Professional Career
He was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 1994, but elected to stay in college through 1996. The White Sox—the only major league team that had even scouted him—re-drafted him in the 13th round of the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his major league debut in 1998 while 23 years old.
In 1999, Bradford made only a short stop in the majors with the rest of the season spent with the Triple-A Charlotte Knights. He was successful as a September call-up in 2000 and pitched in the American League Division Series. Following the season, the White Sox traded him to the Oakland Athletics for catcher Miguel Olivo.
From 2001 to 2004, Bradford was a specialty reliever for the Athletics, having success against right-handed hitters. His ERA stayed around 3.00 for his entire career until 2004 when he had a setback. It was said to be because of his mounting back pain which eventually forced him on to the disabled list.
In July, 2005, the Boston Red Sox acquired Bradford from Oakland in a trade for outfielder Jay Payton. Bradford, on the disabled list since undergoing lower back surgery March 7, was activated after the All-Star break. For Boston, Bradford had a 3.86 ERA with a 1.414 WHIP in 23⅓ innings.
After the season, he became a free agent and was signed by the New York Mets where he was reunited with Rick Peterson, his pitching coach from the Athletics. He had a very solid year in 2006 as a right-handed specialist out of the bullpen, posting a 2.90 ERA in 70 games.
On November 28, 2006 Bradford signed a three-year, 10.5 million dollar deal with the Baltimore Orioles.
On May 31, 2008, Manny Ramirez hit his 500th career home run off of Bradford. On August 7, 2008, Bradford was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later. With a lot of postseason experience under his belt, Bradford shined in the '08 playoffs and played a big part in Tampa Bays world series run. Bradford pitched in the 2008 World Series, allowing one hit in two innings for Tampa Bay.
Bradford remained with the Rays into 2009; however, he began the season on the disabled list after injuring his elbow in spring training. Bradford returned in June but shortly thereafter returned to the disabled list, this time after injuring his back while warming up. Bradford was sidelined again at the end of the season with various pains. When on the mound, he was of questionable effectiveness, allowing 22 hits in 10 innings. Largely because of recurring injuries, Bradford told the St. Petersburg Times after the season that he was considering retirement. With no media attention and no interest from major league clubs, Bradford quietly retired and went to work as a coach in Mississippi.
In 24 career postseason games, Bradford posted a 0.39 ERA, allowing just one run.
After facing over 1,500 batters, Bradford gave up just 28 Home Runs.
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