Note: If you wouldn't say it to someone's face, don't say it here. Comments deleted on a whim.
His understated work ethic was as fine an example to young players as Kirby's unwavering enthusiasm.
In many ways, Radke carried the torch from those dreadful 90s to the recent string of division champs. When ownership was finally ready to invest in its talent, Radke was the first to receive a long-term contract. The signing was the first indication in years that the Twins were trying to contend again. And Radke quietly and repeatedly took the ball, pitching and pitching until the Twins were winners again.
We'll miss you, Brad.
Indeed.
I won't miss Radke making the Royals' hitters look foolish, but he was a real pro in every way. I wish him the best in retirement.
Thanks Brad.
When I moved to Minnesota in 1998, I had not followed baseball seriously since the strike in 1994. I fell in love with the Twins, with Radke in particular, and have been following them ever since. Thanks for everything Brad. You'll be missed.
While he was a consistantly decent pitcher, his contributions this past season were most admirable, in my opinion. Courage and determination kept this guy on the mound. Despite his painful injuries in his right arm, he pitched his heart out. Silently he showed the team how to "suck it up" and to leave it all out on the field. His teammates admired him for that. Not to mention he pitched pretty dang well for being in so much pain.
Brad was one of my favorite Twins and I always enjoyed going to games he started. His autograph is one I prize most out of the ones I got this June at the autograph party.
Thanks Brad, you'll be missed, buddy!
Thanks Brad!
I will never forget the effort that Radke made to the 2nd half effort in 2006. While most talk of the Santana/Liriano dynamic duo (and for good reason) - watching Radke gut it out with an 82 mph fastball and put up critical W's was a privilige to watch.
I saw Radke pitch many times over his career but the one that stands out the most (and not because it was most recent) was this past August 13. Radke's shoulder was so banged up that he couldn't even take a full warm up. No long toss, and bullpen from about 55 feet. Still, he trotted out there for 7 innings against a mashing Jays lineup and kept them to 5 hits and no runs. Not only was it gutsy as all hell but it kept the Twins from getting swept and got them back on track in the pennant run.
Radke for the curtain!
I can only say this: First, Bradke taught us about team loyalty. And then, he taught us what it really meant to give your all.
He'll never make it to the HOF, but that doesn't mean I won't be telling his story to future generations.
There's something to be said nowadays for an athlete like Brad that quietly goes about his business, shuns the spotlight, plays his entire for a single team, doesn't just show up in his walk year, and truly is a role model for our kids. Thanks Brad!
Aaron, perfectly said. Thanks to Brad for the great years he let us watch him. It sure was real. Enjoy retirement, big guy.
And we can't forget how cute Brad is....
Two things came to mind when considering Brad's career with the Twins: 1) midwesterners embraced him because his quiet, hard-working demeanor so closely mirrored those of the region, and 2) Did Brad's low-BB success lead to the Twins adoption of this tenet, or vise-versa? I'd like to think that Brad laid the foundation for the Twins' "put it in play" pitching philosophy.
Many people mention his high point being the win over Oakland to advance to the next round of the 2002(?) playoffs, but I like to think his best game was (I believe) the 1st game of that series. With his defense falling apart around him, and one of the few times when he was ever visibly upset, Brad still pitched a great game and eventually the Twins managed to win it.
Hopefully we'll have more Radke's pitching in the Twins' future.
My only complaint about today's entry is that we needed a link or two to your other work, Aaron.
You can't get anywhere in this world without a little self-promotion!!
:-)
Brad was a "pro" in every sense of the word. It is truly sad to see his baseball career come to an end. He may not be enshrined in Cooperstown, but he will most certainly be a member of the Twins' HOF.
All the best to you and your family, Brad. And thanks for some great memories.
It's odd that after all is said and done that all people say about Radke is how gutty he is, and what a professional he is, and how consistent he has been over the years.
I highly doubt any of those people were the same ones calling for him to be yanked from the rotation this year when he was seemingly giving up 2, 3, or 4 runs in the first inning of every start, right? None of them called in to KFAN to make their predictions as to when Radke would give up his first bomb of the game, right?
I'll remember Brad, but I'll remember the good and the bad.
I'll miss Radke every 5 days like the rest of you. God knows the Twins don't have enough reliable arms to replace him now.
But other than a few postseason affairs, I never saw his fire. Maybe he's just a reserved man, befitting of the region as previously said. Or maybe his true passions have nothing to do with a diamond.
Either way, thanks Brad for the determination last year. Thanks, Brad, for 2002. Thanks, Brad, for a pretty darn good career in a Minny uniform.
To Kevin Appleby: You're a funny guy.
MrTwin:
I'm glad you appreciated the comment. It's just friendly banter.
Class act!
Great piece!
I love Brad Radke -- sad to see him go.
Maybe this is the wrong place, but since you mentioned him, do you think there's any chance the Twins go after Lieber? The Phils have six starters now, and they seem likely to trade him. If they could get him cheap, he could buy the Twins time to let some of their young starters develop in AAA. Not sure how valuable he would be to the team, though, in terms of performance.
