One athlete who is no stranger to controversy and both on the field and off the field antics, is Milton Bradley. The 11-year veteran has played for eight different teams, and his behavior could easily be one of the main reasons why. But his most recent run in with the media, could be his most questionable. In an interview with ESPN, Bradley claims he received lots of hate mail from Cubs fans while playing with the organization, and said it was almost all racial related. The troubled 2008 AL All-Star also said, "Unless you're a black Superman in Chicago like Ernie Banks and Andre Dawson were, they'll [the fans] get on you." Milton went on to say that he felt like he was trapped inside his home as if he was kept hostage, afraid to go anywhere.
I hear where he's coming from, but I hope he's not trying to use the race card as an excuse to why he didn't perform as well, which is what it's starting to sound like. Besides, high expectations come from the Wrigley faithful when you sign a 3-year deal worth $30 million dollars. Not to mention, former Cub teammate Derrek Lee seems to be doing just fine in a Cubs uniform and has been a fan favorite since joining the team in 2004, despite being African-American. In his one and only season with the Cubs, Bradley finished the year batting .257 with 12 hr's and 40 rbi's. His mediocre 2009 performance led to a trade to Seattle in exchange for starting pitcher Carlos Silva. Only one of many moves the Mariners have made this offseason, hoping to return to the post season for the first time since 2001.
Take some of Bradley's other on the field antics into consideration. During his brief stint with the San Diego Padres in 2007, Milton had an altercation with first base umpire Mike Winters. Padres manager Bud Black tried restraining him while the two got in each others face. While being held back by his skipper, Bradley fell to the ground tearing his ACL in the process, resulting in him missing the final week of the 2007 regular season. But his most memorable incident with the Cubs, came in an inter-league match-up against the visiting Minnesota Twins. With two men on base, Bradley caught a routine fly ball in left field, then threw it into the stands, unaware of how many outs there were. With only 2 outs instead of the 3 Milton had suggested, the umpire allowed both base runners to advance two bases.
Although his idiotic souvenir toss into the stands didn't lead to a suspension, what he said in an interview on September 20th did. While talking to the media, Bradley was quoted as saying there is "negativity" with the organization and the city environment and "you understand why they [Cubs] haven't won in 100 years here." He then said he was uncomfortable with his presence with the Chicago Cubs. General Manager Jim Hendry felt Bradley's remarks were disrespectful and announced he would be suspended for the remainder of the season. If you ask me, I say those comments alone could have easily led to the Cub fans expressing their hatred towards the left fielder.
What have we learned today? We've learned that Milton Bradley is a bigger cancer to the team than he is a contributor. Now that he's in a Mariners uniform, it'll be interesting to see whether he can stay put with one organization more than a few years, or if his demeanor will get the better half of him. Personally, I think he's a ticking time bomb and it's just a matter of time before he goes off and has another one of his little hissy fits. I'm just thankful he's not on my team.
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