[1] Brantley, whose nickname is Cowboy,[2] was hired in 2006 as a broadcaster for one of his former teams, the Cincinnati Reds.

[5] Brantley played college baseball at Mississippi State University, where he was a teammate of Will Clark, Rafael Palmeiro and Bobby Thigpen on a Bulldogs team that participated in the 1985 College World Series.

He was a member of the 1989 Giants that defeated the Chicago Cubs to win the National League pennant and eventually lost to the Oakland A's in the World Series.

While with the Giants, Brantley and teammates Scott Garrelts, Atlee Hammaker and Dave Dravecky 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.