Has there been a worse three days in Minnesota Sports.... The wolves pass on Iverson and basically push KG21 out the door. The Vikings are all but mathmatically eliminated from the playoffs, and now Brad Rad Radke retires... Rough Week for B-Rude.
Does anybody else remember that commercial Radke was in from the mid-90s for a Sega Genesis baseball game? The voiceover went something like, "Last year, the Minnesota Twins' Brad Radke struck out x hitters. But he also gave up x homeruns!" And then they showed a conga line going around the bases and Radke looking totally bummed on the mound.
He must have had a good sense of humor to do that commercial.
Brad....Kirby.....Tony-O..... Guys that spend their entire sucessful career with a single team seemed to be absolutely loved by that community. This year we've got Ripken and Gwynn going to Cooperstown. We are fortunate here in Minnesota to have had Radke for all of these years. He deserves the best.
Kudos to AG for writing about the "qualitative" aspect of enjoying Radke over the years, the way the change-up would fade, his effortless delivery, his arm and shoulder tics. That's the stuff we all can appreciate and remember. The numbers? Ah, not so much, though of course, cumulatively it's a way to put some relative value on his efforts.
But I am interested in one stat with Radke. Just what was his ERA in early innings? Whenever he pitched, I knew if he could get through the second inning, he would be solid into the 7th, though mostly not beyond that.
Unfortunately, he often gave up enough early that the low-scoring Twinks were fork material.
Still, he was dependable and absolutely predictable in how he pitched his game. It was almost like he needed to get hitters under his magic spell before he could get them out. Or that he needed to work his mind into what the hitters were thinking so that he'd throw his mix in exactly the right way.
And, he was a control freak with his fast ball. He never threw it down the middle... He was more magician and technician than physically dominant.
a big day in twins history. one of the hardest working twins pitchers, if not in the last 10 years than in twins history, officially calls it quits. i can remember it like it was yesterday when he pitched his but off in the ALCS back in 2002 and the twins lost that tough series to those pesky angels.
Very nice tribute, Aaron. I'm looking forward to seeing your Top 40 piece on Brad. For me, I'll always remember that first game of the 2002 ALDS against Oakland. Even though Radke only went five innings and gave up eight hits, he was the guy on the field that somehow held things together when everything around him was falling apart. Twins fielders committed three errors in the first two innings of that game, accounting for four unearned runs out of five. But Radke kept it under control long enough for our offense to get to Hudson and take a lead. After that, Santana relieved Brad and Everyday Eddie closed it out. It was an agonizing game to watch in the early innings, but Radke kept things together just long enough, and was just good enough to get the job done. And that really has always been Radke in a nutshell -- occassionally stellar, but always good enough to win more often than not, even when the odds were against him. We'll remember him as a consumate professional who played with grace under pressure, steel in his eye, and fire in his belly. He was smart, he was cool, he was gritty, and he was ours for his entire career. And in this day and age of overpaid, under-disciplined prima donna athletes who only run hard when chasing big money, that's something worth remembering.
Outstanding. There's something that is impossible not to love about the way Radke pitched. I think we imagine that's the way we would have pitched were we to be so blessed as to be a major league pitcher -- he was a winner due to his hard work and tireless dedication to his craft instead of being gifted with a 98 mph fastball.
Thanks Brad, we'll miss you.
One of our coaches was in the Twins system and pitched around Brad a bit in Ft Myers. He said the catchers basically sat on their knees and Brad would pump pitch after pitch, right to the glove. They never had to move. He talked about his control like it was not-of-this-world.
I'll remember him shutting down the Yankees and us beating them 3-2 when Knoblauch came to town. I was in the bleachers, but everyone could see the awful swings great Yankees hitters were having against that changeup. Great memories! Thanks Brad!
It sounds repetitive enough, but I just want to state why I'll miss Brad Radke.
He might not have been the number one Twins pitcher of his 12 years on board, but one thing that didn't change throughout his tenure, is he always seemed to wear the same jerseys to each game. It was wierd... I've never seen him wearing a jersey with an -A- on it... no west coast fish... I don't think I've ever seen socks of any colors on his chest... Didn't see birds... And there definitely were no Indians, cats, or crowns either.
His entire career he proudly wore a big fat M on his chest.
I just can't admire that enough I guess. :)
I'll admit I would always cringe during the first few innings of his games, sometimes joking that perhaps it was a clock issue, and games at the metrodome should just start at 8 PM instead of 7... Either way it went, he would always show to Minnesota that he was unphased by those quick mistakes of the first innings. Someone above had mentioned that those first two innings were dedicated to him casting his spell on the batters.
I agree!
Lots of love for Brad around here, and rightfully so. No point in repeating all the things others, especially AG, have said about what we got with Radke in the organization.
Instead, I'll list a few things we didn't see from Brad:
Perfect games? nope. No hitters? uh -uh. Complete games? Not really his thing. Shutouts? Um... probably not.
