I’ve been so fortunate to be around a lot of good ones,” said Cleveland manager Terry Francona. “He’s what you’re looking for.”
Francona predicted the Tuesday night crowd will go “bananas.” The manager made a point to lump Brantley in with the four other Cleveland All-Stars when discussing them.
Brantley declined to elaborate on his offseason negotiations with the Indians, only offering he “would have loved to be back with the Cleveland Indians.”
“But I signed with Houston, and they welcomed me with open arms,” he said. “I’m glad to be a Houston Astro.” Springer, too.
“He’s meant everything, whether he realizes it or not,” Springer said. “His impact on me personally has been unbelievable. I don’t want to speak for anybody else, but I think he’s been everything as advertised, if not more.
“He’s a great teammate but a better friend. Michael Brantley the player is one thing, but Michael Brantley the man is something better.”