By James Bailey
Dallas Braden is in the club—an exclusive group of 19 that includes six Hall of Famers and another future member (Randy Johnson). It also includes middling moundsmen such as Len Barker, Don Larsen, and Charlie Robertson, each of whom finished their careers with sub-.500 records.
At first glance, Braden falls more in line with the latter group, as his career record, even including his perfecto, stands at 18-23 with a 4.49 ERA. Subtract out his 1-8 rookie season, when he posted a 6.72 ERA in 20 games for the A’s and he starts to look more like a young pitcher on the rise. His secondary numbers have improved steadily since that rough indoctrination in 2007. Here are his numbers as a big leaguer:
| Year | IP | ERA | WHIP | BB/9 | SO/BB |
| 2007 | 72.1 | 6.72 | 1.62 | 3.2 | 2.12 |
| 2008 | 71.2 | 4.14 | 1.42 | 3.1 | 1.64 |
| 2009 | 136.2 | 3.89 | 1.36 | 2.8 | 1.93 |
| 2010 | 46.0 | 3.33 | 0.96 | 1.4 | 4.00 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com.
A 24th-round selection in 2004, Braden never enjoyed prospect status while climbing through the A’s farm system. What he had instead were wins, and lots of them. In five full or partial minor league seasons he went 29-10. More than half of those victories came his second season, when the lefthander went 15-5 between two stops, neither of them known to be friendly toward pitchers. Braden was 6-0 at Stockton in the California League to earn a promotion to Midland in the Texas League, where he went 9-5 the rest of the way.
His career took a detour in 2006, when he missed most of the year due to a shoulder injury. In 2007 he was back to his winning form, going 3-3 with a 2.84 ERA between Midland at Triple-A Sacramento. Though he didn’t throw hard, he hit his spots. He struck out 87 and walked just 21 in 76 innings. That earned him his shot in Oakland, where he wasn’t nearly as successful.
Braden returned to Sacramento in 2008, going 3-1 with a 2.36 ERA in 11 games, striking out 54 and walking 11 in 53.1 innings. He hasn’t been back to the minors since, and doesn’t appear likely to return any time soon.
Prior to Sunday, he was best known for yelling at Alex Rodriguez for crossing his mound. In time he may be known for much more, as he’s emerging as a solid big league starter. If he can maintain his strikeout-to-walk ratios, which are currently in line with his minor league rates (390 SO/92 BB), this won’t be the last we hear of him.
