Milton Bradley attempts to go after Royals announcer
More evidence that Milton Bradley is indeed crazy
over 3 years ago
Roger Dorn
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I am too, always have been. Like Adam says, it seems pretty clear he’s more than just your run-of-the-mill “hothead”; he’s got some serious emotional problems. He and his family should thank god every day he has this astounding talent for baseball, because I think his life would be real tough without it.
I will say, though, that it’s probably a lot easier to be a fan of Milton from afar than to have to deal with him on a day to day basis. I’ll bet a lot of people come to him with good intentions and he does a hell of a job driving them away.
by mrich on Jun 12, 2008 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
i did up to a point. he doesn’t feel he needs to work to change, so i don’t feel the need to feel sorry for him. he would rather sit back and have the rest of the world just understand him, rather than perhaps make strides of his own volition.
But If he changed tomorrow no one would notice. Just like that announcer, we’d still say that he’s a hot head, a loose cannon, because a few things that happened before. He’s probably thinking, “man, what have I got to do? In each new city I am treated like this”. He has the stigma now, and no amount of good behavior can break it. It’d drive me up the wall. Is Josh Hamilton such a better camper that Milton? The book’s still out on that one. Somehow he impresses everybody the right way. Wonderful story that Hamilton, but there may come a time when he falls off.
I completely agree with Jhon here. The guy broke down crying in the middle of the locker room! He’s pretty emotionally fragile/volatile. Sometimes we forget that we are dealing with human beings. It’s easy to do – we do it all the time – but that’s why people write stories and books and such, to remind us not to be so cruel. I think he deserves some compassion.
I am compassionate for Milton, but at the same time, he still doesn’t have real accountability for his actions.
Re-read the last paragraph of the story. He needs to understand that he separates himself by his conduct, and that’s his choice, and he’s responsible for the consequences.
The world will not be changing to accommodate Milton Bradley or any other man.
I don’t think compassion should know boundary conditions. Of course it’s his fault! The fact that he brings fire down upon himself is why he needs compassion, not a reason for denying it to him.
he still doesn’t have real accountability for his actions.
If you have enough money or talent you don’t hafta be “truly” accountable for just about anything. The list of well know folks who’ve never been “truly” accountable is almost endless. How much time did Teddy Kennedy do for being complicit in Mary Kopechne’s death? Or did Laura Bush even get even a traffic ticket for running that stop sign and killin’ that guy? OJ, Jeff Skilling, John Thain, Werner Von Braun – the list goes on and on. Like the man said, the only real crime in America is being poor.
And elsandito, what makes you think the Milton gives a crap about money? Or better yet what do you think the Ranger’s executives care about his behavior? Just as long as the public’s buying tickets and the club’s turning a profit, Milton can rant, rave, cry, kick water coolers or do whatever the hell else he wants to, just as long as he OPSs above 900. He knows that and the executives know that to. But he could be Mother Teresa and if his OPB goes below .280 he’s gone.
"the most vehement Yankee-hating guy I know" - Jay
This is true. Except that Milton isn’t white. Not to say that he can’t buy himself out of a problem (as you mention OJ), but that a predominately white media, business side of baseball, and umpires (I note as a factor in last season’s incident where Milton was injured after going after an ump who instigated him), are going to easily form a negative opinion and set that opinion in stone, and when Milton has a meltdown its news everytime. He’s expected to have meltdowns, the media is looking for any sign of it happening, and when he does its news and only further adds to a public perception of the player and all of us, detached from the actual event, talking about what should happen to him, what he should do, what he deserves….etc.
Except that Milton isn’t white
OK, if his OBP drops below .380 he’s gone.
"the most vehement Yankee-hating guy I know" - Jay
This has nothing to do with race. It has to do with Bradley being unable to control his emotions. The guy that the announcer was comparing him to, Josh Hamilton, has turned the corner and done well. Milton Bradley still has not proven that he can stay out of trouble for an entire season.
Society isn’t going to suddenly notice that Bradley has turned the corner until he stays out of trouble for a long while. He’s always been unable to do that and it doesn’t matter whether he is white/black/purple. Milton needs to control his actions and step up.
I don’t buy this at all. Bradley’s behaviors mixed with the media’s reporting of the facts of his behaviors and then media and public commentary and opinion about the behaviors have created a caricature of who Bradley is in the public eye. We all now look for him to fulfil this caricature, and any evidence that supports it is highlighted while anything against it is dismissed or ignored (or just never reported on, hence we can’t consider it). To dismiss race in the perception of Bradley (a black player) who is being talked about and judged on (or assessed) by a majority white media and consuming public (baseball fans) is acting shortsighted. The nature of Bradley’s “problems” (i.e. his “hot-headedness” or difficulty controlling his how his emotions impact his behaviors) coupled with him not being the same race as the majority of people forming opinions on him in the media and baseball fan public, makes it easier for us to “write him off” and form a negative emotional reaction to him in general.
