Submariners

Chad Bradford: A's submariner
By CHAD BRADFORD

The first thing fans usually notice about me is my delivery because I don't come over the top or throw from a three-quarters arm angle like most pitchers. In fact, I don't even consider myself a sidearm pitcher. Earlier in my career I was a little bit below sidearm, but now I am definitely a submariner.

I first dropped to sidearm in high school. But I dropped even lower in 1999 and 2000 seasons when I was first going back and forth between the big leagues and Triple-A.

The style, without a doubt, felt very comfortable to me right away, although I have scraped my knuckles a few times. If I do hit my hand on the ground the ball shoots off. Sometimes it stays in the strike zone. Other times it hits the screen, which has also happened a handful of times.

Early on, I thought that my throwing style put less pressure on my pitching arm, elbow and shoulder. As I'm getting older now I see that my arm gets tired more than it used to. I think there's less pressure on my shoulder, but I also have to watch out for back problems. After all, I am bending over so much and trying to get down low and throw.

I've been asked a lot of times whether it's a style that I would recommend for a young pitcher. I think of it as sort of a last option. If you don't have success throwing over the top, then you have to try different things. That's how it evolved with me.

If I didn't adapt to the submarine style, I think I'd be digging ditches or driving a truck somewhere. If I still threw over the top right now, I wouldn't be in the big leagues.

I see my situation as being similar to a left-handed pitcher who gets left-handed batters out. It's of the situational or specialist variety. I pitch against righties and lefties, but I'm more about getting groundballs. The submarine style is very conducive to the groundball, and I hope it stays that way. When I am not getting the groundballs, that is an indication to me that I'm not getting the sink that I should.

I think my style is most comparable to Dan Quisenberry's. He was a guy I watched a lot. I also think of guys like Gene Garber, who wasn't quite as low, and Brad Clontz. I my delivery is closest to Quisenberry's because he didn't thrown that hard. I think those other guys hit the low 90s, which I don't.

Hopefully I'll get a lot of groundballs in 2005!

After spending his first three big league seasons with the White Sox, Chad Bradford has become a valuable member of Oakland's bullpen. In 2003, he posted personal-bests with seven wins and a 3.04 ERA. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound righthander is originally from Jackson, Mississippi.