Bradley realizing it’s just a game

LOS ANGELES – Determined to score from second on a single to left, Milton Bradley raced around third, slid into home and appeared to beat the throw.

Umpire Sam Holbrook didn’t see it that way and called Bradley out, prompting a protest from the Los Angeles Dodgers’ outfielder.

But it was short-lived, and as Bradley headed toward the dugout, Holbrook patted him on the back. That’s the same Holbrook who ejected Bradley from a game early last season for arguing a called third strike.

Lesson apparently learned.

Bradley has been known more for his temper than his obvious talent as a big leaguer. Since reputations die slowly, many probably await the next outburst.

They might be waiting for a long time.

Cleveland traded Bradley to the Dodgers a day before the season opener last year following a dispute with Indians manager Eric Wedge, and Bradley was suspended twice last season for a total of nine games following on-field tantrums.

The second came in the season’s final week following a bottle-throwing episode, prompting Bradley to promise he’d seek treatment to manage his anger.

And he did.

“I’ve always had that complex when I felt singled out. That’s just the way I was,” Bradley said.

Like when a fan threw the plastic bottle on the field last September that landed near him after he committed an error?

Bradley nodded.

“I told the guy (his counselor) my life story – how I was feeling at the time,” Bradley recalled. “He was understanding. After a while, he told me, ‘You don’t have anything medically wrong, you just get upset. You don’t handle it well.’

“Now, when something happens, I just think, I don’t react. Without mistakes, how would you know the right thing to do?”

The Dodgers never wavered in their support, and first base coach John Shelby has noticed a difference in Bradley.

“There has been a dramatic change,” Shelby said. “That all goes to him. He wants to have a good image. He’s a good teammate. He’s a good person. And he’s an outstanding player.”

Bradley’s numbers through 40 games are certainly outstanding – he’s hitting .325 and ranks among the National League leaders with 10 homers, 31 runs scored and 50 hits. He’s driven in 25 runs.

“The guy is making a statement that he wants to play July 12,” Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said, referring to the All-Star game. “The way he’s playing and the character he’s displayed, who wouldn’t want to manage him?”

Tracy said Bradley hasn’t given him a single problem from Day 1.

And he’s become a team leader.

“It’s not only what you do on the field physically, but how you carry yourself when things aren’t going well,” Tracy said.

“I think he’s kind of taken it upon himself,” said Dodgers pitcher Jeff Weaver, one of Bradley’s best friends on the team. “You show leadership not only vocally, how you play the game. The younger guys should definitely look up to that.”

The 27-year-old Bradley said he didn’t feel he was ready to be a leader before this year.

“Sometimes I might get frustrated, not run out a ball, do what I did last year,” he said. “I always shied away from that (leadership). In spring training, I still felt I wanted to fly under the radar.”