SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners traded for Milton Bradley in the offseason, willing to put up with the volatile behavior that has marred his career because they were confident he could help a team that needed his ability to hit.
What the Mariners — and Bradley — are dealing with now goes beyond incidents with umpires or teammates that many in baseball have passed off as “Milton being Milton.”
The Mariners are helping Bradley sort through an emotional crisis that’s beyond the struggles he and the team are experiencing on the field.
One day after he was pulled from the lineup and, according to numerous reports, left the ballpark before Tuesday night’s game had ended, Bradley returned to the Mariners on Wednesday, remorseful and vulnerable.
“He’s going through some things in his life right now that are very personal and emotional,” general manager Jack Zduriencik said, without being specific.
Bradley met with Zduriencik and manager Don Wakamatsu on Wednesday morning, asking for the team’s assistance. In the afternoon, he spoke to his teammates for a few minutes.
“He has expressed himself openly and asked for their help, understanding and their assistance,” Zduriencik said. “Milton is very remorseful about some of the things that have happened in his recent past and feels very badly about it, but the fact that he has stood up and asked for us to help him is an extremely important step for him.”
Zduriencik said Bradley would remain on the active roster as he meets the next few days with psychological professionals. It remains possible he could leave the team as he receives help, but until then the Mariners will play with essentially a 24-man roster.
“Right now we are going day-to-day,” Zduriencik said. “But eventually, when we talk to some people and Milton talks to some people, we will have a little more feel for how this thing, at least the length of time, will take.”
When the Mariners acquired Bradley on Dec. 18 from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for struggling pitcher Carlos Silva, they were seen as perhaps the one team in baseball where he might play without incident. The fans and media in Seattle are relatively forgiving, and with players like Ichiro Suzuki and Ken Griffey Jr., Bradley wouldn’t be a focal point as long as he behaved himself.
Instead, controversy small and large followed him.
Bradley was ejected twice from spring training games when he reacted to being called out on strikes. He made an obscene gesture to fans in Texas during the opening road trip. Last week in Kansas City, he taunted fans who were jeering him.
Through it all, the Mariners supported Bradley. Wakamatsu complained about the umpires at spring training who he thought were baiting Bradley. He talked with him several times this season to try and ease the tension Bradley felt during a slow start.
Wakamatsu dropped him down from fourth in the batting order early in April after Bradley buckled under self-induced pressure to lead the offense. He batted .211 in April and, after hitting safely in eight consecutive games, had the average up to .224 entering Tuesday’s game.
Wakamatsu moved Bradley back into the fourth spot for that game against the Tampa Bay Rays, and then everything fell apart. He went 0-for-3 and struck out twice looking at third strikes, including a sixth-inning strikeout with the bases loaded.
Bradley threw his bat and helmet in the dugout after that at-bat, and before the next half-inning Wakamatsu pulled him from the game and replaced him with Ryan Langerhans. According to reports, Bradley went to the clubhouse and changed into street clothes, then left the stadium while the game was still in progress.
The Mariners won’t discuss exactly what happened.
“There’s a lot of speculation as to what happened. I think a lot of it got blown out of proportion,” Wakamatsu said. “There wasn’t a big issue. A lot of it was tied into the emotional stress that he has inside right now.”
Zduriencik and Wakamatsu were meeting Wednesday morning at Safeco Field when Bradley called the manager and asked to speak face-to-face. Bradley arrived at the ballpark a little later and said he needed help to deal with personal issues that were affecting him on and off the field.
“It was an emotional time,” Zduriencik said.
Zduriencik and Wakamatsu, who have worked hard since spring training to gain Bradley’s trust, said the club would do whatever possible to help.
“He had enough confidence and enough faith and enough trust that we would stand by him at this time, and we will do that,” Zduriencik said.
Mike Sweeney said Bradley spoke with compassion when he addressed the team Wednesday afternoon, and that helped him understand better what happened Tuesday night.
“Last night when I left the ballpark, I like everyone else on the team was confused why a guy would do that,” said Sweeney, who shared a Bible verse with Bradley recently to help him cope with the pressure. “Hopefully, we’ll get the real Milton Bradley back once he deals with his struggles and we’ll be a better team because of it.
“This definitely isn’t the time for us to turn our backs on Milton. His heart is golden and as he deals with this internal pain and the issues he’s going through, hopefully it’ll be a blessing in disguise. Maybe he’ll look back a month or a year from now and say, ‘God, I’m thankful I hit rock bottom that May 4 night in Seattle.’”
Read Kirby Arnold’s blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com/marinersblog
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