Bradley Ross Eldred (born July 12, 1980) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

, and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

and in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

for the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...

. His nickname is "Big Country".

Playing career

Amateur

Eldred attended

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...

, and in 2000 he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Harwich Mariners The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Mariners play their home games at Whitehouse Fiel ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

Pittsburgh Pirates

Eldred was selected by the

in the 6th round of the

2002 Major League Baseball Draft The 2002 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 4 and 5. It is featured in Michael Lewis' 2003 book '' Moneyball''. First round selections Supplemental first round compensation selections * ...

. In 2004, the Pirates named him their minor-league player of the year after he hit .301 with 38 home runs and 137 RBIs for the Single-A

Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinna ...

and the Double-A

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of the ...

. He was promoted to the Pirates' major league roster on July 21, 2005, after he hit .297 with 28 home runs and 75 RBIs for the Curve and the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

. With the Pirates, he hit .221 with 12 home runs in 55 games. After the season was over, the Pirates sent him to play in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

. Eldred got injured in the first week of the 2006 season, and was unable to play for the rest of the year. After a strong

Spring Training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in 2007, in which he began playing the outfield to increase his versatility, he was added to the Pirates' opening day roster. However, he was demoted to Indianapolis on May 20. He was briefly recalled in mid-June, but spent only one day on the roster before returning to the minor leagues.

Chicago White Sox

On January 5, 2008, he signed a minor league deal with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

. For the AAA Charlotte Knights, he hit 38 home runs and 100 RBIs, leading the International League in both categories. He became a free agent at the end of the season.

Washington Nationals

In November 2008, he signed with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

. Playing for the AAA Syracuse Chiefs, he hit .269, .344 on-base percentage, 17 home runs and 59 RBIs.

Colorado Rockies

On March 2, 2010, he signed a minor league contract with the

. He was called up on July 7, 2010, when

Todd Helton Todd Lynn Helton (born August 20, 1973) is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played his entire 17-year career for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). A five-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger, and ...

went on the DL.

San Francisco Giants

On January 14, 2011, Eldred signed a minor league contract with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

with an invite to spring training.

Detroit Tigers

The

signed him to a minor league contract on January 21, 2012. He was called up to the Tigers on April 26 after longtime Tiger

Brandon Inge Charles Brandon Inge ( ; born May 19, 1977) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and catcher and currently a volunteer assistant coach for the Michigan Wolverines baseball team. He played 12 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, o ...

was released. At the time of his call-up, Eldred was batting .388 with 13 homers in 20 games for the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

. Eldred would triple in a run in the second inning of his first game with the Tigers. After playing in five games, Eldred was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

. He was released by the Tigers on June 19, 2012.

Hiroshima Toyo Carp

He signed a contract with the

NPB or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

. In 2014, his second season in Japan with the Carp, Eldred hit 37 home runs. In 2016, he was limited to 95 games due to injury, but still batted .294 with 21 home runs, helping his team to a playoff spot. Eldred then went on to hit a home run in each of the first three games of the

2016 Japan Series The 2016 Japan Series was the 67th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. The Hiroshima Toyo Carp, champions of the Central League, played the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, champions of the Pacific League, in a ...

, with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters ultimately winning the championship, four games to two.

Personal life

Brad Eldred is married to Cindy Eldred. They have four daughters: Avery, Kensy, Cecelia and Elsie. He graduated high school from Coconut Creek High School in Coconut Creek, FL in 1998.

References

External links

*
NPB.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eldred, Brad 1980 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Japan Altoona Curve players Baseball players from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Charlotte Knights players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Detroit Tigers players FIU Panthers baseball players Fresno Grizzlies players Harwich Mariners players Hickory Crawdads players Hiroshima Toyo Carp players Indianapolis Indians players Lynchburg Hillcats players Major League Baseball first basemen Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Nippon Professional Baseball left fielders Pittsburgh Pirates players Syracuse Chiefs players Toledo Mud Hens players Williamsport Crosscutters players