Bradley Has a New Outlook

An off-season of self-discovery later, Dodger outfielder Milton Bradley wants everyone to know it’s going to be different this time.

The alarming public spectacles, the tirades against umpires, the brushes with the law, all that is ancient history, he says. For the first time, perhaps there is reason to believe him.

In an expansive interview, he talked about his anger management counseling, key moments during the off-season that forced him to confront his problem and the steps he is taking to avoid a setback.

“I know I’ve said it before, but I had the same stubborn mind-set for so long,” he said. “I was saying it but not living it.

“All I can do is keep going out there and proving it, one day, then the next day, then the next. One by one, those people on the fence will learn to support me and support the Dodgers for supporting me.”

Some changes have been noticeable. He makes a point of saying hello to the umpire the first time he steps into the batter’s box. He convened a players-only meeting in spring training and told his abundance of new teammates, “I’m not the person you’ve heard about.”

Manager Jim Tracy said Bradley has “a completely different demeanor in the dugout. He is one of the first guys to shake someone’s hand.”

When the Dodgers blew a lead in the ninth inning after Bradley made a diving catch to end a threat in the eighth, sending a game against Arizona into extra innings last week, he retreated to the empty clubhouse and screamed at the top of his lungs. He said he considered breaking something but instead took a deep breath and returned to the dugout to cheer on his teammates.

That’s anger management in practice. Bradley said the off-season counseling taught him how to cope when rage causes his mind to swirl and his grip to slip from everything he holds dear.

His life has changed in other ways as well. He got married and realized he has a responsibility to someone other than himself. He reflected on what it means to him to play for the team he worshiped growing up in Long Beach. And he rediscovered his faith and memorized Bible verses he says calm him in times of stress.

Most of all, he says, he listened.

The voices were varied, but there was a common theme. It took the entire chorus to pierce the emotional armor he had built over a lifetime of responding to conflict, blaming others and scaring the wits out of people.

This is what he heard:

* In September, former Laker great Magic Johnson called Bradley after he responded to a fan who threw a plastic bottle at him by angrily slamming the bottle at the feet of fans in the stands. Enraged, Bradley tore off his jersey on the way to the dugout. He was suspended for the last five games of the regular season.

Johnson is a hero to Bradley, a Laker fan since childhood. The call made a difference, but it was only the first step in changing him.

“Magic told me he had temper problems early in his career and he learned from them,” Bradley said. “He said I have to stand up and face it, that I can’t let down an entire city. I listened right then, but I was still thinking, ‘I don’t want to deal with it.’ ”

Months later a call came from Kurt Rambis.

“We talked about being in a major media market and how athletes are often scrutinized and live underneath a microscope and how difficult that can be,” Rambis, now a Laker assistant coach, said. “We talked about productive, positive ways to handle situations and to deal with the media. I came away from our conversation feeling that Milton genuinely wants to do and say the right things.”

Like most people, Rambis perhaps underestimated how hardheaded Bradley could be.

“He was bluntly honest, and I appreciated that,” Bradley said. “But I was still thinking, ‘I’m going to do what I want to do.’ ”

* Dodger owner Frank McCourt was horrified by the bottle-throwing incident. But he stood by Bradley, mandating the anger management counseling while giving him a one-year, $2.5-million contract that could exceed $3 million with incentives. Bradley broke into the major leagues with the Montreal Expos five years ago but did not play a full season until last year, his first as a Dodger.

McCourt, born into a wealthy Boston family, says he has accomplished less than Bradley, who was raised by his hardworking mother.

“Given where we each started in life, Milton Bradley has achieved more than I have,” McCourt said. “I have tremendous admiration for the dedication he has shown to get to where he is.”

Bradley’s appreciation for the seemingly limitless support from McCourt, Tracy and General Manager Paul DePodesta has grown with time.

“They see deeper,” he said. “They look at the heart.”

* Former Cleveland teammate and close friend C.C. Sabathia had a candid discussion with Bradley on Super Bowl Sunday, saying he was still angry because Bradley’s behavior prompted the trade to the Dodgers before last season.

