| Milton Bradley | |
|---|---|
Bradley in 2008 at the All-Star Game. |
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| Free Agent | |
| Left fielder | |
| Born: April 15, 1978 Harbor City, California |
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| Bats: Switch | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| July 19, 2000 for the Montreal Expos | |
| Career statistics (through 2011) |
|
| Batting average | .271 |
| Home runs | 125 |
| Runs batted in | 481 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
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Milton Obelle Bradley, Jr. (born April 15, 1978) is a Major League Baseball left fielder who is currently a free agent.
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Bradley was drafted out of Long Beach Polytechnic High School in the second round of the 1996 draft by the Montreal Expos. In the Expos' farm system, he hit a Game 5 walk-off grand slam home run to win the 1999 Double-A Eastern League Championship for the Harrisburg Senators.[1]
Bradley made his Major League Baseball debut with the Montreal Expos on July 19, 2000.
On July 31, 2001, the Expos traded Bradley to the Cleveland Indians for Zach Day. Following an altercation with Indians manager Eric Wedge at the Indians' 2004 spring training camp, the team traded Bradley to the Los Angeles Dodgers for prospects Franklin Gutierrez and Andrew Brown.
Bradley posted a .267 batting average as a regular member of the Dodgers' 2004 lineup. The 216 games he played for the Dodgers (2004–2005) are to date the most he played for any one team.
On December 13, 2005, the Dodgers traded Bradley to the Oakland Athletics, along with infielder Antonio Pérez for outfielder Andre Ethier, then a standout minor league prospect.
In his first season with the Oakland Athletics, Bradley posted a .276 batting average with 14 home runs and 52 runs batted in a part-time role. On July 30, Bradley hit a 3-run walk-off home run to beat the Toronto Blue Jays. In game 4 of the 2006 American League Championship Series versus the Detroit Tigers, Bradley became the third player in Major League History to hit home runs from each side of the plate in a playoff game, joining Bernie Williams and Chipper Jones.
On June 21, 2007, Bradley was designated for assignment by the Athletics.[2] A trade completed the next day, which would have sent Bradley to the Kansas City Royals for Leo Núñez, was voided because Bradley suffered an oblique injury in his last game as an Athletic.[3]
On June 29, the San Diego Padres acquired Bradley and cash considerations from the Athletics in exchange for minor league pitcher Andrew Brown, marking the second time the two had been traded for each other. The Padres did not require Bradley to pass a physical examination before signing him, as he would have failed it and gone elsewhere.
Bradley started his tenure with the Padres on the 15-day disabled list, but came off it right before the All-Star break. After the break, he was a continual starter in left field and one of the most consistent hitters for the Padres throughout the rest of the season.
On September 23, 2007, Bradley tore his right ACL while being restrained by Padres manager Bud Black during an altercation with first base umpire Mike Winters. Home plate umpire Brian Runge reportedly told Bradley that Winters said that Bradley had tossed his bat in Runge's direction in a previous at-bat. After Bradley reached first base, he questioned Winters about the alleged bat throwing and subsequent communication with Runge. According to Bradley and Padres first base coach Bobby Meacham, Winters used a profanity towards Bradley. Bradley then moved towards Winters. While restrained by Black, Bradley fell to the ground resulting in the injury. He missed the last week of the regular season in 2007, during which the Padres relinquished their wild card lead, ultimately losing to the eventual N.L. Champion Colorado Rockies in a one game playoff.
Winters was suspended for the remainder of the season and disqualified from the postseason for the incident, after MLB determined that he indeed directed obscene language toward Bradley. Bradley was not suspended, the MLB reasoning that there was no need since he did not make physical contact with Winters.[4]
After the 2007 season, Bradley agreed to a one-year contract with the Texas Rangers.[5] He announced in early January 2008, that he expected to be healthy and ready to play in the 2008 season opener.[6]
As the Rangers designated hitter, Bradley led the American League in OPS (on base plus slugging) with a 1.036. He was third in batting average (.321) and excelled in on-base percentage (.443). He was somewhat humbled with his success "I really haven't even thought about it," he said. "If I somehow miraculously made it to the All-Star Game, I would be floored. I'd really be totally humbled by that. I'm just happy right now to play, to produce and to be with a good group of guys."[7] Bradley was selected to play in his first All-Star Game in 2008 as a DH. He was officially in as a DH reserve but due to the injury of David Ortiz, Bradley started as a DH in the 2008 MLB All-Star Game.