Pulling himself from games due to tummy aches? Yeah, right. Mug shots on page one of the Strib? No way. Domestic assaults? Not this guy. Involvement in shootings outside a strip club? Never.
ANY reason to feel embarassed to be a Twins fan or hide the newspaper from your younger children. Not once, not ever.
Perfect? Hardly. But the epitome of class in and out of a baseball uniform.
Thanks, Brad.
JCrik
I hope people appreciate just how good Radke was in '06. Other than Mauer and Nathan, the Twins were a major disappoint the first 2 months of the season, both individually and collectively. But from June forward, Radke - like many of the Twins - got hot. He started 17 games the rest of the way, posting a 2.69 ERA. Brad allowed 2 runs or fewer in 13 of those starts, with the Twins tallying a 13-4 record in those games. Obviously it was that much more remarkable given his significant shoulder injury but no matter how you look at it, Radke's performance was outstanding.
A very impressive career, from a very impressive man, that was capped off with an incredibly impressive final season. Thanks for the ride, Brad.
And welcome back, Rondell. Here's hoping he can play ~120 games and come close to matching his 2nd-half near-.900 OPS.
It strikes me as ironic that Radke retires during an off season which has seen mediocre pitchers sign 10 mil per year contracts. Certainly Radke was well paid over the years but he never really tested the FA market and pushed for the huge deal he probably could have gotten. Even at 36, a healthy Radke could be breaking the bank if he were a FA this year. Twins were fortunate that he was content with the organization and the area and didnt seem to have an ego that required him to max out his earning potential.
The only good thing about his retirement is that I will no longer have to listen to my wife say......"Oh my gosh....he is soooooo cute..." when they show the close up of him peering over his glove getting the sign....
Happy fishing Mr. Radke!
Does anyone remember the game Brad was tossed from a year or two ago when he wasn't even pitching? I don't quite remember the circumstances that led to that, but that was a visible sign of leadership.
If you are talking about his ejection in 2003, I found this link referencing that:
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/
2...tml#skip300x250
However, in this game, he was pitching, and retaliating against the TBDRays from earlier innings. Everyone and their cat seems to have been ejected from that game.
Radke, more than any other athlete I've had the pleasure of rooting for, stood up in my mind as a testament to sportsmanship, commitment, dedication, and all that stuff. I even surprised my fiance by asking for my new Twins jersey to be lettered with Radke's name rather than Mauer, Morneau, Santana, or any of the other guys. I'll miss seeing Brad out there, but I'll always treasure my memories of him leading my favorite team in the world.
KG and Tim, I think the game in question was in 2005, a few days after Gardy's award-winning tirade against Hunter Wendlestedt, which was right up there with anything Jerry Burns ever said.
It was the game where Craig Monroe hit a long foul ball that the ump called a home run. Radke, who wasn't starting got very uncharacteristically vocal, and dropped a VERY loud f-bomb in the direction of the umps from the dugout. It was hilarious. More here: http://www.bat-girl.com/archives...ives/
001045.php.
A personal favorite player of mine for years, in part because I got him in a fantastic trade in a fantasy league a half-dozen years ago.
Random crap about Brad Radke:
While he walked only 1 out of every 23 hitters he faced, he only walked 1 out of every 30 men leading off an inning.
In the seventh inning of July 28, 2000, he intentionally walked Jorge Posada. 988 days and 1,772 batters later, he issued his next intentional walk, to Carlos Delgado of Toronto.
He walked four men or more in a game a total of seven times. He walked more than four only twice, both times at five. In one of those games, he intentionally walked a batter. In comparison, Daniel Cabrera of Baltimore had seven games with at least four walkss issued by mid-June. All of Cabrera's games included at least five walks.
He made it to the sixth inning in over 80% of his starts.
Thanks for clearing that up, Nick.
Ah, nobody gives the inside story on the "news" like BG, eh?
JCrik
Roscoe -- yes! I do remember that video game commercial. I believe it was for World Series baseball for Sega Genesis. No doubt, Radke was a class act, and obviously had a sense of humor. Anyone else watch the Strib's online video of the press conference when Gardy ripped Sid Hartman for not making it to the press conference? He said, "I'm just here to say 'Where in the hell is Sid Hartman? Probably with the Vikings. That's typical."(from vivarivas.com) Gotta love public Sid Spankings.
Thanks Nick, that was it. I remember they had a behind the scenes SportsCenter that night, and they almost cut the Twins from the show but then they remembered they had to show it because of that ejection.
Did any1 see what batgirl had to say about the reignin AL MVP??
Haha thanks for that link. Somehow I didn't hear about that lol :D
btw we signed el Rondell White
nice write up. minor comment about using "sullen" to describe Brad in the dugout during that last game. Disappointed? Yah, but Brad was always way too much of a class act for him to be described as moody or ill humored.
Anyone know who the 14 nonroster guys the Twins invited to spring training were (aside from Slowey)?
Going...going...GONE!!!!
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