Milton Bradley

I admit, I have a huge man crush on Josh Hamilton and have had since spring training. But lost in all the Hamilton hoopla has been the story of Milton Bradley in TX. Milton hits behind Josh and has been instrumental in Hamilton's success - Miltons BA, power and on base percentage means that pitchers have to pitch to Hamilton - who has exactly one intentional walk this year.

the following is an article from the ft worth star telegram on Milton - it is a very nice job

Jennifer Floyd Engel: The Rangers' other story of redemption

Jennifer Floyd Engel


ARLINGTON -- Add a footnote to the legend of Josh , another AL player of the month designation.
Two months, two wins, a first in AL POM history.
So, of course, the Ranger savior drew a big media crowd Monday where he did what he always does by giving all the credit to somebody else. Or somebodys in this case.
Jesus Christ and Milton Bradley. In that order, of course.
And, yes, I realize they are an odd combo.
Josh just wanted to make sure everybody knew that having a switch-hitting threat who has a .319 average, 34 RBI and nine homers behind him has been a big blessing, too.
"And why is nobody talking about MOB [Milton Obelle Bradley]?" shortstop Michael Young asked.
His is a good question considering that, if not for Bradley's really, really good season, Hamilton is probably not able to be great. This is not to take anything away from Josh. He freely admits it himself.
And like him, Bradley's is also a story of redemption.
Just do not look for him to sit in the bullpen anytime soon sharing. That is not Bradley's style and too many fans think they know his story anyway. He is seen as the moody, cantankerous jerk.
Except Bradley really isn't.
And he certainly has not been here in Texas.
What Bradley has been is a big reason why Hamilton is having this triple-crown season and why the Rangers are flirting with .500 despite a mish-mash pitching rotation that again battled ugly in Monday's 13-9 loss.
And if you talk to Bradley for 15 minutes, you start to discover that everything you heard about him is wrong.
"I go out and play and try to win," he said. "I want to be successful and, if I'm not, I'm not happy. That is me in a nutshell. There is not a whole lot of tricks. I'm the same guy every day. I don't beat around the bush."
Therein lies why he and Josh have become such good friends. Both have pasts, reps they are trying to overcome, and they discovered how alike this made them in baseball.
And this unlikely friendship started because Bradley, like everybody else, had heard about how crazy fun a Hamilton bp session was to watch. So he joined in and they started talking.
"We talked about our pasts a little bit, similarities," Hamilton said. "He's one of the best guys I have met in baseball, not only as a teammate but as a player."
Does he have his moody days? Of course.
They all do. The thing about Bradley is this amounts to everything a lot of people know about him. He is seen as the really angry guy with a laundry list of incidents.
"He's misunderstood," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "When he threw his tantrums, people always thought he was throwing his tantrum at somebody but he was throwing tantrums more at himself."
I know what everybody is thinking. What about the thing last year with the ump? Because who does not remember Bradley looking as crazy insane as his rep while going after umpire Mike Winters in September.
The league determined Winters had screwed up. He was suspended.
Bradley doesn't really get into it because, for him, it is over. The thing about Bradley is he gets mad, says so, then lets it go. Of course, this one was harder to just let go of.
He tore his ACL and meniscus while being held back by a coach.
"I was wondering if I'd be able to play baseball again," he admitted. "Instead I'm working and getting better and getting over here was probably the best thing for me."
And he started ticking off what he loves about the Rangers as proof, the strength coach, the doctors, Wash, his teammates ...
And while we're assigning credit, give a hat tip to trusted voice Don Welke. The senior director of baseball ops recommended Josh and Bradley.
Because JD and Owner Hicks asked what every management team inevitably asks when talk turns to bringing in Bradley. What about his baggage?
"What baggage?" Wash told them. "All this guy wants to do is win."
He quickly added: "Now don't get me wrong, when it is time to play baseball, he is mean."
Which is exactly what the Rangers kind of needed.
They needed somebody who is t.o.-ed by losing, who holds himself accountable, who says what he thinks, not pc garbage.
"It's not my persona," he said. "When I got to the Dodgers they wanted me to be more personable and pr like, and I tried, but I have a tendency to tell the truth, and you can't do that and talk to the media so I shied away from it."
Thus resulting in the only people who really know him are those in the clubhouse with him. And they love him.
Especially a certain legendary two-time AL player of the month.
Jennifer Floyd Engel 817-390-7760
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