Bradley Lee Gulden (born June 10, 1956) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

player. He played as a

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

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), ...

(MLB) between 1978 to 1986 for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

, and

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 ...

Baseball career and the original Humm-Baby

Gulden was born in

New Ulm, Minnesota New Ulm is a city in Brown County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,120 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Brown County. It is located on the triangle of land formed by the confluence of the Minnesota River and the Co ...

and graduated from

Chaska High School Chaska Senior High School (CHS) is a public high school located in Chaska, Minnesota, United States, a southwestern suburb of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. CHS is a 912 grade school that is attended by more than 1,500 students. The school masc ...

near

Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is commonly known as the Twin Cities ...

. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 17th round of the

1975 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1975 Major League Baseball draft. Many baseball draft experts consider the 1975 draft to be the weakest in MLB history. Other notable selections ''*'' Did not sign N ...

. In 1978 he played for the

Albuquerque Dukes The Albuquerque Dukes were a minor league baseball team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. History The first Dukes team was formed in 1915 as part of the Class D Rio Grande Association. The team finished in third place with a 32-25 record. Fra ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, appearing in 125 games and produced a .294

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

along with 8

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 72

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. His performance earned him a late-season promotion to the major leagues where, he made his debut on September 22, 1978 at the age of 22. MartinHunterGulden1979

On February 15, 1979, the Los Angeles Dodgers traded Gulden to the New York Yankees for

Gary Thomasson Gary Leah Thomasson (born July 29, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1972 to 1980, most prominently as a member of the San Francisco Gian ...

. His offensive production declined in 1979, hitting for a .248 batting average along with 6 home runs and 34 runs batted in while playing for the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. On August 3, , during the Yankees' first game after the death of

Thurman Munson Thurman Lee Munson (June 7, 1947 – August 2, 1979) was an American professional baseball catcher who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees, from 1969 until his death in 1979. A seven-time All-Star, Mun ...

in an

airplane crash An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of fl ...

the previous day, Gulden replaced starting catcher

Jerry Narron Jerry Austin Narron (born January 15, 1956) is an American professional baseball manager, coach, and former player. He most recently served as a major league instructor for the Chicago White Sox. He most recently served as the bench coach for ...

in the ninth inning. Gulden started on August 6 in the team's first game after Munson's funeral, only to be replaced himself in the ninth by Narron. Gulden holds a place in

trivia by being one of four players in history to be traded for himself, along with

Harry Chiti Harry Dominic Chiti Jr. (pronounced ) (November 16, 1932 – January 31, 2002) was an American catcher in Major League Baseball. He appeared in 502 games over all or parts of ten seasons between and for the Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Athletic ...

Dickie Noles Dickie Ray Noles (born November 19, 1956) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher with the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and the Baltimore Orioles betw ...

, and John McDonald. In , the

sent him to the

with $150,000 for a player to be named and

Larry Milbourne Lawrence William Milbourne (born February 14, 1951) is an American former professional baseball utility infielder whose career spanned 15 seasons, 11 of which were spent in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Houston Astros (1974–76), Seattl ...

. In May , the Mariners sent Gulden back to the Yankees as the player to be named. This kind of swap happened to Gulden again, as he was traded by the Yankees in April 1982 for catcher

Bobby Ramos Roberto Ramos (born November 5, 1955) is a Cuban former professional baseball player and coach in Major League Baseball. He was nicknamed 'Sugar Bear'. Ramos was a catcher. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the seventh round of the 1974 ama ...

— only to be sold back to the Yankees after the season. Meanwhile Ramos was sold back to the Expos. At the beginning of the 1986 season Gulden was with the San Francisco Giants and fighting for a roster spot behind

Bob Brenly Robert Earl Brenly (born February 25, 1954) is an American baseball sportscaster and a former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played the majority of his Major League Baseball career as a catcher with the San Francisco Gian ...

and

Bob Melvin Robert Paul Melvin (born October 28, 1961) is an American former professional baseball player and coach, who is the manager of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has been named Manager of the Year three times. Selected in t ...

. His hustle and work ethic inspired manager Roger Craig to nickname him a “Humm Baby”, because “he didn't have a lot of talent, but he gave you 180 percent; that's the way Brad (was). Humm-baby.” Gulden made the team as the third-string catcher, and Humm-Baby spread from only Gulden until it applied to the entire Giants team, and it eventually became synonymous with Roger Craig. He appeared in his final major league game with the Expos on September 28, 1986 at the age of 30. Gulden played in fewer than 10 games in three of his seven major league seasons and finished with a batting average of .200.

References

External links

*Boxscore for August 3, 1979: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA197908030.shtml *Boxscore for August 6, 1979: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA197908060.shtml
Humm-Baby Article
- Original Coin of the Humm-Baby 20th Anniversary Article {{DEFAULTSORT:Gulden, Brad 1956 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Minnesota Bellingham Dodgers players Cincinnati Reds players Columbus Clippers players Danville Dodgers players Denver Zephyrs players Lodi Dodgers players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball third basemen Montreal Expos players Nashville Sounds players New York Yankees players People from New Ulm, Minnesota Phoenix Firebirds players San Francisco Giants players Seattle Mariners players Spokane Indians players Tucson Toros players Wichita Aeros players