After a decade with the Cleveland Indians, Michael Brantley signed with the Houston Astros as a Free Agent in 2019, and as of this writing, has not shown any decline.

Brantley went to his fourth All-Star Game in his debut season with Houston, setting a personal best in Home Runs (22), and batting .311.  In the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, Brantley again batted .300 (an even .300), and he returned to the All-Star Game in 2021, with Brantley again batting over .300 (.311).  

Brantley currently has a .310 Batting Average with the Astros with 376 Hits, and he has helped them win two National League Pennants.

Yuli Gurriel was one of the greatest baseball players on the last half of the first decade of the 2010s, though since he was from Cuba, nobody noticed.  The Cuban remained dominant, but it would not be until 2016 when he defected from Cuba and signed with the Houston Astros that anyone really noticed.

Playing at First Base, Gurriel was fourth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2017, whew he belted 18 Home Runs with a .299 Batting Average.  The Cuban helped the Astros win the Word Series, and he hit over .290 the next two years, and though he would be occasionally controversial, Gurriel was a large part of Houston’s success.

Gurriel won the Batting Title (.319) in 2021, but had a poor 2022, though he helped Houston win a second World Series.

As of this writing, Gurriel is a Free Agent, and may not play again with the Astros.  If this is the end, Gurriel would have compiled 866 Hits, 94 Home Runs and a .284 Batting Average.

Mike Nesmith, one of the members of the Monkees, has passed away today.  He was 78 Years Old.

Nesmith was cast as one of the members of the Monkees, a show on NBC, designed to capitalize of Beatlemania, specifically a weekly variation of Hard Day’s Night.  It was a monster smash, with the group churning out hits, but behind the scenes, Nesmith and other members of the group wanted musical freedom, which they would eventually obtain.

Nesmith, who played bass in the group, was a visionary and drove the group to write and perform their own music, and most notably, he wrote “Mary Mary” for the group.  He also wrote “Different Drum”, a song that was rejected by the rest of the group, and would be given to Linda Ronstadt and her group, the Stone Ponies. 

The Monkees broke up, and Nesmith embarked on a solo career, but it did not generate many sales.  Where he was successful, was in the video medium, as shown by one of his early music videos when the idea was still novel.  He would later put together a program called “Pop Clips” of music videos for Nickelodeon, which would be the impetus for MTV.

Nesmith would also become a movie producer, having funded films such as “Repo Man” and “Tapeheads”.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the fans, friends and family of Mike Nesmith.

Last night, former Denver Broncos Wide Receiver, Demaryius Thomas, was found dead in his home in Georgia.  He was only 33 years old.

It is not known at this time how he passed, only that according to the police, it might have resulted from a medical issue.

A First Team All-ACC Selection from Georgia Tech, the Broncos selected him in the First Round (22^nd Overall) in the 2010 Draft.  Thomas would become Denver’s top Wide Receiver, exceeding 1,000 Yards five years in a row (2012-16) and was chosen for four Pro Bowls.  He also helped the Broncos win Super Bowl 50, and set a then record 13 Receptions in Super Bowl XLVIII.  He retired after brief stops in Houston and the New York Jets, and left the game with 9,763 Yards and 63 Touchdowns.  He is currently second all-time in Receiving Yards for the Broncos. 

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the fans, family and friends of Demaryius Thomas.