Mickey Brantley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michael Charles "Mickey" Brantley (born June 17, 1961) is a former major league baseball player. He was the hitting coach for the Toronto Blue Jays from early in 2005 to September, 2007.
Brantley grew up in Catskill, New York, and attended Catskill High School. He went on to attend Columbia Greene Community College, starred in soccer, basketball and baseball, and still holds several school records. After one year at CGCC, he starred at Coastal Carolina College, and after his senior season, in 1983, was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the second round (#30 overall) . After 3+ successful years in the minors, he made his Big League debut with the Seattle Mariners in 1986.
Brantley played outfield and designated hitter during parts of four seasons, 1986-1989, all for the Seattle Mariners. As a rookie (1987), he led the Mariner regulars in hitting with a .302 average, and also had 14 home runs and 54 RBI in 106 games. His only full season as a regular came in 1988 when he hit .263 with 15 HR and 56 RBI in 149 games.
He spent the 1990-1993 seasons with several teams in the minor leagues, finally finishing his playing career with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan.
Between 1994 and 2004, Brantley was a coach and manager in the minor leagues for the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets organizations.
Prior to the 2005 season, Brantley was named as the first base coach for the Toronto Blue Jays. After Mike Barnett was dismissed three weeks into the season, Brantley replaced him as the hitting coach. Brantley was fired near the end of the 2007 season, as the Jays' offense that year was less productive than expected.
Brantley's son, Michael Brantley, is in the Milwaukee Brewers farm system as an outfielder.