The final incident in Bradley’s tumultuous 2 1/2 years in Cleveland came at the end of spring training when Manager Eric Wedge thought Bradley did not run out a pop-up.

“C.C. is like my brother and when he said, ‘You left me and I’m still upset,’ that was real,” Bradley said. “We wanted to turn Cleveland into a powerhouse, and I see now that my actions were wrong and hurt people.”

When the Dodgers traveled from Vero Beach, Fla., to Winter Haven to play the Indians in spring training, Bradley made sure he was one of the few regulars to make the two-hour bus ride.

“By trading me they made a big statement about the direction the organization was going,” he said. “I understand they had to do it. I needed to go to Winter Haven to talk to some people. I needed to go for closure.”

* A child Bradley met during a Dodger function in February asked him whether he was going to get mad at him. Bradley was taken aback. “Are you afraid of me?” he asked the boy, who nodded.

“I couldn’t get that out of my mind,” Bradley said. “I don’t want anyone to be afraid of me.”

He reflected on his behavior off the field. He had recently served three days in jail in Ohio for an incident in 2003 when he drove off from a police officer who was giving him a ticket. Bradley also was arrested for disorderly conduct Thanksgiving Day when he screamed at a police officer who had pulled over his friend.

“I want to be a role model for kids,” he said. “I want them to see me as an inspiration, not as someone to fear.”

* His anger management counselor provided concrete ways of dealing with the problem. And after listening to others for months, Bradley warmed to the idea of someone listening to him.

“I said what I had to say to someone who wasn’t a sports person, someone who hadn’t seen any of it,” he said. “He was all about alleviating it.

“At first I thought it wasn’t helping anything. But now, when a situation happens and I handle it, I think about how different it would have been a year ago. I say to myself, anger management, and laugh because it really works.”

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Bradley is the first to admit enormous obstacles lie ahead, in part because of the nature of his work. Every day, every game will be a challenge. He is in the media spotlight, and he knows there are those who expect an outburst.

“There will always be people who see me as the guy who threw the bottle and the guy who battles the umpires,” he said. “I can’t change that. There are people whose minds are made up, no matter what I say.”

Others are cautious. Several teammates did not want to comment, intimating that his actions will tell the tale.

“You won’t find someone who plays with him who doesn’t like him as a teammate,” Jayson Werth said. “He’s a gamer and a warrior. His persona brings a lot to the clubhouse and dugout.”

J.D. Drew signed with the Dodgers during the off-season and said he wanted to move from right field to center -- Bradley’s position. The situation could have caused friction, and Tracy avoided it altogether. Bradley and Drew talked it out, though, and mutual respect resulted.

“He’s trying to make amends for the past,” Drew said. “He’s working on it. Sometimes you wonder, what does a guy have to do to get past that? The key in this game is to keep quiet, show up and let your actions do your talking. He’s doing a good job of that.”

Bradley, 26, will face the season without an ally who provided guidance last season -- Lon Rosen, the recently fired Dodger marketing executive.

“Lon went out of his way to be kind and do things when other people turned their back on me,” Bradley said.

Rosen said his absence shouldn’t matter, that plenty of people in the Dodger organization are willing to help Bradley.

“The McCourts have really embraced Milton and understand where he’s been and his potential as a person,” Rosen said. “To address your demons is the most difficult thing in the world. He deserves not to be thrown to the curb.”

The Dodgers put up with the series of incidents last year in part because Bradley is a productive player and a relative bargain. Wearing the Dodger uniform means a lot to him, although fans who watched his most infamous tantrum might find it hard to believe. Bradley told McCourt that he tore off his jersey because at that moment he didn’t deserve to wear it.

He feels different today. He will take the field in the home opener knowing catcalls will be mixed with the cheers.

The season has caught him in transition between who he has been and who he wants to be. Now he’s the one who might be frightened. He has to be ready for this, or the consequences to his career could be lethal.

“All my selfishness and bitterness about the past is gone now,” he said. “I stopped caring so much about myself and started caring more about the team. I think I have a lot to offer. That’s what I want everyone to see.”

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Times staff writer Mike Bresnahan contributed to this report.