Rays prospect pitcher Taj Bradley gets ball autographed by Justin Turner after getting him out
Baseball is supposed to be fun, right?
Tampa Bay Rays pitching prospect Taj Bradley offered a reminder of that during a spring training game Sunday against the Boston Red Sox, his first appearance with the big-league club.
The 21-year-old Bradley set down Tristan Costas, Rafael Devers and Justin Turner, and turned the third-out ball into an autographed souvenir for himself. Bradley jammed Turner, who is entering his 15th season in the majors, and then asked the 38-year-old to sign the ball.
"I saw one pitch, a fastball," Turner said, according to MLB.com. "Actually, it got in on me, and there's a big pine tar mark on the ball. Apparently, he got the ball back because he sent it over and asked me to sign it for him, so I signed it and sent it back over."
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After finishing last season in Triple-A, Bradley, who is considered MLB Pipeline's No. 20 prospect, is likely to make his major league debut in a regular season game this season. The games will count then, making it more unlikely Turner would oblige to such a request.
"I'm extremely satisfied; it's a good way to break in," Bradley said. "(I threw) five out of seven strikes and faced some good guys while doing it. Kind of got the jitters all out, and (I’m) ready for the next outing, hopefully two innings."