He was taking early work in the cage. He was fielding calls from Hall of Famers Rod Carew and Joe Morgan wanting to help. He was starting games from the bench in order for the lessons and the work to sink in. His sparkling defense never suffered, but at the plate, he was.
Finally, Bradley figured out he was going to have to do more than listen.
“Getting back to what’s comfortable to me — not really ‘try this, try that’ — going back to my college days, what was feeling good to me when I was going well, sticking with that and refining that, stepping it up, trying out things. I just want to get back to being comfortable,” he said. “Sometimes you’ve got to get rid of all that clutter. You have a lot of people who want to help you and want great things to happen for you, but some of that stuff you’ve got to slide it to the side.
“If anybody knows who you are, it’s yourself. That’s what I’m learning more about each day of the season, I’m learning myself more than anything.”
Bradley said after the first two weeks of last year, when he hit .097 in his first 12 big league games and got demoted, he got away from what worked.
“That’s when the tinkering started,” said Bradley, referring back to his thoughts then. “Now, I’m going to be open-minded because I am struggling. Maybe they see something I’m not seeing. They have different eyes . . . I didn’t want to seem to be like the rookie who knew it all. You never do. You want to be willing to try things, work through them, see how it feels for you. It feels good or maybe it doesn’t.”
Bradley may have been too open about getting help.
“Apparently I have to get better with my communication with them because I never really had to communicate to any helpers, I just listened,” said Bradley. “I came to the realization, ‘I have to do what’s comfortable for me.’ At the end of the day, it’s my career. I’m the one who goes up there, I’ve got to be able to produce for the team. Focusing on that is top priority.
“When you’re up at the plate, I’m not thinking about what we just did in the cage, I’m just going up there and I’m competing. You’re not going to get me out,” he said. “I’m not thinking I have to have my hands like this, my feet like this. I’m just trying to have timing, rhythm and put a good swing on the ball.”