Most high school baseball players don't play college ball, and the ones that do are usually high school standouts. Chad Bradford defies this theory. Chad barely played on his high school team and was considered a "nerd." His goal was to become a major league player but that seemed more of a dream than a reachable goal. His high school coach couldn't refrain from chuckling when Chad told him this. He didn't give up though, but he did change the way he pitched. Chad's dad was paralyzed and was told he wasn't going to be able to walk again. But Chad's dad had the same heart that Chad had and wouldn't ever give up. After a few months, his dad began walking again and later was able to play catch with his son. However, he couldn't lift his arm above his head so he threw underhand. That's where Chad learned a new way to pitch. He wasn't pitching sidearm, but he was no longer pitching over his head. He tricked hitters with his movement and accuracy and made it to college. In college, however, he wasn't able to succeed as well as in high school, so he dropped his arm down and was now a true sidearm pitcher. He was drafted into the MLB and moved his release point even lower, sometimes hitting his hand on the mound. Chad was now called a "submarine" pitcher, the MLB's way to attempt making pitching underhand sound manly. Teams were encouraged by his success, but they thought it was a fluke for he couldn't throw over 85 MPH. Again, the Oakland A's jumped on the opportunity to aquire this unique player. Right away he was put onto the major league roster and was used as a set-up man. Chad Bradford became the A's most reliable pitcher, and made every team once again shake their heads at Oakland's "lucky" aquirement.
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Picture: http://becksmithhollywood.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Casey_Bond_as_Chad_Bradford_in_MONEYBALL.jpg