Kenny Rodgers was mentioned above, and he too felt a media and fan backlash, but as you recall that changed when the Tigers made the playoffs and Rodgers was one of the reasons they did so (this gives credence to what chuck says above about the performance of a player making everything “ok”). But has Rodgers received the same poking and prodding about his problems with anger that Bradley has? Is a white baseball fan public going to be more forgiving of a hotheaded Rodgers than a hotheaded Bradley?
Race plays a role, but is not an excuse for Bradley’s behaviors, and he deserves whatever league punishments that are incurred for such behaviors, but in regards to public perception and the media’s role in maintaining the caricature of Bradley, race makes it easier for people not of the same race to for negative oppinions and hold stronger negative emotions than if Bradley was the same race.
by hans on Jun 13, 2008 3:21 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Well, Rodgers has only had one incident that I can remember. Did he have more?
Bradley has had numerous incidents in every stop along his career. It goes far beyond one incident that is being harped upon. And what, exactly, has Bradley done to prove that he can control his temper? He hasn’t even gone a full season without blowing up. There is nothing tangible that proves he has changed.
And no one is going to write him a free pass and tell him he can start over. He is responsible for his past mistakes and his past mistakes will always follow him around. If he wants to be respected he should act like a man and accept it. Going after a radio announcer just proves that everything that announcer was saying is correct.
I blame society for MBs inability to keep his fingers from around peoples’ necks. He is a victim of racial stereotyping and socioeconomic bigotry. I suggest he channel his anger towards more productive uses like blitzing opposing qbs.
This is probably the most off the mark comment I’ve seen on here in awhile. In fact this is something that is better fit for a site like Cleveland.com or something, I mean nowhere in any of the comments in this thread does anyone state that Bradley is not accountable for his behaviors and that he doesn’t deserve the full punishments for them. If so please point it out to me, as I must be blind.
I find I am unable to discuss this subject in any objective manner. My caucasion upbringing has left me crippled. I have been brainwashed and white American oriented and fresh ideas of race relations are beyond my grasp.
Hey you finally got it. I wouldn’t sell yourself short, apparently there is much more than fresh ideas of race relations that are beyond your caucasion upbringing’s grasp.
elsandito is tapdancing on a line here, yes, but I think he’s making a point about playing the race card rather than being accountable. Now, has Bradley actually done much race-card playing? Not that I’ve seen, at least not lately. So in that sense, elsandito’s post seems kind of out of left field. But it’s not totally off-topic.
Actually, Hans, played the adopted race card by expanding on the concept that part of MBs problem is that MB is being caricaturized by people not of MBs own race. Whatever image problem MB suffers from is certainly a product of the society in which he lives. And that fact applies to Hans and myself as well. MB needs to grow up, see this, and adjust for it. If MB needs to become monklike to overcome the image of his past, he should get to it.
“going after a radio announcer just proves that everything that announcer was saying is correct.”
But what does it have to do with why the radio announcer said what he said about Bradley? My point being that Bradley is likely to get criticized more and therefor has to deal with more negativity directed toward himself and his character than a similar white player would.
“there is nothing tangible that proves he has changed”.
Well you’re right. there is nothing tangibly written in the print, radio, or television media documenting that Bradley has changed. So I’m assuming that like myself, you and Lefevre are not privy to any further information about Bradley than what is already written or said in the media. Lefevre certainly didn’t cite anything new that wasn’t already presented through the general media, so I’m going to assume that he was making his comments based on what has been reported in the media rather than any other source of information (i.e. personal interview, psychological testing, etc…). So any tangible evidence being discussed is presented through the media. Now the media is mostly white. Social psychology has proven that it is easier for members of one group to produce negative opinions or characterizations of another group than trying to form those opinions on members of their own group. When a person from that other group approximates these negative opinions or character traits, it is highlighted as evidence to support the irrational (although this process may have been logical in a basic human survival sense early in the development of the species) negative characterizations of the other group.
Bradley’s available documented history (available through media reports that is) suggests that he will continue to have difficulty managing his emotions, particularly of anger. I will guarantee that even if he was trying to work on it through treatment or personal efforts, that the increased negative attention he has received, which is likely more intense because of his minority race, will make it more difficult for him to succeed, and additionally less likely that objectively observed change will be seen (In short, we’ve all made up our minds about him and its going to take twice as much good to make up for the bad…..and very little of the good is likely to be newsworthy, so basically he’s screwed in the arena of public opinion anyways). So if we as a society are striving to reduce the impact of racial bias, how is it that its ok to ignore the racial role that likely played into Lefevre making the original comments, and then support Lefevre’s act of making the comment by stating that the reaction garnered from Bradley following the comment is proof that Lefevre’s comment is factual and that therefore he should have made the comment and the fact that Bradley demonstrated that he continues to have problems controlling his emotions, we have to assume that the comment was made without any racial bias .
