Chad Bradford, 1993-1995, Baseball

Chad Bradford was a pitching standout for Bill "Moose" Perry at Byram High School. He took his talents to Hinds for the 1994 and 1995 seasons, leading the Eagles to back-to-back appearances in the NJCAA Division II World Series held in Millington, Tenn.

Bradford still holds seasonal and career records at Hinds in the following categories: games started (17, season, and 30, career), complete games (15, season and 22, career), strikeouts (117, season and 181, career), and shares the record for most single season wins with 13. He was selected to both the NJCAA All-American and Academic All-American teams in 1995.

Bradford left Hinds after two years and continued his playing career at the University of Southern Mississippi, where he was drafted and signed with the Chicago White Sox after his junior season. After two short seasons in the minor leagues, Bradford made his major league debut as a submarine style right-handed pitcher with the White Sox on August 1, 1998.

After three seasons with the White Sox, Bradford was traded in 2001 to the Oakland Athletics, where he spent four seasons. Oakland traded Bradford to the Boston Red Sox, where he was a pivotal bullpen contributor for their playoff push. Boston then traded Bradford to the New York Mets, where he posted his best season as a professional in 2006. His final 2006 stat line reads: 70 innings pitched, 45 strikeouts and only 13 walks with a 2.90 ERA.

The Baltimore Orioles took notice of Bradford's unique pitching style and signed him to a three-year, $10.5 million contract over the 2006 offseason. He has had continued success with the Orioles.

Bradford and his wife Jenny are the parents of son Keller, 12, and daughter Laynie, seven. During the offseason the family lives in Raymond, where they are members of Raymond Baptist Church.