Brad Halsey

Infobox MLB player
name=Brad Halsey

---

width=300
position=Pitcher
team=Free Agent
number=--
bats=Left
throws=Left
birthdate=birth date and age|1981|2|14
debutdate=June 19
debutyear=2004
debutteam=New York Yankees
statyear=2007
stat1label=Win-Loss
stat1value=14-19
stat2label=Earned run average
stat2value=4.84
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=160
formerteams=
*New York Yankees (by|2004)
*Arizona Diamondbacks (by|2005)
*Oakland Athletics (by|2006)

Bradford Alexander Halsey (born February 14, 1981 in Houston, Texas) is a free agent Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher, who most recently played in the Oakland Athletics organization.

Halsey was an eighth-round pick out of University of Texas at Austin in by|2002, when he was the No. 1 starter on the Longhorns' College World Series championship team--a team which also featured former teammate Huston Street.

Signed by the New York Yankees, Halsey spent most of by|2004 at AAA Columbus, going 11-4 with a 2.63 ERA in 144 innings. He posted a 2.95 strikeout-to-walk ratio (109-to-37), while opponents batted .237 against him with eight home runs. The Yankees gave him a spot in their pitching rotation on June 19, 2004. In seven starts and a relief appearance, Halsey finished with a 1-3 record, 25 strikeouts, and a 6.47 ERA in 32 innings. The high point of his season with the Yankees came when he out-dueled Pedro Martínez on July 1, 2004, in an extra inning game in which Derek Jeter dove into the stands and John Flaherty won the game in the 13th with a walk off single.

Before the by|2005 season, the Arizona Diamondbacks traded pitcher Randy Johnson to the Yankees in a three-team deal that included the Los Angeles Dodgers. Arizona received Halsey, pitcher Javier Vázquez, and catcher Dioner Navarro from New York, then sent Navarro and three minor league prospects to the Dodgers for outfielder Shawn Green.

On March 26, by|2006, the Diamondbacks traded Halsey to the Athletics for Juan Cruz. Halsey made the Athletics' opening-day roster as a middle reliever, then was pressed into starting duty in May with injuries to starters Esteban Loaiza and Rich Harden. Halsey pitched capably in six starts, with a record of 1-2, ERA of 5.63, and opponents batting .305 against him.

When Loaiza returned, Halsey returned to middle relief duty in mid-June. His statistics through mid-August were 3-3, 4.50 ERA. On August 10, Halsey was optioned to Oakland's AAA affiliate in Sacramento when the Athletics activated reliever Jay Witasick from the disabled list only to be recalled on August 22 with the A's needing a fifth starter in a string of consecutive games. He finished the year in middle relief, usually as the first reliever. His statistics for the year were 5-4, 4.67 ERA.

Halsey did not make the playoff roster for Oakland's division series against the Minnesota Twins. Oakland already had a left-hander in Joe Kennedy, and teams tend to carry one less pitcher in the playoffs given the added rest days and usual movement of the fifth starter to the bullpen.

Halsey entered the by|2007 season as a candidate for the fifth starter slot, but did not pitch well in spring training, going 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA, and lost out to favorite Joe Kennedy. On April 1, Halsey was optioned to Sacramento. Halsey throws a fastball in the 87-90 MPH range, but his best pitches are a fine slider and a deceptive changeup.

He was the person who threw the pitch on May 20, 2006, that Barry Bonds hit out of the park for his 714th home run, tying Babe Ruth for second place all-time.

On April 21, 2007, Halsey was held out of his start at Triple-A Sacramento, in case he was called to start for Rich Harden 3 days later. Harden couldn't go, but instead of Halsey, the A's went with left-hander Dallas Braden. Halsey made inflammatory comments that he was bypassed because the A's found out that Halsey was scheduled for an MRI exam. [ [http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2007/04/23/SPGK8PDKLJ1.DTL Furious Halsey rips A's / Pitcher says team worried only about money, not players ] ]

Halsey eventually did have surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder on July 12, 2007, and was placed on the 60-day disabled list. Halsey also has a pending grievance filed against the A's over the misdiagnosis of his injury.

External links

* [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/content?statsId=7356 ESPN (profile and daily update)]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/halsebr01.shtml Baseball Reference (statistics and analysis)]
* [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/14/SPG79QVT6L1.DTL&feed=rss.sports SF Chronicle article on surgery]

References