Could the statement about Hamilton be made without the inclusion of Bradley’s history? And if so, why was Bradley included and how is it possible to separate his inclusion because of his history of emotional explosions from the fact that its easier to identify negative characteristics in other races than LeFevre’s own race?
Well you’re right. there is nothing tangibly written in the print, radio, or television media documenting that Bradley has changed.
You are missing my point. There is no tangible evidence that Bradley has changed because he hasn’t changed. You and I both have concrete evidence that he hasn’t. He just went after an announcer and forced people to step in. There is no way anyone can argue that he has changed.
Could the statement about Hamilton be made without the inclusion of Bradley’s history? And if so, why was Bradley included and how is it possible to separate his inclusion because of his history of emotional explosions from the fact that its easier to identify negative characteristics in other races than LeFevre’s own race?
Or maybe it has to do with both of them playing on the same team. In a way the announcer was correct; Bradley and Hamilton are foils of one another. Bradley has not been able to transcend his trouble (s) while Hamilton has. It probably also helps that Hamilton is a likable guy while Bradley comes off as a giant douchebag. I don’t see how race can even be viewed as a part of this. If you switch their personalities and problems then the black guy is the one who comes off as likable who dealt with his drug problem to succeed. The white guy is the one who is a douche and can’t even get through a year without having an incident.
I haven’t heard that the Rangers are going to punish Milton, and the best accounts I’ve of this particular event describe it as well short of an implosion. He was not moved to violence, only demonstrating anger and offense. Isn’t that natural? The announcer was being plainly offensive, taking an easy snarky jab at Milton that he didn’t except to be called out on because Milton just isn’t well liked by outsiders. It sounds to me like the Rangers like him just fine and that, just like Hamilton, he’s not having any kinds of troubles in their organization. I consider his run of good behavior intact.
So you’re assuming that he was just going to have a friendly chat with the announcer? I’m pretty sure that when a person hears something that makes them angry enough to confront
I messed that up. Here’s the full post:
So you’re assuming that he was just going to have a friendly chat with the announcer? I’m pretty sure that when a person hears something that makes them angry enough to confront someone violence is going to ensue. Especially with a person who allows his emotions to run him. If someone didn’t step in I don’t know how violence would be avoided short of an immediate apology from the announcer.
But look what you are doing here. You already have created a full played out scene where Bradley goes to the announcer and without the announcer appeasing Bradley with an apology Bradley pounds the hell out of him (or violence ensues as you said, just wanted to add a little flare)
This fits right into what you expect Bradley to do in every situation where he confronts another person. Well I can tell you that Bradley hasn’t had an incident where he put his hands on another person since he’s be in Texas (as far as the media has reported anyways) and I can assure you he’s been in conflict with another person or player or fan in that time, yet did not result in him becoming violent. But, this is what you expect….when the fact of the matter is we don’t know enough about this situation or Bradleys recent history to even come close to predicting what he would do.
Would he do what you said he would, maybe, maybe not, I don’t know but until he actually does it I don’t think I’m going to condem him for it. And I still think he’s a douche bag. But, let the established systems (MLB, legal system) deal with punishing him.
Lets be clear with what we are talking about here. You and I have never met Milton Bradley, all we know is what we see when he plays baseball, clips on tv, and what’s written or spoken about him in the media. This is all public opinion, so and its ok if you have a different opinion of him than I do (although I kinda think he’s a douche bag, as well), and all in all it really doesn’t matter what any of us think as we are far removed from Bradley’s daily life (well unless we showed up at all his games and insulted him or something….but I don’t think thats happening).
On your second point, All of that is possible as far as why LeFevre chose to make derogatory remarks about Bradley, but in addition to that is the fact that because Bradley is black it is easier to attribute (which in this case isn’t such a big issue since Bradley has done enough to cover the number of emotional blowups) and the intensity of such negativity. This happens at the subconscious level, but it happens. The fact that it happens subconsciously makes it difficult to accept. Additionally your opinion as well as Lefevre’s has been set, this tints your vision of Bradley.
My original point about Bradley is that because he is black and the media and public (baseball fans) are a white majority, there is even more he would have to do to overcome the negative public perception. Theres too much research that supports the evidence of the subconscious bias against other groups to dismiss its impact on why Lefevre views Bradley as he does.
And you are assuming that if Bradley was white Lefevre would not have made those comments. I honestly don’t see how race is a big part of this. Lefevre did not insinuate anything racially charged. He pointed out Bradley’s history and compared it to Hamilton’s. It was unnecessary, but if Bradley could not handle that then he is going to have trouble handling a lot in his future.
