Milton Bradley (baseball)

Milton Bradley
Texas Rangers — No. 21 OutfielderBorn: April 15, 1978(1978-04-15) (age 30) Bats: Switch Throws: Right Major League Baseball debut July 19, 2000 for the Montreal Expos Selected MLB statistics
(through May 19, 2008) Batting average .276 Home runs 89 Runs batted in 348 Teams

Milton Obelle Bradley (born April 15, 1978 in Harbor City, California, USA) is a Major League Baseball outfielder who plays for the Texas Rangers.

Major League Baseball career

Bradley was drafted from high school in the second round of the 1996 draft by the Montréal Expos. In the Expos' farm system, he hit a game 5 walk-off home run to win the 1999 AA Eastern League Championship for the Harrisburg Senators.[1].

Bradley's Major League Baseball debut was on July 19, 2000 for the Montreal Expos. He was traded to the Cleveland Indians on July 31, 2001 for Zach Day. Days before the start of the 2004 season, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for prospects Franklin Gutierrez and Andrew Brown, following an altercation with Indians manager Eric Wedge. He was a regular member of the lineup for the Dodgers in 2004, where he posted a batting average of .265. On December 13, 2005, Bradley was traded to the Oakland Athletics along with infielder Antonio Pérez for outfielder Andre Ethier, who at the time was a minor league prospect.

On Thursday, June 21, 2007, the Oakland Athletics designated Bradley for assignment. Eight days later, the San Diego Padres acquired Bradley and cash considerations from the Oakland A's 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.

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. Bradley has been known to have anger issues, resulting in many altercations with umpires, opposing players, and even spectators throughout his troubled career.

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 didn't make physical contact with Winters.[2]

After the 2007 season, Bradley agreed to a one-year contract with the Texas Rangers.[3] He announced in early January 2008 that he expects to be ready to play in the 2008 season opener against the division foe, the Seattle Mariners.[4]He has been the Rangers DH this season.

Bradley has shined during the 2008 season, he is currently (June 6, 2008) the American League leader in Batting Average (.337), OBP (.449) and SLG (.627). He has been somewhat humbled with his recent 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."[5]