Chad Bradford is a former major league baseball player notable for two things: being a submariner and being a prominent character in Michael Lewis' book Moneyball. Unlike most major leaguers, Bradford showed no great athletic or baseball talent in his high school days, but on adopting a submariner's underhand delivery, he became successful enough to make the teams at Hinds Community College and the University of Southern Mississippi. From there, he was scouted and drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 1994, but elected to stay in college instead. The White Sox drafted him again in 1996 as a 13th-round draft pick; this time he signed, and was sent to Hickory in the low-A Sally League, where he pitched in 28 games with an extremely low 0.90 ERA. The following year, he was promoted to Winston-Salem in the high-A Carolina League, and again posted good numbers in 46 relief appearances.
Bradford moved from AA Birmingham to AAA Calgary, pitching extremely well (ERAs of 2.60 and 1.94 respectively) before joining the White Sox for his major league debut on August 1, 1998. He pitched very well in 28 games but spent most of the next two years at AAA Charlotte before being called up in September 2000, where he pitched well and was on the post-season roster as the White Sox made the playoffs. After the season, he was traded to the Oakland A's for catcher Miguel Olivo.
He spent the next four years with the A's as a specialty reliever, facing mainly right-handed hitters, and put up good numbers until he began having back problems in 2004 and ended the season on the disabled list. He was traded to the Red Sox for outfielder Jay Payton, and after recovering from back surgery in the first half of the season, came off the DL after the All-Star Game and pitched well for the rest of the season. He became a free agent after the season and signed with the Mets, where he had a solid 2006 and earned a three-year, $10.5 million contract from the Orioles. The Orioles got two solid years from Bradford before trading him to the Tampa Bay Rays toward the end of the 2008 season; the Rays kept him on the post-season roster and he eventually pitched against the Phillies in the World Series.
He began 2009 on the disabled list after injuring his elbow in spring training, returned briefly in June but went back on the DL after injuring his back. He also went on the DL at the end of the season, suffering from various aches and pains, and when he did pitch he wasn't effective. With his unorthodox pitching style and a bad year, he drew no interest from major league clubs and retired quietly in the 2009 off-season, working as a coach in Mississippi.
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