I’m assuming that its less likely that Lefevre makes the comment if Bradley is white. And yes his comments weren’t directly racially charged, but it was easier for him to make them because Bradley is black and Lefevre is white.
Bradley is probably going to continue having problems dealing with criticisms in the future. But, does that mean that harping on his past record is going to benefit anyone? and that it should be continually brought up, just so Bradley can do what he does and prove the point even more? for what? what was the benefit to bringing it up? there is none. so what was the true motivation, to praise Hamilton or rather to disparage Bradley? I think its pretty clear that you can praise Hamilton without bringing up Bradley, but you can’t disparage Bradley without bringing up Bradley.
I was emphasizing that MB’s behavior is allowed by MLB and his union because neither one senses any significant downside to their interests. If I am employed by the media, interviewing MB as part of my work, and he injures me, both his employer and his union will claim innocence. But, thank g-d they have protected me from second hand smoke.
I really like Milton. I don’t find his behaviors all that strange in general; it’s only strange that it should flow from a star athlete. Most normal people are susceptible to getting hot or other emotional disruptions.
Althletes are automata: 500 laps in a pool shooting a thousand freethrows, hitting a thousand pitches from a machine—-that’s steadiness is kind of weird, isn’t it?
As someone on the very edge of that kind of automation (I’m a triathlete and regularly train between 12 and 25 hours a week, about 9 or 10 months a year for the last three years), it really doesn’t seem that weird once you’re doing it. It just seems like the way you live. You get up and you do it. I woke up at 6 this morning. I didn’t want to, but I did it because the decision was already made. Ran to the gym, went to yoga, ran home. I’ll swim after class this afternoon. It doesn’t seem weird because most of my friends do the same thing.
And I only have one friend who does it for a living, so it must be so much more intense for professional athletes. Because their bodies are just at a different level than most of ours; they have so many natural physical gifts, and then they have the ability to be disciplined like you’re talking about. But they are surrounded by an entire team of people doing the same thing. It doesn’t seem weird, it just seems like what you do. I’m sure playing in a summer beer-league seems mind-boggling to most of these guys.
Il faut d'abord durer.
I recently met this girl who had two degrees from MIT. I had to ask her how she did it: “lot’s of coffee, eh?” It was a struggle for me to meet the demands of one at a school known more for its parties than its scholarship. She told me that she didn’t even drink coffee then, that when she grew tired and weary she’d go and run on a treadmill “for energy”. Our exchange didn’t stray beyond factual statements.
I thought this was totally nuts at the time, but only because I’m not uber-driven, nor is my usual company. I’m perplexed by (but interested in) these other types. Milton might have all of these qualities, but he’s easier for me to relate to than the many other athletes who have the personality of a treadmill.
That’s definitely true. A guy with some flaws is easier to relate to than one without. It’s weird how that works, though, because it’s not the case for every athlete with issues out there. There are some I’m sympathetic to or relate to in some bizarre way, and some I totally dislike (Clemens springs to mind).
Il faut d'abord durer.
How hard is it for MB to understand that he’s a highly paid and highly exposed business man? There is room for personal feelings, but normal people understand the reasonable boundaries of behavior. Why aren’t the other members of his “union” clamoring for some kind of help for him or, at the very least, protection from what he may do? Players like MB and Belle have a screw loose. Evidently, MLB doesn’t see a significant downside or risk in failing to proactively deal with these people. I guess they believe there is no such thing as bad player media.
In fairness, we don’t have any idea how much his team or MLB are doing proactively to help him, but legally, you can’t force him; there are limits set up by the CBA. We can be pretty sure that the Indians have pretty comprehensive counseling and support services, and it didn’t make much difference.
Businesses deal with the mentally handicapped every day. MLB isn’t forced to employ anyone. As for the CBA, if protecting dangerous elements is a union right, there’s something wrong with the union’s attitude. Whatever personal rights we have under the Constitution, there also exist rights for employers. MB has the right to sweep at the local high school if he refuses to participate in an activity where hundreds of millions of dollars are changing hands in some reasonable manner that identifies the interests of his employer and associates.
Not forced to emply anyone, but not free to fire people under contract, either. “Cause” under the CBA is defined to almost totally exclude any possibility of not having to pay the full contract. Denny Neagle was arrested twice in a month for drunk driving and soliciting prostitution, and the Rockies still had to fight to terminate just the final year of his deal.
I never heard of him before this, but I did hear what he had to say about Bradley. It was all factually correct and I didn’t really believe it was that mean.
It was pretty douchey, though. He’s praising Hamilton, dragged Bradley into it for the unflattering comparison, didn’t really have anything new to observe about Bradley in the process. Hamilton’s story gets no better with the Bradley comparison added in.
by Jay on Jun 12, 2008 8:34 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
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