Jeffrey Hoke Brantley (born September 5, 1963) is an American former
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Modern professiona ...
relief pitcher
In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...
who played in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
(MLB) for 14 seasons, from to .
Brantley currently is a broadcaster for the
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
.
Early career
Brantley lettered in three sports at W. A. Berry High School (which was replaced by
Hoover High School). Brantley also was the quarterback on Berry state championship football team.
Brantley played college baseball at
Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...
, where he was a teammate of
Will Clark
William Nuschler Clark Jr. (born March 13, 1964) is an American professional baseball first baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 through 2000. He played for the San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, an ...
,
Rafael Palmeiro
Rafael Palmeiro Corrales (born September 24, 1964) is a Cuban-American former Major League Baseball first baseman and left fielder. Palmeiro was an All-American at Mississippi State University before being drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1985. H ...
and
Bobby Thigpen
Robert Thomas "Bobby" Thigpen (born July 17, 1963) is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is noted for setting the major league record of 57 saves during the season, which has since been broken by former Los Angeles Angels of An ...
on a Bulldogs team that participated in the
1985 College World Series. He is the co-holder of the
SEC record for career wins by a pitcher with 45, along with
University of South Carolina and
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
pitcher
Kip Bouknight.
Major league career
Brantley played for the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...
,
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
,
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
and
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
, all of the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
, and the
Texas Rangers of the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
. He was a member of the 1989 Giants that defeated the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
to win the National League pennant and eventually lost to the
Oakland A's
The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...
in the
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
.
In the World Series, he pitched in three games with an ERA of 4.15.
Brantley was an
All-Star in , finishing the season with a 5-3 record and a 1.56 ERA.
He led the National League in with 44
saves.
In 2010, he was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.
Broadcasting career
Brantley was a color commentator for ''
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
'' broadcasts of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
games and an in-studio contributor for ''
Baseball Tonight
''Baseball Tonight'' (stylized as ''Baseball Tonight presented by Chevrolet'' for sponsorship reasons) is an American television program that airs on ESPN. The show, which covers the day's Major League Baseball action, has been on the air since ...
'' from 2002 through 2006. In 2007, he joined the radio broadcast team of the Cincinnati Reds on the
Cincinnati Reds Radio Network
The Cincinnati Reds Radio Network is an American radio network composed of 69 radio stations which carry English-language coverage of the Cincinnati Reds, a professional baseball team in Major League Baseball (MLB). Cincinnati station WLW (700&n ...
, led by flagship station
WLW
WLW (700 AM) is a commercial news/talk radio station licensed to Cincinnati, Ohio. Owned by iHeartMedia, WLW is a clear-channel station, often identifying itself as The Big One.
WLW operates with around the clock. Its daytime signal provides ...
, joining
Marty Brennaman
Franchester Martin Brennaman (born July 28, 1942) is an American retired sportscaster, best known for his long tenure as the play-by-play voice of Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds on the Cincinnati Reds Radio Network. Known for his opin ...
and
Thom Brennaman
Thomas Wade Brennaman (born September 12, 1963) is an American television sportscaster. He is the son of former Cincinnati Reds radio sportscaster Marty Brennaman.
Broadcasting career
After graduating in 1982 from Cincinnati's Anderson High Sc ...
and the
FSN Ohio
Bally Sports Ohio is an American regional sports network owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and is operated as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts regional coverage of sports events in the state of Ohio, with a focus on professio ...
television broadcast team with
Chris Welsh
Christopher Charles Welsh (born April 14, 1955) is an American sportscaster and former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the San Diego Padres, Montreal Expos, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, and Cinci ...
and
George Grande
George Grande (born 1947) (pronounced like the English word "grand") is an American sportscaster who is a former broadcaster for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball.
Grande is also famous for having hosted the first broadcast of ''Sport ...
.
Personal
Brantley and his wife, Ashley have two children, while he also has two children from a previous marriage.
Brantley is a devout Christian. While with the Giants, Brantley and teammates
Scott Garrelts
Scott William Garrelts (born October 30, 1961) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the San Francisco Giants from 1982 to 1991. Garrelts's best year as a Giant came during the 1989 season, when he went 14-5 with a 2.28 ERA, ...
,
Atlee Hammaker
Charlton Atlee Hammaker (born January 24, 1958) is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher who played the majority of his career for the San Francisco Giants (1982–1990). He also played for the Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, an ...
and
Dave Dravecky
David Francis Dravecky (born February 14, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player, a motivational speaker, and an author. He played Major League Baseball for the San Diego Padres (1982–87) and San Francisco Giants (1987–89). ...
became known as the "God Squad" because of their strong Christian faith. Foregoing the hard-partying lifestyle of many of their teammates, they preferred to hold Bible studies in their hotel rooms while on the road.
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball annual saves leaders
References
External links
Jeff Brantleyat Baseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brantley, Jeff
1963 births
Living people
Arkansas Travelers players
Baseball players from Alabama
Cincinnati Reds announcers
Cincinnati Reds players
Clearwater Phillies players
Fresno Giants players
Major League Baseball broadcasters
Major League Baseball pitchers
Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball players
National League All-Stars
National League saves champions
Sportspeople from Florence, Alabama
People from Hoover, Alabama
Philadelphia Phillies players
Phoenix Firebirds players
San Francisco Giants players
St. Louis Cardinals players
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players
Shreveport Captains players
Texas Rangers players
All-American college baseball players
Mat-Su Miners players