Brad Radke

Consistent Twins pitcher and control artist who spent his entire 12-year career in Minnesota.

Brad William Radke (born October 27, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played his entire 12-season career with the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). Radke won 148 career games and was one of the most consistent pitchers in the Twins organization during the late 1990s.

Quick Facts

Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right
Born: 27 October 1972
Birthplace: Eau Claire, Wisconsin, U.S.
Debut league: MLB
Debut date: April 29
Debut year: 1995
Debut team: Minnesota Twins

Lore & Background

Radke was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and graduated from Jesuit High School of Tampa where he set a single-season school record with a 0.31 earned run average. He also played for the school's basketball team. He accepted a scholarship to play college baseball at South Florida. Radke was not considered a top prospect before the Minnesota Twins drafted him in the 8th round of the 1991 Major League Baseball draft.

In his debut season (1995), he finished 11–14 with a 5.32 ERA. In 1997, he finished an excellent season with a 20–10 record and a 3.87 ERA in 239 innings. During the year, he earned a win 12 consecutive starts, becoming only the third player since 1950 (along with Bob Gibson and Pat Dobson) to accomplish the feat. He finished third in American League Cy Young Award voting.

From 1998 to 2001, Radke averaged 12 wins and 32 starts each season. He pitched over 210 innings each season. In 2002, for the first time in his big league career, he failed to pitch in 30 games and fell one win short from finishing with 10 wins for the eighth consecutive season. His ERA was 4.72, the first time since his rookie season that he had recorded an ERA above 4.50.

In 2003 and 2004, Radke came back to form, notching 14 and 11 wins respectively. Radke was known for being one of the best control pitchers of the modern era, walking an average of only 41 batters a year, in an average of 34 games a year. He was, however, also known for giving up home runs, yielding as many as 40 in a single season. Radke's susceptibility to home runs was lampooned in a commercial for Sega Sports' World Series Baseball II in 1995, and featured Radke watching as home runs sailed out of the park.

In addition to home runs, Radke was often plagued by first-inning troubles. Radke allowed 76 home runs and a .285/.324/.508 slash line in the first inning. Radke's first inning issues led to a career 5.05 ERA in the frame, well over his career mark of 4.22. Radke had hinted that he might retire following the 2006 season, citing a torn labrum (which he had been pitching through during the season). A stress fracture in his shoulder suffered in late August sidelined him as of September 2.

Reader's Guide

Brad Radke was an All-Star in 1998. He led the American League in strikeout-to-walk ratio in 2001. He finished 7th in the AL in strikeouts in 1997. In 2001, he was second in MLB in complete games with 6, tied with Mark Mulder and Curt Schilling, behind Steve Sparks. He finished third in AL Cy Young Award balloting in 1997, behind Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson. He ranks #58th all time in strikeout-to-walk ratio. He ranks #33 in lowest walks per nine innings pitched (1.681).