According to The Dallas Morning News Bradley attempted to confront Kansas City Royals television announcer Ryan Lefebvre in the press box following a June 2008 game due to what he believed were unfair comments made on the air. As the Rangers' designated hitter, Bradley was able to watch the broadcast when he was not batting and took offense to a comparison Lefebrve made between him and Josh Hamilton. Manager Ron Washington and general manager Jon Daniels chased after him and stopped Bradley before he got to Lefebvre, at which point Bradley returned to the clubhouse in tears and said
"All I want to do is play baseball and make a better life for my kid than I had, that's it," Bradley said to a quiet clubhouse. "I love all you guys. ... I'm strong, but I'm not that strong."
Bradley was quoted by Rangers radio broadcasters as saying that he never intended to physically harm Lefebvre but did want to speak to him; Daniels said that Bradley was upset that someone that he did not know was passing judgments about him.[8]
In July 2008, it was announced that Milton Bradley would occasionally blog for the New York Times, but he contributed only one entry.[9]
On January 8, 2009, Bradley signed a three-year, $30 million deal with the Chicago Cubs.[10] Bradley was assigned uniform number 21, and played right field, reminiscent of former Cub Sammy Sosa.[11] Bradley was issued a two-game suspension for supposedly making contact with umpire Larry Vanover while arguing a strike call April 16.[12] After appealing the sentence, the suspension was reduced to one game.[13] During an inter-league game against the Minnesota Twins on June 12, Bradley caught a routine fly-out in right field and threw it into the stands, believing it was the third out in the inning, when there were only two outs.[14] The umpire allowed each of the Twins base runners to advance two bases.[14][15]
Later that month, Cubs manager Lou Piniella told Bradley to leave the dugout and go home after Bradley threw a tirade after flying out in a game against the Chicago White Sox. Piniella and Bradley later confronted each other in the locker room, and exchanged words again.[16] Piniella later apologized to Bradley, and reinserted him back into the line-up during the team's next start.[17]
On September 20, 2009, the Cubs announced that Bradley would be suspended for the remainder of the season after an interview in which Bradley talked about "negativity" with the organization and said "you understand why they [Cubs] haven't won in 100 years here." He also said he was uncomfortable with his presence with the Chicago Cubs.[18] General Manager Jim Hendry felt the comments were disrespectful.[19] Bradley eventually apologized to the Cubs organization for his remarks.[20]
On December 18, 2009, Bradley was traded to the Seattle Mariners for Carlos Silva and cash.[21][22] He was part of a flurry of offseason moves by the Seattle Mariners in hopes of returning to the playoffs, having not reached the postseason since 2001.[21]
On May 4, 2010, Bradley removed himself from a game and left the stadium, he asked the Mariners for help with a personal problem and the organization stepped in to help him out. He returned to the team May 18 after undergoing an undisclosed treatment.[23]
On May 9, 2011, the Mariners designated Bradley for assignment after beginning the 2011 season hitting .218 with two home runs and 13 RBI in 28 games.[24] Unable to trade Bradley, the Mariners released him on May 16.[25]
Bradley is named after his father, Milton Bradley, Sr., who filled out the birth certificate form without his wife's permission. As Milton's mother says of his father, "He wanted a Junior, and made sure he got one."[26]
On January 18, 2011, Bradley was arrested at his home in Encino, California and charged with making criminal threats to his wife, Monique. In return for participating in an out-of-court hearing process, no charges were filed against Bradley. His wife has since filed for divorce.[24][27]