I don’t think it’s necessarily fair to call Boston Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. a bust quite yet. He was the 40th overall pick by the Red Sox in the 2011 Draft, and was the second-best prospect in their organization (and a top 50 prospect in baseball) heading into the 2013 season.
But his MLB career has been terrible – over 164 games, Bradley has hit .196/.268/.280. He’s fallen to sixth (at best) on Boston’s outfield depth chart this winter, behind ex-infielder Hanley Ramirez, Cuban import Rusney Castillo, stud prospect Mookie Betts, and veteran duo Allen Craig and Shane Victorino. He might even be behind Daniel Nava on the depth chart, and Nava is most famous for leaving tickets for Erin Andrews during his time with AAA Pawtucket in 2010.
According to WEEI, Bradley is going to be trying a new technique with the media this spring – he’s going to ignore them, just like Marshawn Lynch does.
“I’m going to go all Marshawn Lynch this year,” the Red Sox outfielder said.
[…]
“I just focus on me. I have to do what I’ve got to do. I don’t even talk about it to anybody,” Bradley told WEEI.com after his Tuesday workout. “Action speaks louder than words, and that’s pretty much this whole year is going to be. I won’t have much to say. I’m just going to go out there and take care of business.”
This is going to end so well for Bradley – he’s struggled with the Red Sox early in his career, and now, he’s going to give the media non-answers and dig his hole even deeper.
In case you’re curious what his first Lynch-inspired phrase was: “just doing me”.
“Just me and family time,” he said when asked what his offseason entailed. “Just doing me.”
“Just doing me,” he reiterated. “Just came in here blank slate and started doing what I normally do. It’s just having faith in myself, believing in myself and trusting myself.”
It’s one thing if an athlete chooses to go the Lynch route when they actually produce. But if Bradley is mostly riding the pine as a backup outfielder, my guess is nobody’s really going to care too much if he has something to say or doesn’t. You’re not doing yourself any favors, Jackie.
[WEEI]
