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Here’s a little known behind the scenes story on the life-changing events for the great Chad Bradford.
Bradford graduated from Byram High School in the spring of 1993. After he failed to receive any offers from any of the Division I or Division II schools, he signed with Hinds. He won six games in his first season, including a 12-2 win over Southeastern, Iowa in the NJCAA Division II World Series. It was Hinds’ first World Series win.
He had his ups and downs with confidence and toughness during the 1994 season, but grew stronger as the year progressed.
It was during the ’94 season that a little known scout from the Chicago White Sox took notice of him and was impressed by how naturally Chad threw with his sidearm throwing motion.
“I was in my second year with the White Sox and went to watch Dave Townsend and the team. Chad pitched that day and I really liked him. I sent my report in and called Warren Hughes. I saw him pitch a couple more times and then I got Warren involved. He was my cross checker at the time. We drafted him in the 34th round as a control draft, also known as a draft and follow. We visited him at his home and explained everything and offered a small contract as a formality,” said Tim McMillian.
Tim was a standout player for me at Magnolia Academy for four years and then at Hinds and was a great coach at Natchez Trace Academy where he had coached Dave Townsend and won a lot of games and championships. Baseball was in his blood.
Bradford did not sign and returned to Hinds for his sophomore season. His second year transition was remarkable. He started 17 games and completed 15 on his way to setting a Hinds single season record 125 innings pitched, 13 wins, and 117 strikeouts. The sidewinder broke 5 of his opponent’s aluminum bats during that season.
The White Sox did not sign him during the time they controlled the rights to him and did not draft him again after his unbelievable ’95 season. “Why we didn’t sign him is beyond my paid grade,” McMillian added.
No other teams did either. Why? Most likely, it was the fact that he didn’t throw 95 mph; plain and simple. So he went to USM for his junior year.
McMillian liked him a lot and went to numerous games and finally got everyone involved again, and mostly through his persistence, the White Sox drafted him in the 13th round in the 1996 draft and “everything else is history.”
“It’s pretty cool. I got the call from the big wheels the night before they were calling him up to the big leagues and they thanked me again and told me to watch the game,” said McMillian.
Chad made his MLB debut on August 1, 1998 in Arlington against the Texas Rangers. He pitched 2.1 innings and allowed 1 hit and 1 earned run. I got a call from Chad and then my son Josh and I made a detour from recruiting in New Iberia, Louisiana and drove overnight to Arlington to watch his debut.
Although Warren Hughes gets all the credit, there’s no doubt that Tim McMillian was the driving force behind the White Sox being the only Major League team that had any interest in Bradford from 1994 through the time they finally signed him for $12,500 in the summer of 1996.
There was absolutely no interest from the other 29 MLB teams until he made his unlikely arrival in the big leagues and transitioned from a sidearmer to a submariner and became a highly effective reliever.
And then it was the Oakland A’s, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, and Tampa Bay Rays who would all eventually enlist his services and pay him a lot of money to do so over the next 12 years.
Check out two more features on Chad Bradford coming soon: Eagles in the Big Leagues – Chad Bradford and Chad Bradford – Moneyballer
Chad’s major league debut on August 1, 1998 against the Texas Rangers in The Ballpark at Arlington. Josh Clarke was 8 years old. Baseball is in his blood, too.
Rick Clarke's Diary of a Mad Baseball Coach 