Milton Bradley

Milton Bradley was November 8, 1936, invented the paper cutter and founded the game company that bears his name.

What?
I've got the wrong Milton Bradley. Let me check.

Oops you are right.

Milton Bradley, Junior is named Milton Bradley, Jr because his father filled out the birth certificate when his Mom was otherwise occupied. His Dad always a junior and he got one.

Milton Bradley was drafted by the Expos, (now the Nationals), in the 2nd round of the 1996 draft. He made his major league debut on July 19, 200 against the Mets. In July of 2001 he was traded to the Indians for Zach Day. After a confrontation with Manager Eric Wedge he was traded to the Dodgers for Franklin Guiterrez and Andrew Brown. Two years later, he was traded to the A's with Antonio Perez for minor leaguer Andre Ethier. In 2007 he was traded with cash to the Padres for, again, Andrew Brown. In San Diego he played in 144 games, scoring 31 runs on 45 hits with 11 home runs and hitting .313. Late in the season he got into a confrontation with an umpire, who allegedly directed profanity at Milton. As Bud Black was attempting to restrain him Bradley tore the ACL in his knee. He signed as a free agent with the Rangers and the end of 2007 and played his way on to the All Star team as the DH. In January he signed a three year, $30 million deal with the Cubs and will play right field and wear number 21. Let's see if he bounces when he hits home runs. I got the card signed through the mail, which I sent to him with the Rangers.

I just noticed that this is my 100th post on this site. Still far behind what I have done over at Readerman.net, but just as fun. There are more commenters here, card collectors must be more friendly than readers. Thanks for all your comments and cards.

Robert Tanios "Tagg" Bozied

It would be interesting to see how Tagg Bozied came by his nickname. He was drafted by the Twins in the 2nd round of the 2000 draft. He was drafted by the Padres in 2001 in the 3rd round and worked his way up through the Padres organization. He played at Lake Elsinore and Mobile before making it to the Portland Beavers. I got to see him play for three years at Portland. Tagg suffered one of the freakiest injuries ever during the 2004 season, he hit a game winning grand slam and as he jumped on home plate he ruptured the patellar tendon in his left knee. He was out for the rest of the '04 season and had back problems during 2005 related to the knee injury. After the '05 season the Padres released him and he has since played at New Orleans for the Mets, Memphis for the Cardinals, and Alburque for the Marlins. In December of 2008 he signed a minor league contract with the A's and got an invitation to spring training. It would be nice to see him stick and make it to the show, he was a nice guy when I talked to him with the Beavers. I got the card signed through the mail when Tagg was here in Portland.

Rob Bowen

I got this card back in the mail from Rob Bowen the day after one arrived that I had purchased on ebay. I decided to go with the one I had sent out. I sent it to Rob care of the A's last year.

Rob Bowen was drafted by the Twins in the 2nd round of the 1999 draft. He made his major league debut on April 1, 2003. On March 29, 2006 he was placed on the waivers and picked up by the Tigers. Just a few days later the Tigers waived him and the Padres picked him up. He played a season and a half with the Padres before being traded to the Cubs with Kyler Burke for Michael Barrett and cash, one month later he was traded to the A's with Jerry Blevins for Jason Kendall and cash. Since the middle of the 2007 season he has been with the A's.

Larry Bowa

Fiery and Intense are just a couple of the words used to describe Larry Bowa both as a player and manager. He managed the Padres for a season and a half, 1987 and 1988. He followed Steve Boros and was followed by Jack McKeon. I got the card signed through the mail years ago when he was managing the Phillies.

He was signed by the Phillies in 1965 as an amateur free agent for a $2,000 dollar bonus. He made his major league debut April 7, 1970 and then played for the Phillies until 1982. During that time he went to 5 All Star Games in '74,'75,'76,'78 and 1979, won two Gold Gloves and was part of the Phillies 1980 World Series winning team. In 1982 he was traded with a rookie named Ryne Sandberg to the Cubs for Ivan DeJesus. Bowa was released by the Cubs in 1985 and signed as a free agent with the Mets, playing in 14 games. Two years later he was named manager of the San Diego Padres and managed all of 1987 and part of 1988 before being replaced by Jack McKeon. He then managed the Phillies from 2000-2004, being named Manager of the Year in the National League in 2001. He finished managing with a .490 Winning percentage with a 418-435 record.

Danny Boone

Danny Boone had an interesting start and finish to his major league career. He was drafted in 1973 in the 15th round by the Angels, but did not sign. He was drafted in 1974 in the 5th round again by the Angels, but did not sign. In 1975 the Yankees drafted him in the 14th round, but did not sign. The Padres drafted him in 1976 in the 2nd round, but guess what he didn't sign then either. In June of 1976, he was drafted by the Angels in the 2nd round and what do you know he finally signed. He played in the Angels system until he was released in late March of 1980 and two or three days later the Padres signed him. He pitched for parts of two seasons making his debut against the Giants on April 11, 1981, he was 2-11 with 3 saves in 47 games. In 1982 he was traded to the Astros for Joe Pittman. In June of 1983 Houston released and in July he signed as a free agent with the Brewers, he played one year in their minor league system and was released. He disappeared until 1989 when the Senior Professional Baseball Association, Boone signed with the Bradenton Explorers. While going 4-3 with a 3.16 ERA he revealed that he had added a knuckleball to his arsenal of pitches. The Orioles signed him as a free agent in February and he spent the season in the minors getting a September call-up. He pitched in 4 games getting his first major league start. That start also turned out to be his final game, although Score accorded him Major League Prospect status in their 1991 set. I don't remember how I got the card signed, though I think it was through the mail.

