Doing The Splits For Bradley

http://www.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/schwarz_alan/1574709.html

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Bradley has risen from a youth in Long Beach, Calif., that helps explain, well, what his problem is. For all the board-game jokes about his name, the way he got it isn't one. Charlina Rector dated a man named Milton Bradley in the late 1970s but says she broke off their engagement because she claims he was hooked on cocaine. When she gave birth to their son in April 1978, she was still unconscious when Bradley filled out the birth certificate without her permission. He wanted a Junior, and made damn sure he got one.

Rector, who was already raising four kids from a previous marriage, says she protected Milton Jr. as best she could from what she describes as his drug-addicted, abusive father.

Rector says Milton Sr. was a Vietnam veteran with a purple heart, who slept wherever he could and spent several years homeless. When he got off drugs, Rector says, she allowed him to spend some time with Milton Jr. Rector had already taught the boy to bat right-handed. When she was out working, Milton Sr. forced him to swing left-handed, just like him. Hence the switch-hitting.

When Milton Jr. played Little League, his father would occasionally show up to watch, causing him to become distracted and withdrawn. Rector ultimately told his father, "Stand where he can't see you." Milton Sr. would hide behind a tree, but the kid knew better.

Milton Jr. still occasionally speaks with his dad, who he says is unemployed and "not doing much of anything." The son never calls the father. He talks with him only out of respect for the blood he had no choice but to inherit. "All I got from him was the same name," says Bradley, who never changed his name because the memories only drive him harder. It was always him and his headstrong mom, a cashier at local Von's and Safeway supermarkets, against the world.

Efforts to reach Milton Sr. were unsuccessful.

Doug Minekiwinfnwiwnfz

• It's interesting how when you learn more about Milton Bradley's history, you tend to either like him more, sympathize more with him, or at least feel you understand him better. Virginia Satir had a wonderful saying to the effect of, "If you knew everything about someone, everything they did would make sense." People don't generally become angry for no reason; I'm sure he has had his share of challenges and I hope he can find a home in Oakland.
• We fans rarely feel we can really "make a difference," but I imagine it would mean a LOT to MB if he saw a bunch of welcoming banners his first home game, even simple ones like "We're glad you're here." I doubt he has heard that very often, especially from the fans.
• Whether or not MB has "power" is very much a matter of perspective on what constitutes power. There is homerun power (which MB has only in moderation) and "high slugging percentage power" (which MB has a lot of due to consistently good doubles numbers). Doubles are especially useful on a team that walks a lot (i.e. has a lot of people on base).
• No, the A's aren't about to sign Tomko; it's just that if they did, the A's would have the market cornered on "guys whose names sound like manufacturers of toys and games."