Draft Has Lions’ Bradbury Believing in Miracles

For Loyola Marymount catcher Miah Bradbury, Monday’s amateur baseball draft was everything he hoped for--and less.

Bradbury, the West Coast Conference player of the year who passed up a big bonus from the Philadelphia Phillies to return for his senior season, was finally going to live out his dream of playing professional ball.

And when the word came, it started off promisingly--he had been taken in the fifth round and was actually the second player taken by his team. Then came the strange part--it was a team few people have ever heard of, the Miami Miracle.

Huh?

Bradbury and his agent thought it was a gag, but they weren’t the only ones surprised.

The Miracle, an independent team in the Class A Florida State League, also selected Stanford outfielder Paul Carey and UC Irvine pitcher Ken Whitworth. As seniors who have used up their college eligibility, they have few alternatives and the Miracle holds their professional rights for a year.

The reaction all around was something less than ecstatic. “I don’t really know what’s going on,” Bradbury said. “At first I was kind of upset.”

Loyola Athletic Director Brian Quinn said: “Miah did the right thing, stayed in school and got his degree. Now it’s like he’s being penalized for it. I’m very upset.”

Bradbury’s agent, San Diego-based John Boggs, said his initial reaction was shock. “At first I was taken aback, like ‘Is this a joke?’ ” he said. “It takes you by surprise. It’s difficult to assess the options.”

But Boggs is ready to start negotiations and Bradbury is ready to play ball. It’s just a different route to the major leagues than both expected, and one that presents an unusual approach.

Unlike most minor league teams, the Miracle has no major league affiliation. It makes most of its money by selling prospects to major league teams, and fills its roster by signing discarded players and taking others on loan from overcrowded teams. A Miracle spokesman said

the team’s inability to keep its roster filled this way prompted them to challenge the amateur draft a few years ago and get a spot in the selection process. The Miracle begin drafting after the third round.

The Miracle’s season starts in three weeks. Boggs is hopeful the ownership will be financially competitive with major league teams in negotiations.

“I have talked to their owner (Marvin Goldklang),” Boggs said. “He seemed to be genuine in wanting a competitive team in Miami. Hopefully he’s got enough vision not to impede the progress of these players. The problem with being unaffiliated is if (Bradbury) doesn’t go anywhere, he’s back in Class A year after year. We’re just waiting, trying to find out what our options are.”

Bradbury will be associated with solid baseball people--Goldklang owns several minor league teams and is a minority shareholder of the New York Yankees, creating some feeling that he will funnel promising young players George Steinbrenner’s way; Mike Veeck, son of the late Bill Veeck, former owner of the Chicago White Sox, is team president; and the manager is Mike Easler, an outstanding hitter with several teams, notably the Pittsburgh Pirates, in the early 1980s.

Miracle minority owners include entertainers Jimmy Buffett and Bill Murray.

Bradbury and Boggs are optimistic that the team will pay Bradbury the going rate for a fifth-round draft choice. He turned down an offer from the Phillies, said to be well into five figures, a year ago. The Miami team has indicated it has set aside a fund to pay its draft choices signing bonuses.

“You better believe we’re gonna go after (the going rate),” Boggs said. “It’s all speculation until we sit down and discuss the situation. This was a good year for catchers, but I think Miah Bradbury is at the top of the catching list and he’s got major league talent. We’re not gonna jump into anything, we’ll see how sincere they are in (offering) signing bonuses. It’s a very unusual case so we’re going to approach it with a very calculated manner. The ball’s in their court. We want to try to guarantee he has a chance at major league baseball.”

And if there are no other options, Boggs said, “Miah’s job is to go out there and do what he does best, which is play ball.”

Maybe all he needs is a Miracle.

The rangy 6-foot-4, 210-pound Bradbury, known as a hard worker and vocal leader at Loyola, is staying in shape by hitting and working out at his home in San Diego. He sounds as if he has already accepted his situation.

“I believe things happen for a reason,” he said. “If that’s where I’m meant to play this summer I’ll just go out and play.