Greg Booker

Greg Booker is married to the former Kristi McKeon, daughter of Trader Jack McKeon. His own father-in-law once traded him away to the Twins.

Greg was drafted by the A's in the 32nd round of the 1978 draft but he did not sign. He was drafted by the Padres in the 10th round of the 1981 draft out of Elon University. He made his major league debut on September 11, 1983 against the Reds. He pitched for six and a half years for the Padres before his father in law traded him to the Twins for Freddie Toliver. He played a couple of games for the Twins and the Giants. He signed as a free agent with the Cubs but never pitched for them. He signed as a free agent with the Giants and pitched two games for them in 1990. I remember talking to him when he was playing for the Las Vegas Stars. I got the card signed through the mail when he was a coach with the Padres.

Ricky Bones

Once back in the day (according to Dane Cook, it was a Wednesday) when Ricky was pitching for the Las Vegas Stars, I gave he and Rafael Valdez, another pitcher a ride to the hotel. He was signed by the Padres as an amateur free agent in 1986, and he made his debut August 11, 1991 against Cinncinati. He only spent one season pitching for the Padres going 4-6 in 11 games with a 4.83 ERA. On March 26, 1992 he was traded to the Brewers with Matt Mieske and Jose Valentin for Gary Sheffield and Geoff Kellogg. He pitched for 5 and a half years for the Brewers before he was traded to the Yankees with Pat Listach, Graeme Lloyd for Bob Wickman and Gerald Williams. He was selected to the All Star team in 1994 but did not get into the game. He then signed as a free agent with the Reds, Brewers, purchased by the Royals from the Brewers, signed as a free agent with the Twins, Kansas City, Baltimore, and Marlins. He finished his career pitching at Las Vegas at AAA for the Dodgers. I got this card signed by Ricky through the mail.

Bruce Bochy

Bruce Bochy managed the Padres for twice as long as he played for them. The last five years of his major league were played with the Padres. He was drafted by the White Sox in the 8th round of the 1975 draft, but did not sign. He was drafted by the Astros' in June of 1975 in the 1st round. He made his major league debut with Houston against the Mets on July 19, 1978. In February of 1981 he was traded to the Mets for Stan Hough and Randy Rogers, Bruce has one of the largest craniums in the game, wearing a size 8 and 3/4 cap. The Mets didn't have a batting helmet that fit him so they had to send to the minors for the one he had one worn there. The Mets released him and in February of 1983 he signed as a free agent with the Padres. He played for five years with them through the '87 season. He started managing in 1995, in the intervening years he coached in the minors for the Padres, I remember talking to him when he was a player/coach with Las Vegas when they played against the Portland Beavers at Civic Stadium. He was named the 1996 National League Manager of the Year, he was behind the plate when Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb's hit record, he is the only Padres player to ever manage the team, he managed the Padres to a 951-975 records and is one of eight major leaguers to have been born in France. I got this card signed through the mail.

Geoff Blum

9 is a important number to for Geoff Blums' major league debut. He made his major league debut with the Montreal Expos on 9/9/99. He was drafted by the Expos in the 7th round of the 1994 draft. In 2002 he was traded to the Astros for Chris Truby. In 2003 he was traded from Houston to Tampa Bay for Brandon Backe. In December of 2004 he signed as a free agent with the Padres and played there until he was traded to the Chicago White Sox. As part of the White Sox he played in the 2005 World Series hitting a tie breaking home run in the 14th inning of game 3. In November of 2005 he signed as a free agent with the Padres, in November of 2007 he signed a free agent with the Astros' and played 2008 in Houston. He has played in 309 games for the Padres over 2 and a half seasons. I got this signed through the mail during the 2007 season, I remember because I sent him the purple sharpie.

Hiram Bocachica

Hiram made his major league debut on my 43rd birthday, September 13, 2000 with the Dodgers against the Diamondbacks.

Hiram was drafted by the Expos' in the first round of the 1994 draft. In 1998 he was traded with Mark Grudzielanek and Carlos Perez for Peter Bergeron, Wilton Guerrero, Ted Lily and Johnathan Tucker. He made his debut in 2000 with the Dodgers. In 2002 he was traded to the Tigers for Jason Frasor. In 2004, 2006 and 2007 he signed as a free agent with the Oakland A's. In May of 2007 he was selected over the waiver wire from the A's by the Padres and played in 27 games. He had 63 at bats with 15 hits, 1 home run and hit .205. He was released by the Padres in July of 2007, and I mailed this to him and he sent it back.